$108,517.50.

That’s a back-of-a-napkin estimate of how much money new freshmen will pay this year to fund the Student Government and the Student Media. To offer some perspective, in just this one year incoming freshmen will pay the equivalent of 30+ years of tuition for a full-time undergraduate student.

In a nutshell, that’s a lot of money. And every year, thousands of freshmen miss out on having their voices heard on how it should be spent.

Now’s your chance to step up.

When it comes to politics out there in the “real world,” few things annoy us more than politicians who talk big but act small. We’re exposed to it so often we become preconditioned to accept it, from the common brush-off “I’ll look into that” to the melodramatic, lip-biting “I feel your pain.” So it’s disappointing when those same people who get pissed at politicians for their indifference then act just like them when they start their academic careers here at N.C. State.

In general, you’ve got three groups of students at this University (with some overlap in between): those who believe in the importance of an independent Student Government, those who believe in the importance of an independent Student Media — and ankle biters who spend their time complaining about both but offer nothing to improve either. Whatever their reasoning or motivations, most of those folks suffer under the delusion that the best way to fix the problems they have with the University is to gripe about them to their circle of friends and trash-talk others working to make a more-tangible impact.

It might make for an amusing way to pass the time, but it’s not particularly productive. While no rational person would claim that either the Student Government or the Student Media is a supremely powerful organization on campus, they offer what few other groups can match — a forum to pool and refine ideas, and channel those ideas directly to administrators within the University. From mundane issues like getting bigger cups in Fountain Dining Hall (recently upgraded by the Student Senate) to coverage of higher-profile problems like student tickets to athletic events and the cultural climate on campus (covered by Technician and the Nubian Message, respectively), the government and the media have been hard at work trying to respond to student concerns.

And you freshmen out there are in a unique position to change it.

Unlike those of us who have been here for years, you folks bring a fresh set of eyes to this University and recognize the barnacles on NCSU’s underbelly that the rest of us have ignored or never noticed in the first place. Had some ideas to improve New Student Orientation? You’ll definitely have a better vantage point on the issue than I do. Think the academic support you’re getting isn’t sufficient for you to succeed your first year? This is your first time in college — speak up now before you get jaded and give up trying to improve undergraduate advising or other academic services.

You can certainly go “lone wolf” and try to change things yourself. Many departments on campus are receptive to student feedback, primarily because they get so little. But there’s a reason wolves roam in packs: there’s strength in numbers. If you’re dissatisfied with what you see around you, step up and try to change it. The Student Media and Student Government have the resources to help you make a difference. In the Student Media, everyone from the journalists at Technician to the creative minds behind Windhover is looking for new people to offer new viewpoints for their operations. As for Student Government, filing for the Fall elections is taking place right now with 11 seats in the Student Senate reserved specifically for freshmen — and if advocacy isn’t your thing, there are dozens of service projects underway that make a direct impact on this University. Whatever your talent, there’s something here for you.

Just don’t be an ankle biter.

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For more information on Student Government elections, visit http://students.ncsu.edu/

Greg is an emeritus columnist with Technician, and currently serves as a member of the Student Senate. Send him your comments at [email protected]