It’s funny how winter semester always seems to have such a different feel to it than the fall.

In September, students come back from the summer more than excited to get involved and with student organizations that are enthusiastic about achieving goals and increasing participation with their events and initiatives.

It almost seems like in the second semester, a lot of times even the students leading organizations are just ready for it to be over and to pass the torch on to someone new and fresh. In Student Congress, it is especially easy to let the madness of elections cloud the productivity that is still possible for nearly four more months.

Four months is a long time. There is still so much to be done, and so much that has the potential to be improved here, and we want to be a part of it.

We have not checked out, and do not plan to do so until the new administration has been announced. We understand that every day counts, and we plan to make our time here worth it.

In this semester, we ask you to challenge both yourself and us. Don’t make excuses, and we promise we won’t either. We will do everything we can to motivate our executive board and legislature to continue on with the fall semester’s enthusiasm in order to serve you to the best of our ability.

Please know anything that is important to you is not too small or large in our book. Let’s hear about it now, and get the ball rolling.

Know that the second semester is not too late to get involved, both inside and outside of Student Congress. In fact, this would be a great time to gain experience in any organization if you plan to ever go further with it.

This semester has a lot of potential, and so much to offer. It is so easy to let the winter months drag on in anticipation of the more exciting summer months, leading into the fall.

But, there are friends to be made, experiences to be had, and most importantly to us, improvements to be made to your student experience at Oakland University.

It is important that we continuously hear from you, and if you ever would like to set up a meeting with us or speak with your organization, that is what we are here for and we are more than happy to do so.

Cheers to a new year and a fresh, exciting start. We hope to see you at our weekly legislative body meetings — every Monday at 4 p.m. in the Oakland Room.