Government of the Student Body hosted an open forum yesterday with Vice President of Student Affairs Tom Hill to gather student input as to how the university should respond to the $24.5 million cut in state appropriations.

About 13 students showed up. And to be fair, about half of those were at the meeting on behalf of GSB or the Iowa State Daily.

Sure, it’s a fair complaint that you don’t know what is at stake. If the university told you that your favorite professor, program or activity is on the line, you might take a more active interest.

The university hasn’t been totally transparent throughout this process. It’s hard to give feedback about potential cuts if you don’t know what the potential cuts are.

That said, maybe administrators are right to keep some conversations behind closed doors. We’d hate to see an initial proposal result in lobbying and infighting. And sometimes each segment of campus sees only what is in its own interest, not the long view — not how cuts to programs today could hurt Iowa State University in 2025, or 2050.

But there are people who do hold that long view — the administration — and for the most part, we believe that they hold students’ interests at heart.

Vice President Hill said at the open forum that if staff furloughs are required, the time cut will likely be non-teaching hours. He stated that if the university is forced to cut programs, it will allow current students to finish their degree programs. And he stated his belief that an Iowa State degree is not just as an education, but an experience … full of student activities and learning activities outside of the classroom.

But the fact is that we won’t know until President Geoffroy presents before the Regents on Thursday. By then, it could be a done deal.

So if you’ve got thoughts, now is the time.

It’s not quite a “speak now or forever hold your peace,” moment, but it’s close. Once the cuts are made, it’s pretty much final. You can hold a sit in, or you can advocate to remove the decision-makers from their positions, but the likelihood of reversing the decision isn’t good.

Recognize that if you don’t step up to have your say, they’re going to make decisions that you might not like.

If you want to have your say, there are still plenty of opportunities. E-mail your thoughts to [email protected], stop by administrators’ offices, go to Wednesday’s GSB meeting or even make the trek to Cedar Falls on Thursday for the Regents’ meeting. Let them know what pieces of our institution make you proud to be an Iowa Stater, why you fell in love with this university and what in your academic or student life you couldn’t do without.