Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

Welcome back to Iowa State University, and greetings new freshmen! Classes, homework, quizzes and tests are starting again. This may seem a little depressing on the outside, but it also means that friends are back together, the football team is taking the field and GSB is meeting and working again! Now, granted, I may be a little more excited about this than most, but GSB has been hard at work all summer getting ready for a great year.

GSB stands for Government of the Student Body. It is a group of elected and appointed student leaders who represent and serve the students of Iowa State University. Through the collection of student fees from your tuition money, the GSB amasses a $1.2 million budget each year. This money is allocated back to students and student organizations, and used for things which, it is hoped, will make life on this campus better for students than it would have been otherwise. GSB also appoints students to many University Committees, where those students act as our voice in university decisions.

GSB has the power to focus the voices of twenty-five thousand students into a single clear message, and it has the ability to get that message out to the university, and to the people and governments of Iowa and the nation.

The Government of the Student Body has some fixing up to do this year. The students of Iowa State have always shown a remarkable amount of patience with their government. But after a year of six hour Senate meetings, political infighting, poor meeting attendance, unfilled committees and elections in triplicate, we’re all frustrated. Student government could be so much more, and do so much more for all of us.

What direction can GSB take in order to get out of the doghouse? The answer is simple. All of us need to take a more active role in our government.

I am inviting every student on this campus who has a complaint about GSB to get involved, and fix it from the inside. Criticism is valuable and necessary, but it can only do so much. If your car won’t start, pounding on the hood and yelling at it might make you feel better, but until you get under the hood and get your hands dirty, it ain’t goin’ nowhere. I encourage constructive criticism of GSB, but unless it’s coupled with some active participation, it will be like trying to shout your car into starting.

Last year, I found myself complaining more and more with every passing week about the direction GSB was taking. It got to the point where I could barely stand to listen to myself complain anymore. Then one day, instead of asking myself “What’s bad about GSB? I asked myself “What can I do about it?” That was the day I decided to run for president.

There is nothing that I have more confidence in than the intelligence and ability of students at this university. The people at this school are winners, leaders and go-getters. With students of our caliber, there is absolutely no reason why we cannot have a student government that is a source of pride. And we will, this year, starting right now, with your help.

One of our promises was to fill all of the University Committees tow which GSB appoints representatives. There are 35 such committees, with over 100 students sitting on them. They are almost never completely filled. Each time one of these seats is empty, a decision about our future is made without student input. We stand firm by our promise to fill these seats, to do it, fast, and to do it well. You may have already seen our flyers and ads asking you to get involved. Please do. Fill out an application, and bring it to the office. There is no easier way for you to have a direct influence over university decisions. There are also Senate seats open, and we are taking applications for the GSB Cabinet.

This year will be one of excitement and change, and there are hundreds of ways for you to be a part of it. You can better your skills as a leader, better your student government and meet new friends. I want to hear what you think needs to be changed in GSB. Write it on your application when you fill it out. The only thing that can stop us from having a great student government is students. If we get excited, and get involved, GSB can be everything we want it to be.

Dan Mangan, President

Government of the Student Body

Senior in Biology