In my position as news editor, I get the opportunity to sit in on a large number of meetings on campus where huge decisions are made. Many of these decisions affect the entire UNA campus, and the decisions can last for a lifetime.

My No. 1 complaint—or shall I say observation—is that many students who complain about the issues on campus are never at these meetings to state their opinions to the people who need to hear the complaints.

Someone famous once said, “If no one ever complained, nothing would ever change.” Well, they were right—partially.

Although UNA doesn’t have a complaint department, the university does have ways to let your voice be heard. For example, students can go to SGA meetings, board of trustees meetings and even meet with the president or vice presidents.

I see it every day: students walking around complaining about parking, student fees, lack of food options on campus and the list goes on, yet I never see any of these students in the important meetings on campus to voice their concerns.

There are times during all of these meetings that people from the general public can voice their concerns, whether it be at a Florence City Council meeting, UNA board of trustees meeting, SGA meeting and many other meetings like this.

Students need to know there is an outlet for their complaints—other than Facebook and Twitter—that will actually get something done. Just taking the time to bring a complaint to the proper person’s attention will not only help one student, but it could also help many.

Yes, I see many adults at the city council meetings, but there are never any students at these meetings to voice their concerns about downtown, the city or to just plain be in the know about what is going on in their local government.

The generation that most college students are in is the generation that will soon assume responsibility for many of our local governments, universities, businesses and many other important institutions. College-aged students have got to do better to be informed and involved in local decision-making processes.

I admit it, I complain about things on campus and see issues that could be addressed, but I typically bring these issues up to the proper people. Everyone could do a better job to “complain” or voice his or her concerns to the proper people.

To contact Josh, call 256-765-4296 or you can follow him on Twitter at @joshskaggs.