Last year, when funding came up for the Iowa State Public Interest Research Group in GSB, it was zero-funded, funded, funded more and then zero-funded by one vote. One of the major concerns at that time was that the group needed to prove itself a worthwhile addition to the university. Enter the New Voters Project.

In 2000, 274 people voted in precinct 3-2, home of most of the greek houses, some student apartments and some homes. In 2004, 1,070 people voted in the same area. Similar patterns are found throughout the student-heavy precincts. Although the youth vote throughout the country rose only parallel to overall turnout, here in Ames, it seems to have increased dramatically.

It seems obvious that the students of ISPIRG can take the lion’s share of credit for this. They were challenged to prove their effectiveness, and they proved it. Campus just doesn’t seem the same without being hassled three times a day about registering to vote.

And, although the New Voters Project volunteers and interns are no longer doing the hassling, they are still on campus, and they still want to get things done for Iowa State.

With GSB funding, ISPIRG would work on three major campaigns a year, each of which would be determined by students themselves. These could be about anything from recycling to renter’s rights — usually issues that are not particularly divisive issues within the student body.

The only roadblock now is funding the staff necessary to make ISPIRG work.

Ask any student from the New Voters Project why they were so successful, and he or she is likely to tell you two things — No. 1 being the sheer amount of work done by them and their peers, and No. 2 being the presence of a professional organizer to coordinate their efforts. Previous registration drives lacked organizers, and, although admirable, came up far short of this year’s results.

It is true that hiring an organizer is not free, and we appreciate the fact that GSB senators are keeping an eye on their pocketbook.

We believe the money can be found and that it would be wisely spent in support of ISPIRG. The Daily endorses the current slew of bills designed to fund ISPIRG and encourages the GSB senate to adopt them.