First, I would like to congratulate you, dear reader, for making it past what is doubtlessly a terrifying picture of me. I assure you your bravery will be rewarded. By way of introduction, there are two things that I feel you should know about me: First, growing up, my parents liked to teach me important life lessons through the magic of proverbs. Thus, if at any point I end up proselytizing via proverb, feel free to throw something of a non-fatal shape and size at me at your earliest convenience.

The second requires a bit of explanation. In his landmark History of the English Speaking People Sir Winston Churchill argues that the happiest period of human existence was the brief period in the first and second centuries A.D. when the world was held under the sway of the Five Good Emperors of Rome. I disagree with his assertion. The happiest time in all of humanity was the even briefer period in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Britannia ruled the waves. Armed with these three facts, we shall be able to venture forth together into the remainder of this commentary, and, indeed, all future commentaries, with a certain degree of mutual understanding.

As you may or may not remember last year, the college applied for a variance from the Nicollet County Board of Adjustment and Appeals in order to put up a wind turbine. This variance was denied. Now, I like to flatter myself by believing that I know anything about local politics, but it struck me after this incident that Gustavus does not seem highly represented in that area. Aside from Professor of Communication Studies Terry Morrow, I know of no other faculty or staff member who has sought or gained political office in my time here.

I would like to make it clear that I do not believe that this is the fault of the faculty, or that the onus for political activity should be placed entirely on our professors and staff. It is my firm belief that Gustavus students should run for local offices.

The Gustavus student body represents the largest single voting bloc in St. Peter and, in an ideal world, there would be students on more boards, councils or in elected positions than at which a professional stick-shaker could ply his trade. As we can see with the refusal of the Nicollet County Board to grant the college’s request, decisions made by these bodies affect our lives here as students. Instead of simply ceding the right to help form those decisions, we should be more actively engaged in helping to make them.

Now, I am sure many of you are wondering just how in the hell you are supposed to fit running for city council into what I imagine are extremely busy schedules. To those people I would say there are plenty of relatively time sensitive ways to become more involved with local politics. Write letters, because, unlike national politics, writing letters actually matters at the local level. Let us pretend that I, as someone living off campus (disclaimer: I don’t), felt the city charged an ungodly sum for water. Now, I could just keep paying my bills, grumbling all the while. Or I could round up some like-minded people, write some letters, call some offices and send a letter to the editor of the St. Peter Herald. Then, even if nothing comes of my efforts, no one will be able to tell me I didn’t try.

In my youth, whenever I would complain about a thing but make no effort to fix it, my mother would tell me, “Instead of cursing the darkness, it is far better to strike a light.” In local politics, as in most things in life, it is indeed far better to strike a light.