The spring semester always seems to be over nearly before it’s really begun. With two weeks of classes in the books, it’s already time to set the winter months aside and consider fall 2005.

That means Government of the Student Body elections.

Like the end of your lease, they’re coming up a lot more quickly than you think.

This is usually where we decry the lack of competition each year for senate seats (only one had a race last year) and implore intelligent and well-meaning students to consider a run for the executive office.

Time enough to examine all that later. For now, it’s sufficient for us to point out why GSB is important and why this spring’s elections are important.

A single person can get a lot of others talking around Iowa State, and a small group can raise quite a stink. But the GSB name really does make a difference when it comes to actually accomplishing something, particularly when it involves the university bureaucracy.

The rules that govern ISU students aren’t made democratically. If Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs, and the people who comprise his division don’t want to listen to what students have to say, they really don’t have to.

Fortunately, that isn’t the situation. For the most part, somebody with a grievance can walk into Beardshear Hall any time and expect somebody else to at least consider that complaint briefly; in other words, we don’t think it’s common that people with problems and questions are laughed out of the room.

With that said, it only makes sense that GSB members have the ears of people with real power all the more than do Joe or Jill Student. The senators, cabinet members and executives serve on, for instance, fee committees (read: money out of your pocket) and do get more of administrators’ and legislators’ time than others usually do (whether those decision makers listen is another matter, but we digress).

To sum up: If you have a problem with Iowa State, GSB is among the best ways to change it.

Here’s how. If you want to run for one of 38 senate seats or for the presidency/ vice-presidency, you should stop at the East Student Office Space of the Memorial Union and ask for the relevant election material (it’s not too intimidating).

The “General Election Cycle” starts a week from Monday, with the first events being a series of candidate seminars Tuesday through Friday of that week. You need to attend one if you’re going to run for office.

Elections start March 7 — 45 short days away.