Think of it as your chance to vote — unless you don’t do that either, but then you don’t get to complain when things don’t go your way.

Teacher evaluations are the closest thing to student congress elections here on campus. Departments and professors take these very seriously — you should, too.

We pay over $1,000 for a class, spend over 50 hours there and maybe just as many doing homework, so taking an extra 15 minutes to let someone know they are doing a good, or bad job, isn’t going to take away from your day.

I’m a fifth-year senior at Oakland and have have taken 38 classes so far. I’ve also filled out 38 teacher evaluations. In every class, student’s express opinions, whether positive or negative, about the professor and the course, but when it comes to filling out evaluations, most people call it quits after the effortless multiple choice section.

I’m not afraid to admit that I’m always one of the last to finish. If I think a professor has done a great job, I’d like to let their superiors know. On the other side, if a professor hasn’t, I feel someone needs to know.

If you would like to see changes made, or think future courses could benefit from something, speak up. Don’t just let a website like RateMyProfessor know what you think — write it on the evaluation where your opinion can make an actual difference.

Simply filling in multiple choice bubbles doesn’t give any reasoning behind your answers. If people don’t speak up, departments won’t know how to change a course or how to reward somebody for doing a great job.

Professors also shouldn’t feel obligated to give extra credit to get students to participate in these. If they don’t think it’s important enough without it, then perhaps students’ opinions aren’t either.

When this semester ends in a couple of weeks, take an extra 5-10 minutes and let the university know what you think.

Your opinion does matter. It doesn’t if you don’t write anything.