Would you be interested to find that the President or Vice President of the United States had been impeached? Are you aware when new laws are passed? What about at Northern Kentucky University?

Can you tell me the name of the Student Government Association President? For many people, these answers differ greatly. While I realize that comparing your university to your country may be a bit extreme, I believe there is some justification to the comparison.

During your four (or more) year tenure at Northern Kentucky University, its policies, elected officials, monetary decisions and the like should concern you. While the concerns of student government seem more transitory than the concerns of governmental affairs, the amount invested into both should be equal while you are in college.

Right now, it seems the majority of the student body doesn’t feel this way at all.

‘But I don’t have time,’ you say. Maybe you’re just too busy. Maybe events on this campus do not affect you that much because you only deign to show up for class, and not much else. Perhaps it just doesn’t interest you. Even I have been guilty of some of this reasoning at one time or another, but I have come to realize something over my years at this university: they are all excuses. Not reasons, not justifications; they are simply excuses.

It doesn’t take much time to vote in the SGA elections; it is all online, which makes it all the more convenient. If you are going to vote, I think you should have an idea of what is going on with our SGA and the candidates.

During SGA elections, you are provided with bios of all candidates that generally express a little about them as well as some of their stances on particular issues. Student Government meetings are Mondays at 3:30 p.m.

I’m not expecting you to attend every one, and maybe your schedule doesn’t allow you to attend them at all, but you can find the minutes online at http://sga.nku.edu. You can also read their updates, goals and announcements on their homepage.

If you feel that NKU has little to do with you because you are rarely on campus, think again. This group helps determine your tuition costs and other fees.

If you care about your money, you should care about SGA. It doesn’t take a lot of time to keep yourself up to date on campus goings-on, and it doesn’t have to take a lot of energy. Everything is laid out for you — which is more than you can say for our country’s politics. It is only for your benefit to participate; and if you choose not to, that is your right. But when things on campus are to your disliking, remember you will no longer have the opportunity to dispute.

Story by Heather Willoughby