The Veishea commission will plan for public forums and focus groups with the Ames community and ISU students during its seventh meeting Monday night.

According to the Veishea Commission on Improving Relations Among Iowa State University Students, the University, the City of Ames, and the Ames Community Web site, these plans are intended to set a course for improving ISU-Ames relations in the wake of the Veishea riot April 18 in Campustown.

The meeting plans will be discussed at Monday’s meeting.

Bob Kindred, co-chairman of the commission and assistant city manager, said at least one of the public forums will be held on campus and students will also be included in the focus groups.

“Each meeting of the commission is centered on creating better relations between all members of the community, including students,” Kindred said. “The commission is working to define the ideal community, where student and permanent resident co-exist in a respectful way.”

William Rock, commission co-chairman and Government of the Student Body vice president, said that at these forums and focus groups, students and Ames residents will be asked questions including what they like about the Ames community, what they dislike and how they think Ames could be a more ideal place to live.

A subgroup of the commission will also discuss what the Ames community should look like.

“How to get to [a better community] would be the same way we would build better relations,” Rock said. “We’re reverse engineering.”

The commission, which formed last spring, will have four more meetings before reporting its findings to ISU President Gregory Geoffroy by Nov. 30.

When the commission was created, Geoffroy said its task of strengthening the ISU-Ames relationship was necessary and that he could potentially extend the commission’s work beyond the deadline.

According to the minutes of past meetings, the commission’s discussions have included alcohol use on campus, zoning issues off campus and how other universities have handled riot situations.

Laura Bestler-Wilcox, commission co-chairwoman, encouraged students to attend the commission’s meetings.

“Students need to know that they are part of the community,” Bestler-Wilcox said. “We welcome anybody to be part of the meeting.”

The Veishea commission meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at the Union Drive Community Center in room 136.