ISU students have the chance to meet with student government leaders, as well as Ames City Council members, in a casual setting over a free lunch at the annual Meet Your Government Day.

“This event is about showing students that their student leaders and representatives are approachable people — regular students just like them,” said Evan Abramsky, senator serving in the Government of the Student Body and one of the organizers for the event.

This year’s Meet Your Government Day will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 15 on Central Campus.

GSB and the Inter-Residence Hall Association are co-sponsoring the event. GSB funded the tents and tables, and IRHA funded the 250 pepperoni, sausage and cheese Pizza Ranch pizzas, along with beverages.

“The IRHA execs have been working with us on this and also worked with us on the hugely successful Cyclone Market as well,” said Sen. Michael Plantenberg, another GSB organizer of the event. “We’ve had a great partnership this year.”

Several organizations and constituency councils, including GSB, IRHA and Student Legal Services, among others, are making themselves available for students.

Each group will have their own table and representatives while GSB, IRHA and the Ames City Council will each have two tables.

Abramsky said students can learn about the resources available to them as well as get to know those who represent them in at Iowa State and Ames during the event.

“It’s a great way for students to learn about the initiatives that affect them on and off campus,” he said. “Those [initiatives] will not only affect their academic lives but their living situations in general.”

Abramsky said that some of those initiatives could include the bike share proposal and CyRide.

“This is a chance for [government leaders] to discuss their ideas with students one-on-one and get their feedback,” Abramsky said. “This is also a great opportunity for students to voice their opinions about things they’ve seen around campus, informally complain to their representatives and in general just interact with their leaders.”

Plantenberg emphasized the importance of students knowing where and for what their money is being spent when it comes to GSB and the university.

“A lot of these students don’t know what half the stuff we [GSB] do even is,” Plantenberg said. “A lot of students don’t know they pay a student activities fee that we distribute to clubs and services. Almost no one even knows that they have two lawyers that work for them.”

Plantenberg also encouraged students to visit the GSB office in the West Student Office Space of the Memorial Union to talk to their representatives about concerns, ideas or questions they may have after the event.

“In my three years of being on GSB, I can count on one hand the number of times people have come to me about something as a student,” Plantenberg said.

Both Abramsky and Planetenberg will be at Meet Your Government Day for the entirety of the event if students wish to speak with them.