Sometimes great ideas go down in flames. That it was a great idea doesn’t make the crash any less devastating.

And such seems the probable outcome of the resignation of a Government of the Student Body cabinet member two weeks ago. The job — director of regent relations — was new this year. GSB leadership said they had hoped the position would make for more efficient communication among the three state university student governments and with the Board of Regents.

That makes a lot of sense. Working together (and sharing resources) on issues of common interest could only work out well for the student governments — and the students.

And having a person dedicated to this task of cooperating with other schools and talking with regents — that makes sense too. A job that can be put off from day to day in favor of seemingly more urgent matters, isn’t a good job for swamped GSB senators and executives. It needs to be a separate person’s top priority.

Another advantage of a regent relations director: continuity. Personal familiarity makes a tremendous difference in any business relationship, but the nature of college all but prevents a continuous body such as the regents from making any kind of connection with a here-today, gone-tomorrow GSB.

Of course, the resignation of Kevin Roepke from the cabinet spot is a direct blow to creating that continuity. William Rock, the GSB vice president, said Roepke had been saddled with a lot of work because the University of Iowa and University of Northern Iowa governments didn’t want to take the same formal approach the regents relationship as GSB.

That may well be — there were probably a million good reasons for Roepke not to continue in the job. We’re not saying there’s anything out of line here.

But whether this choice made logical sense is really secondary to another concern — the perception of the empty cabinet seat just weeks after its institution.

And it looks like just another example of students not caring enough to commit.

Two highly visible student posts — and posts specifically created to provide some continuity to a non-ISU governmental body — have been abandoned suddenly during this calendar year. Roepke’s resignation follows the sudden January departure of the GSB ex officio member of the Ames City Council because his “heart is just not in it anymore.”

Nobody is begrudging these students the privilege of enjoying their work. But when Ames and Iowa are watching, not having commitment to these jobs means one step forward, two step back when it comes to addressing students’ problems.