Here we are: Back from the oh-so-fast spring break with a half semester left to go.

Just like any other semester, it seems like it has flown by. My term as Undergraduate Student Senate executive director is approaching its end, and I’m gearing up toward May when I get my diploma and move on. Sometimes I cannot believe how fast this year has come and gone. Before I go, I need to make sure I’m leaving things in good shape for my successors. I want them to come into their positions excited, ready and willing to work for the issues and students they care about.

Yet, that is difficult to do when campus life is so lackluster. I see it everywhere, and its getting worse and worse every year. The Stater has to beg for letters and guest columns, USS only had 1,295 students bother to vote in our elections, events are not well attended — the list continues. I hear this problem talked about all over the halls of the student center among students and staff alike.

So, I am asking you: What is the problem? Is it publicity, or is it the events themselves? Maybe you just don’t care, but whatever it is, it needs fixed. Remember, you are paying for my tuition break. You are paying for athletic events and hundreds of programs put on every year. Your money goes to office supplies for student organizations that cannot even fill their meetings. As the saying goes: You get out of it what you put into it.

If you think it’s time to invest a little more in your Kent State community, then do not let another day pass you by. Even though elections are over, you can still apply for Undergraduate Student Government’s new Programming Committee. This group brings the big acts to campus — and gets compensated while doing it. The USG Allocation Committee has applications out for next year too, which is another compensated position. Both of which also look great on a resume and give you a lot of valuable experience.

I know some of you simply do not have time for this. Still, it would be enough just to support your school by checking out some programs happening on campus this spring, join an intramural sport or look into a club you have always been curious about. If there is something you are interested in, shoot me an e-mail and I will get you connected. I hope you all make the most of your money and time here at Kent before you are graduating and wondering how the last few years have gone by so fast.

Katie Hale is the executive director of Undergraduate Student Senate. Contact her at [email protected].