With about two weeks left to decide who to vote for during the Nov. 8 East Lansing City Council election, the four candidates will meet on campus tonight to answer questions at a student-organized forum.

ASMSU is hosting the event, which is at 7 p.m. in 108 Bessey Hall. ASMSU is MSU's undergraduate student government.

Candidates include incumbents Bill Sharp and Vic Loomis, and challengers John Fournier, a political theory and constitutional democracy senior, and Kevin Beard, former East Lansing Planning Commission chairman.

There have been two other official candidate forums — both on and off campus. ASMSU's forum is aimed at students, but the event is open to nonstudents as well, said Melissa Horste, director of community affairs for ASMSU's Student Assembly.

"This is (students') opportunity to voice their opinions as a part of the community," Horste said. "Elections, in any situation, are the best way to enact some change."

There will be a student moderator, and all questions must be written down and standardized so that all candidates can answer them, she said. People can either submit their questions at the forum or beforehand via e-mail at dca@asmsu.msu.edu.

All four candidates agreed ASMSU's forum will be a good opportunity to get their messages out.

Sharp said different questions could be raised at this forum because students might have different concerns than other residents. Loomis said he looks forward to meeting with the students because they're an important part of the community.

Beard said targeting students could help them become more involved with the city.

"It's a great idea — I've long thought that many on campus were not necessarily fully in tune with what was going on in the city," Beard said. "It will raise everyone's awareness that there is an election and the issues City Council deals with have a direct effect on student life in the community."

Fournier said it seems as if students are very interested in the election.

"Students have just as much invested in this city as anybody else," he said.

But Horste said students often feel disenfranchised by the city, so this is an opportunity for them to voice their concerns and hear others' opinions.

"We need communication between the student body and the city," she said. "There needs to be some sort of understanding — even if it's a compromise — between students, East Lansing residents and City Council."

Students who aren't registered to vote should still attend the forum to learn more about the city, Horste said.

"These are things that are going to affect people, registered or not," she said. "You might not gain all this by going to City Council meetings."

Another forum will be held at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Bailey Community Center, 300 Bailey St.