The importance of communication between students and administration was a topic stressed by attendees of the Chancellors Roundtable discussion Wednesday afternoon in Davies Center.

Student Senate Vice President Kelly Witkowski started off the discussion by talking about the relationship the university has with the Eau Claire Transit System, and the university’s proposals to include Thursday, Friday and Saturday night bus services to campus.

Witkowski listed the benefits of having increased bus system coverage to campus, and what it would mean to students living on and off campus.

The bus services discussion with the city is intended to allow students the opportunity to do more activities throughout the city on weekend nights. This would give them the chance to go to Oakwood Mall to shop on weekends, without having to worry about catching the last bus in the afternoon, she said.

The discussion then shifted to discussing the student body’s relationship with off campus organizations, particularly city organizations in prime student neighborhoods. This includes their involvement in two city groups, namely the Third Ward Neighborhood Association and the Randall Park Neighborhood Association.

Student senators expressed the need for students to be involved in these groups, because the two neighborhoods have large student populations.

Through active involvement by student residents of these districts, it is easier to make clear decisions that both homeowners and students can be satisfied with.

Another issue discussed was parking on city streets by students. The city of Eau Claire does not allow cars to be parked on streets for an extended period of time.

To help stop that from happening, Senate is considering a mass mailing to all on campus students to let them know that their vehicle could be towed in the future.

Evidence of improving student involvement with the city of Eau Claire is shown in the city’s recent decision to allow all on campus students to vote in the Davies Center, rather than in previous elections when lower campus residents had to walk to the Masonic Hall to vote, Chancellor Donald Mash said.

Another topic of discussion involved a question of ethics created when The Spectator ran an ad for a Big Wu concert that was held in Eau Claire.

The Spectator ran the ad for free and in return, the newspaper received 35 free tickets to the show. The Spectator kept a majority of the tickets for its staff, and only four reached the general student population.

The discussion at the meeting concerned the administration’s reaction to the issue.

Other than this being an opportunity for The Spectator to review their policies on this kind of an issue, this is solely a student-based issue and administration is completely neutral on the topic, was the consensus of staff present.

The meeting ended by wrapping up some key points and talking about the good level of discussion and interaction that exists between students and the administration at these meetings, and encouragement to continue to improve relationships beyond what they are.

“Personally, I’ve been very impressed with the level of communication with our students among all of our administrative staff and faculty,” Mash said. “It makes us a better university.”