Megan Stibley | Reporter
Bowling Green State University students have an opportunity to get involved with the city and potentially pursue a future, with the help of a city council member.
Nick Rubando is the Bowling Green City Council member for Ward One, which encompasses the entire BGSU campus. He meets with BGSU officials, including President Rogers to work on building a “better cooperative relationship between the city and university.”
Rubando stresses the importance of student participation in order to improve this relationship.
“The more that the Bowling Green students can actually participate in city council, the more likely we are to ensure that they’re voices are heard and that we can actually help them out,” Rubando said.
Anyone with a Bowling Green address is able to vote in the city. This includes students who live in the dorms, houses or apartments within BG. Students are also able to come to the city council meetings, which are held on the first and third Mondays of every month to speak during lobby visitations.
“As a representative of the city council, you want to make sure that you’re working for everyone,” Rubando said. “This is your home when you’re here in school. I truly believe that you should be helping shape the Bowling Green community, since you’re living here.”
Currently, Rubando is working on programs for economic development, “The university is such a great university and has so many fantastic programs, but we see a lot of the times that when students graduate, they don’t stay in Bowling Green,” Rubando said. “We’re working with the city to really provide economic opportunities for students who, after when they graduate, there’s a really good pipeline of well-paying jobs that they can take advantage of here in the city.”
Rubando works with BGSU Votes to inform students and ensure that they are registered to vote. He also works with BGSU College Democrats and Young Democrats of Wood County by tabling and making sure students know that they can register to vote.
“When students are in session, they make up 50% of the population of Bowling Green,” Rubando said. “If students got together as a voting block and really decided to vote, they could sway elections in this city.”
The midterm elections are coming up this November and there are opportunities to vote for the governor of Ohio and U.S. senate candidates. Rubando said, while the elections of these candidates might not have a direct effect on Bowling Green, “the rules and the laws they make affect us here in Ohio.”
