The second round of controlled debate on the newly proposed student housing plan came to an end with no decisions made.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Housing Planning Committee invited students and homeowners back to city hall for another meeting on Monday. Fewer students attended than the previous meeting held on Sept. 22, according to an Oct. 6 Kernel article. This was most likely because the meeting was held at 1 p.m.

If LFUCG wants to get serious about including students in this plan, they need to reassess their methods.

After including only one student on the committee, Student Government President Ryan Smith, one would think the committee would at least set up a time that is convenient for student participation. Scheduling a meeting right in the middle of the day when most students have class does not welcome student participation. Additionally, most homeowners who work during business hours may also have similar time constraints.

It is understandable why homeowners around Lexington are upset about students living in the neighborhoods, but what other options do students have? On-campus residence halls are filled to capacity, so what is a student to do?

Pushing students farther and farther away from campus is the only objective this proposed plan will accomplish for students. Smith seems to agree.

“Pushing students farther away I don’t feel is the answer,” Smith said. “We need to embrace students and entice them to stay here after graduation.”

He also brings up a valid point concerning students staying here after graduation. UK works hard to bring in top-notch students to further their pursuit of being a top-20 university. One of the goals of the plan is to improve the health and living standards of all Kentuckians.

Kentucky will not become a better state if all of their academic talent is leaving the state upon graduation. Lexington is not opening up its arms to welcome these students with this proposed housing plan.

When a student graduates from UK and is assessing his or her job offers, several factors come into play. Salary, job benefits, hours and location of job are some of the items that contribute to the thought process.

So if it comes down to two options — living in Lexington or some other city outside of the state that is more accommodating to the needs of recent graduates — which one will the student pick? Certainly, if the student has felt hassled by the city of Lexington for his or her four years of study at UK, that may factor into the decision.

Nobody wants to live in a city where they tell you where you have to live or park — this is unreasonable.

The city of Lexington better get this plan right or else it will not only alienate students now, but will also push them away from the state in the future.