At its meeting last Wednesday, the Government of the Student Body voted to spend $125,000 to build an indoor shelter for commuter students in the Iowa State Center parking lot.

Although this move has received criticism from senators and letter-writers alike, it was one of the best things GSB has done in a long time.

Too often, it seems like our student leaders on GSB are much more concerned with engaging in petty squabbles among themselves and grandstanding at meetings than actually accomplishing anything.

Just take a look at a recent agenda, and you get an idea of what GSB senators typically like to spend their time discussing.

A bill introduced last Wednesday would outlaw hats at GSB meetings for senators and gallery members.

Excuse me, Mrs. First-Grade Teacher, can I go to the bathroom?

But with the bus shelter bill, GSB has finally done something that students can actually care about.

For once, they used their enormous budget not to exercise leverage, but to help students.

This is the most tangible product of GSB’s labor in years.

And the fact is, commuter students actually do need some sort of shelter. Those of you who have ever taken the Orange Route between November and February know that parking lot can easily turn into an arctic tundra after two or three minutes of exposure.

It’s gratifying to see the campus’ student representatives reaching out to a section of the student body that customarily does not get much attention.

Sure, the price tag for the shelter seems a little high. It seems like a lot of money to spend on a building that could essentially be four pieces of tin, some insulation and a nice pad of concrete.

But GSB finance director Jeremy Williams said the money for the shelter will be coming out of the Special Projects Account, a fund that in Williams’ estimation holds about $200,000 and has not been touched in several years.

So, hey, all you students out there complaining that GSB is wasting your money, put a sock in it. You’ve already paid the price tag — you just haven’t been getting anything in return.

It’s hard to tell if this move is indicative of a newly turned senatorial leaf or if it is just a fluke.

Whatever the case, now is not the time to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Whining now that the GSB senators spent the cash in the wrong place will just discourage them from ever doing anything of import again.

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Iowa State Daily Editorial Board: Sara Ziegler, Greg Jerrett, Kate Kompas, Carrie Tett and David Roepke.