Tuesday, students can cast their ballot for their USG senators and directors. Voting is open on FlashLine from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. All students can vote for the directors and for the senator for their respective college.

Last year a total of 2,309 students logged onto FlashLine to vote. While an improvement from the year before, this number is still much too low.

According to Kent State’s student body profile, more than 19,000 undergraduate students are currently enrolled at Kent State main campus. We hope to see a much higher number of students participate in the elections.

Unless the student body increases its involvement, the elections become a popularity contest. If more students cast their vote, the results will be more representative of the entire student body instead of the candidates’ friends.

Before voting, do research on your representatives. To learn more about the candidates, look at their profiles on KentWired.com. Get informed on their goals and platform.

USG is the liaison between students and the administration. It’s their job to tell university officials what students want. That makes it our job to tell our senators and directors what we want to see coming from the administration.

How can USG do what is best for the students if they don’t know what we think is best?

As a part of the university community, students should care about what is happening at the executive level.

After representatives are elected, it doesn’t stop there. Keep updated with what they are doing and stay involved. It’s their job to be your voice, so you have to tell them what you think.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.