The annual Lunch with the Mayor will take place from 11-12:30 p.m. today in Stevenson Tower Dining.

Whether it deals with the lowering of Charleston’s bar entry age, the low economy or Charleston laws, Mayor John Inyart will be on campus to answer student questions and perhaps ask a few of his own.

The lunch is organized by student government members.

At the start of the semester, Tommy Nierman, the chairman of the student external relations committee, said he wanted to help build better relations between Eastern students and the citizens of Charleston.

This lunch is a good start, Nierman said.

“We do this every year because it helps students find out more about the community,” said Nierman, a junior business management major. “(Inyart) is very down to earth; you can talk to him very casually.”

The Lunch with the Mayor meetings usually takes place in the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union Food Court.

“We figured we’d maybe be able to attract more students out in the open,” Nierman said. “It doesn’t cost anything.”

This year, Student Senate member Caleb Will was put in charge of bringing Inyart to campus.

“I met the mayor at one of the city council meetings; it was kind of nice to see them do their thing,” said Will, a freshman engineering major. “He was happy to come and talk to students if they wanted him to.”

In the past, the lunches have been met with less than expected student attendance but Nierman said he thinks the changing of the venue could help boost student numbers.

Will said he hopes 20 people show up to talk to Inyart.

“We go to this town and this school, why not get to know the mayor?” Will said. “He is a really down to earth guy.”

Nike Ogunbodede can be reached at 581-2812 or ovogunbodede@eiu.ed.