It's been years since the two bodies have met in session.
After years of minimal contact, two representative bodies in Athens and at OU might turn a new page in their relationship this semester.
Athens City Council President Chris Knisely recently said improving communication between city officials and Ohio University’s Student Senate will be a priority for this legislative year.
Knisely, who was appointed to the president’s position at the beginning of the year, said she would like to use her change in office to influence a joint meeting between the two legislative bodies.
“I think it’s a continued interest and we just haven’t really moved forward with it,” she said.
According to a previous Post article, city council members have entertained the possibility of meeting with student legislators for several years now.
But those plans failed to materialize due to scheduling conflicts and a lack of interest on behalf of the senate, Clerk of Council Debbie Walker said in September.
Student Senate Vice President Caitlyn McDaniel said before the start of this school year, senate members considered inviting city officials to meet with them about Athens Beautification Day.
McDaniel said some senate members were concerned there would be a lack of involvement from the city in planning and funding the event, which is scheduled for April 19 this year.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="246ec7d4-33c6-11e4-bd3a-0017a43b2370"}}
McDaniel said senate eventually decided to not suggest a joint meeting.
“Ultimately, we decided before we came (back to school for fall semester) what we were going to do with that,” she said.
She said senate members would still be willing to meet with council during the spring semester if council were to suggest it, but that they had other priorities.
Isaac Smith, vice commissioner for senate’s governmental affairs committee, said in a previous Post report that in his past five years of involvement with Students Defending Students, the student organization that sponsors Student Senate, he never heard anything about city council wanting to organize a joint meeting.
Smith previously told the Post that he didn’t think there was much need for the meeting in September because ties between the city and Student Senate were fairly amicable.
Knisely said that if anything, those positive ties between the city and university should further encourage the groups to collaborate.
“If relations are less tense now, it doesn’t mean that there’s less interest (in meeting),” she said.
Knisely said it was beneficial when she and Councilman Steve Patterson, D-at large, met with senate in September as part of the Athens-OU Joint Police Advisory Council.
At that time, the Restart ticket had just gained power of senate.
“It was a great opportunity for us to see the switch with Student Senate and how they operated,” Knisely said.
Since then, there hasn’t been any correspondence between the two groups.
Ben Mathes, Student Senate’s governmental affairs commissioner, said sexual assault, theft and rental property legislation would likely be the topics senate would be interested in discussing if a meeting were to take place.
Comparatively, the city of Oxford — home to Miami University — boasts a commission that meets regularly to bolster communication between students and city officials.
Oxford councilman Bob Blackburn, who serves on the Student and Community Relations Commission, said the group meets about once a month.
The commission includes “four undergraduate students of Miami University who are members of university-recognized organizations” and a designee from the local Talawanda School District, among others.
“We’re very fortunate to have a university and to have a city that will listen,” he said.
But Blackburn also said there has never been a meeting between the entire Oxford City Council and Miami’s student government.
Kevin Krumpak, secretary for off-campus affairs at Miami University, said he would still like to see the connection between students and the city improved.
“We’re not there yet,” he said. “I don’t know if we’ll ever be there.”
Athens Councilman Kent Butler, D-1st Ward, said improving “town-and-gown” ties doesn’t have to stop at a meeting between council and Student Senate. Butler said he would like to see increased communication between the city and other university bodies like OU’s Board of Trustees.
He also said that he would like to see an increase in the city’s online presence, and would look into mobile applications the city could use to gauge feedback from students on various city issues.
“None of us operate in a bubble,” he said. “We all have an impact on each other’s lives whether we realize it or not.”
@wtperkins
wp198712@ohio.edu
