Last week, Chancellor James Oblinger had the first of a series of monthly student lunches held in his office at Holiday Hall.

According to Oblinger, the lunch slots were filled on a first come first serve basis and students could sign up on the University Web site. Each lunch has room for four students, the chancellor and his assistant, who takes notes during the discussion.

As Oblinger said in his “State of N.C. State” address, his goal is for members of the NCSU family to share their story. While listening to student concerns and issues at the lunch is one of the reasons for its implementation, allowing students to tell their story is the main aspect of the lunch.

Establishing the “Lunch with the Chancellor” on our campus is a good step toward having a Chancellor who interacts with students is in tune with our concerns.

Meeting with students in an intimate setting to discuss ideas in depth is nothing but a positive and a plus for students. However, Oblinger must remember he needs to raise his public profile with students as well.

Oblinger’s noticeable absence during movein weekend is just one example of where students have not seen their chancellor in public.

This must change; Oblinger can walk around the Brickyard and have lunch at the Atrium sometimes, instead of going to Clark.

For these lunches to have even more meaning, the chancellor should take them further and show us — the students — what was discussed, though not necessarily who said what. Oblinger should incorporate the new website design into the lunches and blog about the issues and how he is going to solve them for students after the lunch. Furthermore, he should give updates on the progress of the issues.

We realize Oblinger is a busy man. It’s his job as chancellor to be the face of this University and that requires a busy schedule. Nevertheless, more interaction with students must be a top priority.

Oblinger needs to continue to show students he is leading the way by taking action on our concerns. Seeing tangible results from the lunches will only benefit students.

If the chancellor wants to help students tell their story, as he talked about in his “State of N.C. State” address, he needs to be more proactive with our concerns. Having these lunches is a big step in the right direction in addressing student topics.