As sunny, 70-degree days and April showers tease us into spring, the grass and trees on campus are not the only things to undergo a refreshing rebirth. Each year the terms of the current officers of the Government of the Student Body change. On April 8, 2013, the new president, vice president and members of the Senate were inaugurated. As Spencer Hughes, Hillary Kletscher and all the senators seek to act upon their oaths of office, they would do well to remember not that they are involved with GSB to serve students, or to gain leadership experience, or anything with which any number of other people have charged them. For advice there, they have only to recall the speech that Dr. Tom Hill, the senior vice president for student affairs, gave that night. 

It is our opinion that, as the new cadre of GSB members puts together legislation and initiatives, they ought to remember that their taking office in the spring corresponds to a completely symbolic, timeless idea.

In brief, we are born, we grow and we die. We go into things such as offices (including those of GSB), and make them our own. As we do, we take the material that we have inherited from our predecessors and adapt it to the needs of our own time and to the ambitions we hold. The same goes for our successors. Growth and decay coexist in the world.

That is part of why the Hughes-Kletscher campaign’s violation of an election commission rule prohibition on sending emails 24 hours or less before the polls open for GSB elections is concerning, but not entirely alarming. At this point it is what it is, and although the beginning is inauspicious, few beginnings are perfect.

All years hold immense, innumerable opportunities for action and improvement. This year is no different. But beyond that platitude, the opportunities for the officers of GSB to act on students’ behalf is objectively increasing. Enrollment is expected to grow. A larger student body means that more services are necessary. This year, one example of increased needs that were met is the addition of new articulated, or “bendy” buses to the CyRide system.

If the residence hall situation is anything like it was last year and the year before that, however, the expansion in Frederiksen Court will not meet demand. Additionally, it seems that even the sidewalks are not large enough to handle traffic. A few years ago, the grass along the sidewalks was not trodden down into dirt, but now we cannot help but notice the well-worn paths of dirt about a foot wide on either side of some sidewalks.

A larger student body also has larger, more varied interests. Iowa State already has more than 800 clubs and, although the amount of student fees collected will increase due to the increased number of students paying the fees, requests undoubtedly will continue to rise.

Little in the above list is actually new. As those and other concerns are addressed, however, success and civility require the addition of a perspective that understands that April is the beginning, not the end. April 2014 seems like a long way off and it will come fast, but remembering that everyone is still learning might make the next year more peaceful.