The Student Senate will participate in Charleston’s Oktoberfest in an effort to bring the campus and the city closer together.

A senate subcommittee represented Eastern during a meeting with local business owners on the Uptown Committee to develop activities in which the university could participate and involve its visitors, as well.

The festival, which occurs on Oct. 27, the Saturday of Family Weekend, gives the senate an opportunity to provide students and parents with an activity off-campus and allows for local business to get their names seen on campus.

“We want it to be a door that swings both ways,” said Marty Ruhaak, chair of the External Relations Committee. “We want to get the campus more involved with the town, and get the town more publicized around campus.”

The meeting with the Uptown Committee had four delegates from Eastern, including Ruhaak, Ronnie Deedrick of the senate’s student relations committee, Kristen Wooden of the diversity affairs committee and Reed Benedict of the External Relations Committee.

“All of the business owners were excited to see us and were very supportive of us being there,” Ruhaak said.

Oktoberfest already consists of several activities on the Square, including a beer tent and live music, so the senate plans to hold something to keep people uptown, like a raffle or bingo.

“We are going talk to RSOs (Recognized Student Organizations) about donating prizes to get their name out, and see if they want to help out with preparations,” Ruhaak said.

He hopes this will be a large step in bridging the gap between the campus and the town.

“If we do a raffle, tickets will be sold on campus, and hopefully we can get all the people to head down to the Square after the foot ball game,” he said.