College students have been a popular talking point in the election race to fill a Ward 2 seat on the city council.Town-gown issues have emerged as a subject of interest in the contest between Progressive Jane Knodell and Democrat Emily Lee, and each candidate has pledged to take action on the matter if elected.Knodell, a former provost and a current professor of economics at the University, is hoping to add at least one more term to the seven she has already served, most recently in 2009.Lee, a vice president at bank firm Merrill Lynch, is a newcomer to the local political scene, but has proven herself an effective grassroots organizer.Ward 2one of Burlingtons seven electoral districtsis home to an estimated 46 percent of the Universitys off campus student population, according to campus planning services.Both candidates agreed that improving the quality of life in the residential neighborhoods requires the construction of new student housing.But the location of this proposed housing is where their opinions diverge.Lee said she believes it is the Universitys responsibility to take the lead in building new student housing and would ideally like to see it on campus.But wherever its location, Lee said that student appeal is imperative, which has led to her stance on repealing the dry campus policy.The reason that nobody wants to live on campus is because its a dry campus, she said.Knodell, on the other hand, said she believes housing more students on campus would increase the issue of walk-by noise and lead to complaints.What would [on campus housing] do? she said. That would just make the walk-by noise problemwhich is the hardest problem to solve in our neighborhoodsa thousand times worse.She said she supports stronger noise ordinance fines with hope that it could decrease the noise problem downtown.Max Tracy, Progressive city councilor and Knodells campaign manager, said he thinks Knodells past experience on the council leaves her more familiar with the neighborhood than Lee is, according to a Seven Days article.Lee said she thinks that although noise in the downtown area is a problem, the fault does not land on students.She also said she thinks short-term solutions, such as noise violations, are not the best way to solve the problem.Youre not the problem, Lee said of students, The problem is that you have nowhere to live and youre living in a house that has group quarters and a huge basement for partying.Residents of Ward 2 can vote on their city council member at the Integrated Arts Academy March 5.