Herbert eats with students at Wright

Balancing a tray loaded with onion rings, a sandwich, soup, chocolate cake and a bottle of water, IU President Adam Herbert made his way through the food court, greeting students.\nHerbert, interim Provost Michael McRobbie and several members of the IU board of trustees ate lunch with a select group of students at Wright food court Friday.\nThe lunch was organized by Residential Programs and Services officials who hoped a meeting between students and administrators might help to foster discussion. \nHerbert discussed issues including asbestos in residence halls, and told students the University is working hard to make sure all students are safe in their dorms.\nStudents said they hoped to ask the trustees questions, and raise concerns they had about student life at IU.\n"I'm not really sure what (the trustees') concerns are," senior Brian Gallagher said, "but I feel like I'll be able to voice my opinions and see what they're \nworried about."\nSenior Jessica Rudy said she raised concerns over academics.\n"(The lunch) seemed like a good opportunity to talk about IU's campus," she said. "We talked about academic standards, (and) we talked about how the campus has changed over the years."\nThe lunch was Herbert's first public appearance since the Jan. 14 board of trustees meeting where he pledged to be more visible in public.\nHerbert said the lunch was about more than just hearing concerns.\n"I wanted ... to meet some of our students, and get a feel for the kind of environment in which they are living and eating, and to learn about some of the ideas and feelings they have on their minds," he said.\nMcRobbie said the lunch was "very useful" to learn about students.\nVice Chancellor for Auxiliary Services Bruce Jacobs said the lunch put "students and the trustees together so that trustees (could) get it firsthand from students what their experience (at IU) is like"