It’s inevitable.

We all know it’s going to happen every fall. We’re never surprised anymore when it happens. We hate it, but we expect it.

No, we’re not talking about crows returning to the Iowa State campus.

We’re talking about the tuition increase.

Every year, the Board of Regents announces next year’s tuition.

And every year, it goes up. And up.

This year, the Board of Regents office has recommended a 4.3 percent tuition increase, meaning that in-state students would pay $128 more next year and out-of-state students would pay $410 more.

Government of the Student Body members, in their efforts to be the voice of the average student, will lobby the board members today to lower the increase. One of the senators’ primary concerns is the effect the tuition increase could have on ISU students from agricultural backgrounds, who are experiencing an economy crisis.

The senators make a good point. Students from farms and agricultural communities probably will suffer if the tuition continues to go up at the current rate.

But ag students aren’t the only ones.

All students are affected by the constant tuition increases. We all came to school thinking we were going to pay a set rate, but we always end up coughing up more and more each year.

And once we do cough up the extra money, we rarely know where it’s actually going. It disappears into the endless money pit that is Iowa State University.

But have we done anything about it?

No.

It’s great that GSB is going to lobby the regents on our behalf. It’s important for them to do that, since we rely on them to be liaisons to ISU’s administration and to all education higher-ups.

But we as students need to take some initiative, too.

We need to let the regents know that we value our money, and we don’t want all of it going to this university.

Two years ago, when then-GSB President Rob Wiese lobbied against the Board of Regents’ 3.9 percent tuition increase, he said something that struck a chord.

Wiese said that ISU students need to fight against constant tuition increases, or they will just keep snowballing.

He was right then, as evidenced by the snowballing tuition increases in the past few years.

He will continue to be right, as long as students take the increases lying down.

Unless students make their voices heard on this year’s increase, tuition will just get higher.

And higher.

And higher.

Ad infinitum.

Ad astra.

Ad nauseum.