Ald. Cheryl Wollin (1st) was sued last time her name was associated with housing points.

This time, it’s doubtful any lawsuits will be brought against her.

Wollin, whose ward includes the dormitories west of Sheridan Road (except for Jones Residential College and 1835 Hinman) and much of downtown Evanston, spoke to a group of about 15 students Thursday night in the basement of Public Affairs Residential College. She told students about herself, answered questions and discussed city issues such as safety, panhandling and underage drinking.

“If you want to know what’s going on in the city, we could be here until 2 a.m.,” she said. “But I want to hear (from you).”

Associated Student Government sponsored the speech as a way for students to get more involved, said Jillian Nameth, a Weinberg sophomore and the vice-chairwoman of ASG’s external relations. PARC offered dorm munchies during the meeting, and although some students grabbed pizza and headed back to their rooms, most stayed to hear what Wollin had to say.

“We kind of wanted to show the students who come to the fireside that there are aldermen in Evanston who care about Northwestern,” Nameth said. “And she’s one of them.”

Judy Fiske, Wollin’s opponent in last year’s aldermanic election, sued NU after the election, saying the university used housing points to bribe students to vote. Students use the points in residential colleges to guarantee housing and move into better rooms.

Fiske amended the lawsuit in September to say that Wollin conspired with NU to win the election. The housing points issue dealt with a Shepard Residential College fireside held before the election and attended by both candidates.

In her speech, Wollin reminded students to lock their doors and refrain from giving money to panhandlers.

“College students have the softest hearts of anyone else in town,” she said. “You’re really not helping them by giving them your money.”

She said the city is “really serious” about the problem of underage drinking at Northwestern, especially on Dillo Day.

“People don’t like waking up and finding people passed out on their front lawns,” she said. “They call me.”

One student asked Wollin how frequently she hears complaints from residents about the actions of NU students.

“I’m always amazed at some of the antics that go on at other university towns.” Wollin said. “I’m like, we would never let that happen in Evanston.”

Much of Wollin’s speech centered on the issue of NU-Evanston relations and how Northwestern doesn’t pay property taxes under an 1855 charter by the Illinois State Legislature.

“We have a lot of things going for us and Northwestern is one of them,” she said. “But still I think it would be nice if there was some financial contribution.”

She said although NU has its own police force, it doesn’t have its own fire patrol.

“I pay my taxes and I expect fire service,” she said. “Northwestern doesn’t pay taxes and they expect fire service.”

Wollin said Evanston is a nice place to live, but its tax base is very limited.

“This is a hot place to be,” she said. “Evanston is hip. Everyone wants to be here.”

Ravi Randhava, a Weinberg sophomore, attended the meeting and said he was interested in Wollin’s speech in part because he is from Evanston.

“I realize the great contributions that NU makes to the community, but I think Alderwoman Wollin brought up some important points,” he said.

“Evanston is a large city that is not dependent on NU, and NU should support financially the community we are a part of.”

But Wollin said she remains optimistic.

“We’re both here to stay,” she said. “There’s so much we can do together.”

Reach Matt Presser at [email protected].