When a group of city officials, university administration and Evanston residents met Thursday to discuss student safety and behavior, there was only one minor detail missing from the meeting: students.

“Students are very busy studying,” said Eugene Sunshine, Northwestern’s vice president for business and finance. “I know they have a lot of things to do and it’s not surprising that there weren’t more students.”

Established in the fall, the city-university task force was originally touted as a way to ease communication between the university and city. But without adequate student input, the task force is just another venue for angry residents to spout venom at students and for city officials and university officials to smooth over political differences.

“I think it showed a lot of dedication to resolve the issues plaguing city-university relations,” said Erica Futterman, a Medill sophomore who was there only to cover the event for a class. “But it distressed me how residents want to believe and perpetuate stereotypes (of students).”

Without students there to defend themselves against misinformed and ignorant attacks, Futterman was forced to step out of her role as a journalist covering the event for a class and speak out as a student, according to Medill sophomore Torrey Kleinman.

With administrative bigwigs from both sides — including four aldermen, Sunshine and representatives from both University Police and the Evanston Police Department — it is ridiculous to imagine that not a single student outside of a class assignment was there.

“I think we didn’t notify them,” said Cate Whitcomb, assistant to the vice president for student affairs. “It was simply oversight. We didn’t think students were that interested.”

Frigid temperatures and busy midterm schedules were also factors contributing to the lack of student representation, said Lucile Krasnow, special assistant for community relations.

But weather is a poor excuse. If students ever hope to combat the negative stereotypes and make a gesture of friendship toward Evanston, we cannot do it by sitting at home and whining about how much we hate the city. We can’t allow administrators and city officials to expect us not to be there because we are too “busy.”

At the meeting Ald. Arthur Newman (1st) opened by thanking Sunshine for attending the meeting “because it indicates the seriousness of the university’s concern.”

Sunshine’s presence may have helped elevate the importance of the meeting, but this meeting was about student safety, student discipline and student behavior. And it doesn’t make sense without students.

“I think it’s really important for students to realize we want you to be part of our community and we want you to be safe,” Evanston resident Jane Evans said at the meeting.

Still students have an opportunity make up for the loss.

The city-university task force plans to meet again in the spring, prior to Dillo Day activities. This time students should take advantage of the good weather and swing by the Evanston Civic Center, 2100 Ridge Ave. to prove that not all students are marching around the city in druken mobs vandalizing neighborhoods and terrorizing kittens.

“This is something that will affect the policies toward us and the treatment we’re getting from residents,” said Futterman, adding that she plans to attend the next meeting as a member of the student community to ensure at least some student representation.

In addition, university officials should publicize the event on Plan-It Purple. It’s counter-intuitive to call it a city-university task force and ignore those still here at the end of the work day.

“What needs to be permanent is a good open degree of communication between the city and the university,” Sunshine said.

Indeed, but that line of communication is futile without student participation.

Deputy City Editor Malavika Jagannathan is a Medill junior. She can be reached at [email protected]. The Daily’s Kristin Barrett contributed to this report.

Wednesday’s City Watch column misattributed information about last week’s city-university task force meeting. Erica Futterman was forced to step out of her role as a journalist covering the event for her class to speak out as a student, according to Medill sophomore Torrey Kleinman, who also was there for class. The Daily regrets the error.