We at the Trinitonian will be the first to tell you that keeping up with matters not related to the daily grind is difficult. If it doesn’t have to do with classes, social media or work, it’s off our radar. And that’s understandable. As individuals absorbed in campus life, it’s easy to become focused on things that are only currently affecting the Trinity bubble, but this head in the sand approach, limits us (and presumably many of you) because we become ignorant to issues that impact our livelihood.

Take the upcoming election. Judging from the number of Facebook statuses popping up on our newsfeeds, a lot of you watched the debate Wednesday night (some of you even played the drinking game), but voter registration is still low (see Page 3).

Now, it’s one thing to raise a glass to Romney bringing up Reagan, but it’s an entirely different matter to actually be informed and politically active. And really, there’s no excuse not to be engaged citizens. In the long run, our daily obsessions pale in comparison to the election of the next president of the United States. No one will care twenty years from now if you got an “A” in calculus, but our children will care if the economy sucks, war is raging and our education system is floundering”¦ which brings us to the strategic plan at Trinity.

Our campus is undergoing review in the form of the strategic plan and potential curriculum changes (see Page 1).  For many of us, we won’t be around to experience the effects of the plan firsthand, but the reality is your Alma mater and its reputation follows you. The challenges to our campus also reflect changes happening across the board in higher education. With an emphasis on experiential learning and life skills, colleges are trying to educate students so that they may be more knowledgeable citizens, ready to engage on a variety of topics in a variety of disciplines.

We don’t know about you, but the idea of being surrounded by more competent and well-rounded people here at Trinity and out in the real world sounds pretty cool. Getting a job after college also sounds pretty cool. But these achievements take involvement on our part. So whether you think it’s Romney or Obama who will fix the economy and get “˜Merica back on track or you care more about tomorrow’s test than Trinity Tomorrow, we encourage you to become well-versed.

Visit factcheck.org for a breakdown of where the candidates stand (or stood before they flip flopped) on certain issues. Try to watch the news, even if it’s only for 30 minutes while you work out (who knows it could get your blood pumping even more) or pick up USA Today or the New York Times (courtesy of ASR) around campus. You can also pick up our politics-themed issue on Oct. 26. Most importantly, register to vote by Oct. 9 and follow through by casting a ballot at Alamo Stadium or another polling location on Nov. 9.

Then, think local and go to sites.google.com/a/trinity.edu/trinitytomorrow to read the strategic plan and think critically about your academic experience at Trinity. Do you feel something is missing or needs to change? Tell your ASR senator or fill out the anonymous feedback form found online. Politician or administrators are not the real catalysts for change. We, the students and the voters, are and we have the power to really make things happen.