By Andy Dahn
NORMAL – ISU students and officials from the Town of Normal gathered for the third annual Meet and Greet event Monday night.
Members of the Normal Town Council and Normal Police and Fire Departments were in attendance to introduce themselves to students and listen to concerns and opinions regarding local legislation and ordinances. Student Alex Whitmore works in the Leadership and Community Connections department, which worked with the Town of Normal to organize the event. He said programs like this allow students to make their voices heard.
“It’s a great way for ISU students to realize that they’re not just students while they’re here for two to four years, they’re also members of the Town of Normal,” Whitmore said. “We really want students to realize that they can make a difference around the community.”
Council member R.C. McBride said these types of events can serve as an important reminder of something that can sometimes be forgotten by both students and town officials.
“Everybody involved is a real, living and breathing human being,” said McBride. “The students are real people who have real concerns, they pay taxes in this community and they live here. The same goes for us. The town leadership is very interested in the needs, wants and concerns of every member of our community.”
One topic of conversation was Normal’s recent one percent sales tax increase.
“Students, like a lot of people, don’t like tax increases,” McBride said. “Nobody likes tax increases, nobody likes taxes. We all wish we could get by without paying them. But then you start explaining to the students that we really have some mental health concerns in this community, for instance. Our services and our facilities aren’t where they need to be, and that’s a public safety concern.”
McBride added that positive relationships between students and town officials can lead to more young people staying in the community after graduation. Students were able to fill out surveys at Monday’s event that asked questions like “What issues would you like to see addressed immediately in Normal?” and “What about living in Normal do you like the most?”
Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].
