Do the following names sound familiar? Andrew Banks, Stephen Colecchi, Dennis E. Eckart, Emilio D. Ferrara, Patrick S. Mullin, Katherine F. O’Brien, Lawrence Pollock, Jane Murphy Timken, Brian D. Tucker, Jacqueline F. Woods and Erin M. West.

But most important, do you know what they all have in common?

If your answer is positive to both questions, let us congratulate you. You are one of the few informed students on campus who is aware of the existence of the Board of Trustees and who its members are.

If your answer was negative to either one or both of the questions, we suggest you do some research on the board and the people who make it up (You can start by reading last Friday’s story titled “The Board of Trustees.”). And if you wonder why, we’ll give you some reasons:

&bull The board has the power to hire and fire Kent State’s president, professors, teachers and other employees.

&bull Trustees have a major input on how the university spends your money. They approve tuition, fees and budgets.

&bull Their decisions affect what you learn. They can change the university’s curriculum and approve the creation of new colleges, as they did in January with the College of Public Health.

&bull Granted you cannot select them – Ohio governor Ted Strickland appointed all trustees – but they should represent your interests. The board includes graduate and undergraduate student trustees, and while they are non-voting members, they can comment and ask questions.

The board will convene at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow in the George Urban Board of Trustees Conference Room, located on the second floor of the library. The meeting is open to the public, so you should consider attending it and see how decisions are made at the university.

In the end, whatever the trustees accept or reject has the potential to impact you – so it’s nice to know what’s coming. You’ll know what to expect on campus before others will. You’ll be prepared and know why the decision was made.

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