Student Senate and Grand Forks City Council held a meet and greet Monday in the lobby of City Hall to break the ice before their formal meeting this Sunday, when they will discuss building a better relationship between students and the community.

Though this was an informal meeting, there was some talk about what to expect when they meet next.

One problem that has been on people’s minds is lack of communication between the city and students, with UND administrators often serving as an intermediary — something Student Senate and the City Council are trying to correct.

“As students, there’s a lot more caliber in that bullet,” State Governmental Affairs Commissioner Jon Knutson said about direct communication between students and the council.

Knutson spoke about the lack of things to do for students in Grand Forks, mentioning that alcohol often fills this void, and how through meeting with the City Council they could possibly make Grand Forks more hospitable for students.

“It’s more about generating events,” Knutson said.

Part of building a relationship with the city involves local businesses.

“We’re trying to increase the relationships between businesses,” Student Body President Tanner Franklin said.

The hope is that through building a relationship, students can become more involved in the community.

Pete Haga, Communications Officer for the city, was present and in agreement with Franklin and Knutson that there needs to be more communication between students and the community.

“We try to have the official meetings once or twice a year,” Haga said before going on to explain that in the past, both parties would try to meet more often but plans would fall through.

Some of this may be remedied when the two groups meet on campus this Sunday to hold more in-depth discussions of the city’s relationship with students and potential changes in laws surrounding alcohol consumption.

“There’s going to be a couple big things to talk about,” Haga said.

Jamie Hutchinson is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].