In an attempt to give short-term Ames residents — read: students — an opportunity to be involved with city government, the Ames City Council approved a motion Tuesday to shorten the term lengths of four city commissions.

Ames Mayor Ted Tedesco said amending the terms is a way for short-term residents to become involved and understand the Ames community. Tedesco came up with the idea after serving on the Commission on Improving Relations Among ISU Students, the University, the City of Ames, and the Ames Community.

Although the proposal isn’t specifically designed for students, Tedesco said he believes it will have a big impact on the ISU community.

In addition to the approved motion, a group of ISU students is gathering names for a petition that would seek to change City Council terms from four years to two. Such a change would give students a more realistic opportunity to serve on the City Council and allow them to be a voice for the student body and city government.

Roughly 460 signatures are needed to support the petition. Once that happens, the proposal will be added to a special elections ballot in April. Then it’s up to the people of Ames — 50 percent of whom are students — to approve it. With such numbers on our side, it would seem passing such a proposal would be easy to do — so long as students care enough to vote.

Therein lies the challenge.

Although the City Council did our work for us in making commission term lengths more student-friendly, it’s up to the students and their votes to make the council more accessible.

If students are serious about influencing city government, the least we can do is vote. If we ignore this opportunity, we forfeit any right to complain when the city makes decisions we don’t like.