As the first week of syllabus jockeying and freshmen scurrying about with tattered campus maps comes to a close, the city of Ames would like to extend a welcoming hand to all students at Iowa State.

Mayor Ann Campbell and a number of City Council members will help host a “welcome back” event for all ISU students returning to Ames for the 2007-08 school year in front of Ames Fire Station No. 2, 132 Welch Ave., from 5 to

8 p.m. Friday.

The festivities will give those in attendance the opportunity to seek out answers to any unanswered questions they may have about Ames.

Organizers of the welcome back event, which is now in its third year, are hoping to draw a larger crowd than ever before. Susan Gwiasda, public relations officer for the city of Ames, said that while attendance is hard to track due to the in-and-out atmosphere, the best way to gauge the numbers is by the amount of free pizza consumed.

“This event has grown each year,” Gwiasda said. “Each year we have gone through more and more pizza, so that’s a pretty good estimator as to the number of students that attend. But this year we are aiming for a couple hundred.”

While the pizza, free throw contest, football toss and field goal kick may be major draws for students, Gwiasda and the rest of the city’s government is hoping to take more of an informational approach to the event.

“The Parks and Recreation Department is going to set up a hoop for a free throw contest, field goal kick contest, a football throwing contest and will offer prizes just for getting involved,” Gwiasda said. “The real reason for having the event is for students to ask the council and staff questions about living in Ames, things like rules on parties and alcohol and noise and how to be a good neighbor.”

While ISU students are a major portion of the Ames population, the city government is looking to take part in helping that population during their time in Ames.

“This is our way of saying to the students, ‘We’re glad you’re here,'” Gwiasda said. “People have a lot of questions and may not know who to go to in order to find their answers, so by doing this, we want them to know that we are here for them as a community.”

Another step the city of Ames has taken to open its arms for students is adding a student-oriented link on its Web site, www.cityofames.org. Inside the site, students can find links to utilities services, off-campus living information and rules and ordinances.

The informational aspect of the event alone should captivate some interest in the students at Iowa State that help make Ames what it is today.

Kristin Milverstedt, junior in psychology, said she feels good about the way city of Ames treats students.

“I think they treat us pretty well,” Milverstedt said. “I guess I don’t see any problem with the relationship between the city and the students.”

Brian Becker, sophomore in pre-business, said Ames needs to make the students feel welcome.

“The city is basically a large number of students, so if you don’t welcome them you’re going to lose a lot of business,” Becker said. “The police could find something better to do, but other than that, it’s a good city.”