It’s been heard time and time again: “Students are not well-represented in the city.”

Several efforts have been made in an attempt to give students a heightened voice within city affairs. The latest of which was proposed at the last Ames City Council meeting, where Government of the Student Body representatives called for the creation of a city-sanctioned Student Affairs Commission to provide student input in city matters.

“This commission would help communication between the city and the university and students, and falls in line with the ‘one community’ ideal and recommendations made by the Veishea commission to create structured, long-term dialogue between the city and students,” said GSB President Angela Groh.

We at the Daily agree and applaud the efforts and intentions made by Groh and others involved with the formation of this commission. Intentions are great; however, the commission needs to show some results.

We have had an ex-officio student member on the City Council for four years now, yet many student have been asking what tangible benefits they’ve received from the position. Many are still left pondering as to what progress or advancement students have received within the city since the position was created.

A commission of students presenting a unified front is definitely better than one student voice on the council, which is why we support this commission. We agree with Groh and ex-officio City Council member Tony Borich that the commission is “a step in the right direction;” however, there are still large obstacles standing in the way of this commission being effective.

There still lies the problem of the student body as a whole not being motivated to become involved in city issues. Student input in city issues, aside from those of a vocal minority, is virtually non-existent. This is not to say students are apathetic, that debate has been had and continues to be deliberated, but the fact of the matter is students by and large do not care about city policy. If this commission is to show results and carry weight, it has to have the support it needs from students in order to be an influential commissions whose recommendations and suggestions can carry weight with the council. There has to be student involvement.

It’s not to say that students should not care about city policy, to the contrary. We’ve all seen too well how city actions affect student’s lives through enforcement of the over occupancy ordinance and passage of the couch ordinance and ban on drink buffets. The student commission has the unique position to serve as a vehicle to motivate, educate and inform students of how city policy impacts their everyday lives. It can be done, as was seen in the overwhelming student turnout at the last keg forum.

There’s also the issue as to whether the commission will be taken seriously by the City Council, or merely be paid lip service, which again gets back to the underlying issue of motivating students to get involved.

Although the commission, admittedly, is not an end-all solution, it is a first step toward improved dialogue, but does little to address the underlying issue of lacking student involvement in city affairs.