Ex-officio representative on the Ames City Council Sam Schulte is hoping to help more ISU students throw their hat in the ring for input when it comes to measures involving the city of Ames.

Schulte, senior in biochemistry, represents the student perspective as a non-voting member serving on City Council. He is involved with the council to weigh in on city topics especially relevant to the student population.

One of his main goals for the year was to activate a commission made up of students and university and community members to integrate ISU students into the Ames community and to provide more university-related input to the council.

The Student Affairs Commission, according to city documents, was a joint commission established in 2008 and was made up of 15 members. The group lost its presence over the years, and Schulte said he had not known the commission to be active since his time in Student Government.

We think reinventing a commission to further improve the town and gown relationship between Ames and Iowa State is an excellent idea.

After all, ISU students make up about half of the Ames population, so they should have voice in the conversation.

Decisions made by City Council have the potential to greatly impact the students and employees of Iowa State, and any chance to have more ISU community members consistently provide input would be valuable.

One example Schulte listed was that of overnight parking in Campustown, where two different campus affiliates submitted different proposed solutions. If a commission had been in place, Schulte told The Daily, the two organizations could have joined forces to come up with a more solid suggestion.

Such a commission could also help dive into topics such as: neighborhoods where Ames residents and ISU students are neighbors; CyRide; city and business ordinances; parking and more. Such a commission can also create a bridge from the Ames community to the ISU community, providing another avenue for Ames to get involved with campus.

The council has said it wants ISU administration to approve the plan for a commission before implementing. We would hope Iowa State sees value in this idea.

While it is extremely valuable to have a member of Student Government dedicated to providing a university perspective to City Council, a small group from different areas of campus would also prove helpful. Schulte is smart to have initiated the discussion with every council member, asking for their input and sharing with them his ideas to improve the relationship between Ames and Iowa State.