With the start of school, especially for first-year students, it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day life. The stress of homework and tests along with new activities and being away from home can easily consume the day.

With these kinds of stresses, it is easy to lose track of what is going on in the rest of the world. It is important to keep the bigger picture in mind by staying informed during one’s time on campus. Knowing current events and understanding important issues with the potential to affect others helps put everyday stresses in perspective.

Here at Iowa State, there are plenty of resources to stay up to date on any current events or issues, so much so that ISU students almost do not have an excuse to stay uninformed while they are here.

All around campus buildings, students can find newsstands filled with student publications. The Iowa State Daily and student-run magazines are great sources of information often found nowhere else.

Students can read ISU news, sports and opinion articles and columns everyday in the Iowa State Daily in print and online. Once a week in print, students can also catch up on arts and entertainment, health and nutrition and style.

In-depth feature, college lifestyle pieces and fashion advice are just a few subjects that readers can find in the many student magazines. Ethos, Uhuru, Sir and Trend are just some of the magazines students will find these types of stories in.

In addition to those publications, ISUtv, a television station, and KURE, a radio station, are both student-run broadcasts available to the entire Ames area. So take advantage of news organizations that are by students, for students.

If professional news organizations are what you’re looking for, check out the Parks Library for all sorts of newspapers and magazines. Also, all campus housing has cable so check out the morning or nightly news each day.

With all of these opportunities, students at Iowa State have no choice but to stay informed. So take an interest and know what is going on because you never know when it might affect you.