Simpson College has plans for C Street and on Nov. 9 students could have an impact by voting in the city council elections.

For a while now, Simpson has been talking about purchasing the section of C Street between Girard and Clinton. The plan would then be to turn it into a campus plaza area for students to gather.

The idea has gained some opposition in the community due to problems with traffic patterns and citizens not wanting students parking their cars in front of their houses.

Ultimately, whether or not this project will happen lies in the hands of the City Council. This is where Simpson students can play a role in making this happen or not.

“It’s extremely important for students to vote they’re an extensions of our city” said Eric Mathieu, one of the city council candidates.

There are three seats open in this year’s city council elections. Ward one, ward three, and one of the at large seats are up for re-election.

The candidates for ward one are incumbent Randy Gathers and John Parker Jr. Up for election in ward three is incumbent Shirley Clark and Eric Mathieu. At large has three candidates running, incumbent Mark Vickroy, Darwin Curl Jr. and Greg Marchant.

Four of the seven candidates were contacted and gave their thoughts about Simpson’s plans for C Street.

Ward one candidate Gathers is in favor of what Simpson’s plans.

“I don’t know why Simpson hasn’t done this earlier” said Parker.

One of the main complaints about this is traffic patterns and how people will get north. Both candidates Gathers and Marchant would like to find ways to make it work.

“As a council member I would have us look into changing the patterns of other streets like Buxton and D Street” said Marchant.

Candidate Mathieu has been able to talk to President John Byrd about Simpson’s plans to renovate C Street.

“If it makes sense for the community and makes sense for Simpson College I will support it” he says.

Clark said she would like to see more discussion about it between the school and the community before she made a decision about C Street.

Rich Ramos, assistant dean of students, feels it is important for students to take part in the city elections.

“The city council makes decisions that affect students here at Simpson because they are a part of the community. By voting you can affect your experience here at Simpson,” said Ramos.

Any Simpson students that are eligible may vote in this election. If students aren’t registered in Warren County it is very easy to get voter registration switched over.

To switch your registration all you have to do is to the auditor’s office at the Warren County Administration building. The pre-registration deadline for this election is Oct. 28.

You can still switch your registration to Warren County by doing an Election Day registration. To do this however you have to be able to present two kind of identification, one of them having to be photo identification.

By voting in this election Simpson College students could have a big impact in the community. This goes farther than just the C Street proposal. There are many other issues that may affect students in the future.

“This is where you spend four years of your life you should know what’s going on and get involved in the community,” Ramos said.