As part of the city of East Lansing’s centennial celebration, a discussion was held on “The Future of a University Community.” One of the panelists, Lou Glazer, the president of Michigan Future Inc. talked about the pivotal role that preparing, retaining and attaching young talent to a community plays in its success. I hope that members of the City Council were listening to Mr. Glazer’s message, because all too often they don’t seem to value the contributions of students and young professionals.

I know of one council candidate who understands that students should be treated as an asset to East Lansing and as potential future residents and not a troublesome population to be reluctantly tolerated: Nathan Triplett. He is exactly the kind of leader that Glazer was talking about. Triplett understands the importance of making East Lansing a place that young professionals want to live in. He understands the need for balanced housing options and multi-use development. He understands that keeping talent in this community is the only way to grow our local economy. If East Lansing wants to prosper in its next 100 years it is going to need leader like Triplett.