W e all remember the kid who ran for student body president back in junior high — the one who campaigned on a platform to decrease homework volume, to shorten the school day and to improve school lunches.

A year later, when students were buried beneath geometry theorems, cringing in their desks at 3:30 and eating the same mac and cheese and teeny weenies for lunch — well, their weary student government leader had certainly tried to make life better for students, right?

Student government leaders, as young and idealistic as they come, are often force-fed a healthy dose of reality not long into their terms. And it’s usually anything but sugar-coated.

Such was the case with Nathan Johnston, the first official Government of the Student Body liaison to the Ames City Council. Nine months into his position, Johnston resigned from his post, saying the demands of his job were simply too great.

“My heart is just not in it anymore,” Johnston said. “And I need to be somewhere where it is.”

Johnston should be commended for admitting his heart was no longer in the job — ISU students need a representative who is willing to give a piece of their soul to the chambers at 515 Clark Ave.

With such unpopular decrees as the over-occupancy and couch ordinances, the relationship between the Ames City Council and ISU students has been anything but warm and fuzzy. The initiative by GSB and the council to create the liaison position was a landmark effort and could possibly prevent future miscommunications. The problem is, ISU students need a leader who can put just as much time, effort and spirit into the job as the “real” members of the council.

Johnston, for whatever reasons, couldn’t.

If students want to eventually have a council member with full voting rights, the liaison needs to prove his or her dedication to the job now. Throwing in the towel after nine months of making no substantial contributions is not the way to earn the respect and admiration of fellow council members.

Wednesday, GSB senators passed a resolution to appoint a nonvoting, ex-officio member of the Ames City Council to GSB, which could open dialogue even further between the two bodies.

The initiative was championed by Matthew Goodman, the gung-ho, recently elected councilman who has indicated interest in the position.

GSB leaders need to carefully weigh their options and select a person to succeed Johnston who will match Goodman’s talent, drive and passion for improving the community, not someone who will only make pie-in-the-sky promises to students he or she can’t keep.