You new folks have already heard this at least a dozen times already, so to dispense with the formalities: “Welcome to N.C. State” — now it’s time to get to work.

There’s a revolution afoot as you’re reading this. Probably unknown to most of you, bustling around but blending in with the surroundings, are hundreds of Student Government officials working to improve your experience at this University. From helping run Wolfpack Welcome Week events, to expanding tailgating hours and programs, to spending time at the General Assembly advocating for issues that directly impact your pocketbook, the Student Government is the nexus where student activists and student events coalesce to produce positive change for the student body.

And the Senate sits at its core.

We’re only 64 of 32,000, but we’re the primary gateway to making tangible change on this campus -the Student Senate is often -the first — and sometimes the only — student group that administrators consult on important policy issues affecting you. It’s the only student-run institution which has reserved seats on the University’s standing committees responsible for deciding those policies. And if there’s an issue you care about that hasn’t been addressed yet or isn’t even being discussed, the Student Senate is the body to research it, debate it and present it to the University officials who matter.

With competent and passionate advocates in both its sister branches of the government, this is also a unique time for the Student Senate. We think big, and we live big — and we’re going to be launching some big projects this year, from our Pack the Polls voter mobilization drive to a massive, statewide advocacy campaign to Washington, D.C. that was devised in Senate Hall itself.

The Student Senate is the vanguard of student leadership in North Carolina, quite literally years ahead of every single institution in the University of North Carolina system. We are the most distinguished, deliberative student assembly ever conceived and have produced a number of the state’s past, present and future leaders in the political, business and public policy arenas.

We’re also one of the few institutions whose professional reputation is both known and respected in this state’s corridors of power: walk down to the North Carolina General Assembly and tell a state legislator you were part of the Student Government at, let’s say, UNC-Chapel Hill, and you’ll probably get a monotone “Oh, that’s nice”, but tell that same legislator instead that you were part of the Senate here at NCSU, and you’re just as likely to hear “You folks take your jobs seriously there, don’t you?”

I haven’t even gotten to the $42,037.50 in student fee money each freshman will pay to the Student Government to be redistributed to each student organization on campus during SG’s appropriations process.

It’s your money, your issues and your four (or five … or six) years you’ll be spending at this University working for your degree. Sure you can spend your spare time playing beer pong or flip cup, maybe relieving stress in front of a computer screen with World of Warcraft or Halo — but there are a set number of avenues available for you to make a lasting impact at N.C. State for the limited time you’re here. Out of that finite set of options, the Student Senate is both the most fun and most effective place to be.

True, we’re only 64 of 32,000. But we’re also the most intense 64 you’re going to find at NCSU.

So if you think you’ve got what it takes to serve among the most elite student leaders on this campus, put down the paper now and go to students.ncsu.edu/vote/ and file for a first-year Senate seat. Elections are intense; winning is difficult — but the experience is one you don’t want to miss. Come join the revolution.

T. Greg Doucette is Student Senate President and a senior in computer science. Contact him via e-mail at [email protected], or by telephone at (919)606-7158.

Are you going to join the revolution? E-mail us your plans at [email protected].