No topic was off-limits for students and administrators who attended Desserts with Kirkland on Tuesday afternoon.

"Our goal is to give an opportunity for students and all levels of administration to come and have an informal discussion," said Vanderbilt Student Government President Joseph Williams. "It's completely open door, no issue is off table."

A biannual event, Desserts with Kirkland allows students and administrators from various departments to be able to mingle and voice their thoughts and concerns.

VSG invited the entire administration to the event, among them the Director of Student Conduct, representatives from Traffic and Parking, and members of the Provost Office and the University Registrar.

Students at large and student leaders were given the opportunity to speak with administrators about their plans for their various clubs as well as voice any ideas or concerns they had.

Junior Caroline Lewis from the American Society of Civil Engineers attended the event to get administrations' feedback as well as recognition for the organization.

"We're hosting an engineering annual conference in May and a lot of different schools will be here to compete so we want to talk to administration about concerns we have or anything they need to know about the event," Lewis said. "I think it's a great idea to get faculty more involved in what students are doing as well as their thoughts."

For faculty, the event was a place for meeting student leaders as well as colleagues.

"This event is just a great way to intersect and interact with students and maintain ongoing open dialogue," said Assistant Vice Chancellor for Business Services Frank Gladu. "An event like this allows you to meet new people as well as reconnect with people you know. Administrators also get a chance to talk to each other and it creates a good social setting."

For Associate Provost and Dean of Students Mark Bandas, who is also one of the advisors for VSG, the event was an opportunity to meet with student leaders and find out their concerns.

"This event has been held for a number of years, and I usually come out with some good ideas from students about how to address certain problems and what students want," Bandas said. "It allows informal contact and to have non-structured discussion about issues and solutions."

According to Willams, this semester's Desserts with Kirkland had the highest
attendance rate.

"There was vibrant conversation and the widest variety of students out there. It was successful but we could always get more students," Williams said.