Normally, a mass e-mail from the president of the Government of the Student Body is a bad sign. GSB needs your help. Senate seats are open. Committees need people to sit on them. Same ol’, same ol’. Something needs done, and they have nobody to do it.

So when GSB President Daniel Fischer sent out a mass e-mail last week presenting “leadership opportunities” to the student body, the situation didn’t bode well. Neither did a further glance at the e-mail: several open committee seats, five open senate seats and critical vacancies in the executive branch — election commissioner and City Council liaison.

No way. Wasn’t gonna work. This editorial board was fully ready to take Fischer and Vice President Maggie Luttrell to task for not getting these positions filled, especially the City Council liaison, one of the too-few touch points the student body has with the movers and shakers of Ames proper.

So, color us surprised and optimistic when Luttrell has good news: If all goes according to plan, by next Wednesday’s GSB meeting, four of the five senate seats will be filled and a new City Council liaison will be appointed. In addition, Luttrell said that most, if not all, of the committee spots GSB had been looking to fill had appointees and that she and Fischer had received multiple applications for election commissioner.

Well, that changes things. And that’s awesome. Kudos to Fischer, Luttrell and the rest of the executive branch for getting this accomplished. And even more kudos to the students who are stepping up and taking these leadership positions — these are low-visibility and oftentimes frustrating jobs. We hope you accomplish what you set out to do (which is hopefully more than fluffing your resume).

Of course, getting people in these positions is only the first battle of the war. Then come the tasks of efficient GSB meetings, reaching out to constituents, attending, giving input and make a difference at City Council meetings — the real meat of these jobs. Even something as innocuous-sounding as election commissioner needs to be appointed as early as possible, lest there be a question of the veracity of the election come ballot time, as there was two elections ago.

Still, this is an important step. These new senators and appointees will have some catching up to do — “As far as I’m concerned, yes, we have lost some ground, but we’re ready to pick it right back up,” says Luttrell — but there’s plenty of time. Above all, we’re glad this is being addressed now and not later, not next month — and definitely not next spring.