City Councilmember Kevin Beard, whose favorite ice cream flavor is vanilla, notes that students sometimes are unaware of how their actions affect the community.

“Many students are surprised when they realize that they live in close proximity to residents and families. They don’t necessarily make that connection until they end up here. It just takes one extra loud party, and relations with your neighbors go bad,” he said.

Councilmember Beard has attended many of the ice cream socials since the tradition started.

“I make as many (ice cream socials) as I can,” he said. “I’ve been on the council since 2005, so that’s seven years, three every year … I’ve probably made about 12 or 15 of them.”

The CRC, which was started in 1999, aims to improve relations between MSU students and local East Lansing residents. Ginny Haas, director of community relations at MSU, believes that CRC is an asset to East Lansing.

“The CRC is about events like this, bringing together students and residents in a friendly, congenial environment where they can get to know each other and understand each other and see each other as the people that they are.”

Finance junior Matt Allgeier, who lives with psychology junior Jon Bauman on Kedzie Street, attended the ice cream social after receiving a flyer in the mail. Their experience with living in the neighborhoods has been positive.

“Everyone’s been on pretty good terms,” Allgeier said.

“Yeah, we’ve had no problems so far,” Baulman added.

Kevin O’Brien, who is a social relations and policy senior, is an intern at CRC. His goal for the not-for-profit organization is to help local residents.

“We’re trying to get involved as much as we can in the East Lansing neighborhoods, trying to help residents build relationships with each other,” he said.

Plans for community involvement don’t end with the ice cream social either.

We have Taste of East Lansing in the spring, so we have different events that try to bring the long-term residents and students together,” O’Brien added.