Students spoke and the administration listened.

On Oct. 29, the Government of the Student Body held an open forum hosting members of the ISU administration. Steven Leath, university president; Jonathan Wickert, senior vice president and provost; Warren Madden, senior vice president for business and finance; Miles Lackey, associate vice president and Leath’s chief of staff; and Martino Harmon, associate vice president for student affairs, all heard the concerns raised by students. But it wasn’t just a publicity stunt to make it appear like they were listening to students.

They all heard you, and they’re making changes.

Starting Dec. 8, the collaboration of Wickert, the testing center staff and GSB produced a process that they believe will solve the overcrowding and lines that come with the testing centers during Dead Week and Finals Week.

Iowa State doubled the testing center capacity on campus from 219 seats last spring to 448 this semester. The testing centers have also created incentives to get students to the newer centers that they might not be as familiar with.

The students were heard.

Students have been raising concerns about the high enrollment issue on campus for nearly two years. Crowded classrooms, sidewalks, CyRides, living situations and testing centers have been at the top of those concerns. And, on Oct. 29, the university gave students the opportunity to raise their voices directly to the people who can enact change and make the difference.

Wickert got members of Iowa State’s different colleges, GSB and the testing center staff together and made something happen. With the outstanding collaboration among these departments, students will be able to see the first visible victory against the higher enrollment issue. It is by no means the first solution to the overcrowding problem, but it is the first major change that addresses the issue that students will be able to witness firsthand.

So let’s not stop here. Utilize what the university has given us. Eight different testing centers on campus should help break up the congestion that many of us have experienced in the basement of Carver Hall. That change was driven by ISU students.

For this kind of cross-department collaboration to continue, we need to show the university we’re using the solutions and showing the administration it works. If the university continues down the path of record-breaking enrollments, it will need to continue to hold open forums to hear what the students are actually experiencing directly. In order for that to happen, students must attend these forums. For now, there isn’t a GSB open forum scheduled, but seeing as how they work for the students, attend and raise your voice. Let it be heard.

It is working. Slowly, one “victory” at a time, but it is working. The university is hearing us and that is a step in the right direction.