Our university faces an array of problems affecting the students. These problems include hundreds of students unable to find housing, wifi congestion, students getting run over by people on bikes, being packed on CyRide like sardines in a can, taking weeks to be able to see a doctor, and having to wait in line for hours at the testing centers.

We have excellent candidates all wanting to make a difference and fix these issues. And yet, year after year, the voter turnout seems to dwindle lower and lower. Last year, voter turnout was at a meer eight percent. With the GSB managing more than $2 million every year for more than 34,000 students, we need more students to go online and vote to have their voices heard. And with reapportionment going on in the senate, we’re looking at having more than a dozen empty senate seats.

This leads to people who may not take the job seriously or who will be focused only on their own interests getting elected by default. That’s a major problem. We need to have more people running and voting to make getting on the senate more competitive to ensure that we elect the best students for the job. So if you want to help the university in even just a small way, go online and read up on all of the candidates’ platforms and the issues. Then, on March 3 and 4, go online to vote.iastate.edu and make your voice heard.