It is quite plausible that before the Student Union election commissioner resigned last week, few Washington University students would have been able to tell you her name or even name a single member of the Student Union executive board. To some, interpersonal conflict may seem more entertaining than actual governance; however, it is not the core of what SU is or should be.

SU holds an influence on this campus that cannot be ignored. The organization controls a $3.5 million annual budget, allocating money to student groups, task forces and programming. Countless events—such as WILD or Gameday that students frequent and enjoy without a second thought—only happen because SU makes them happen.

SU does hold the power to create change on campus and has accomplished much for the benefit of the student body. However, this past election has proven that there is room for improvement, and the only way SU will ever get better is if students tell its members what they think.

Just 14.5 percent of Wash. U. undergraduates voted in the recent SU elections. Put more realistically, 85.5 percent of Wash. U. undergraduates opted out of participating in the election of an organization whose actions directly affect them. Voting and critiquing your student government is an essential way of enacting your opinions, opinions that deserve to be heard.

However, we are not absolving SU of all blame. As we wrote last week, the organization must work to be more transparent and forthcoming to the student body. With its rushed impeachment and general melodrama over the last few weeks, SU has made it much too easy for students to write off the organization as farcical. Going forward, it is essential that the members of SU put aside their interpersonal complications and instead put the needs of the Wash. U. community first, carrying themselves professionally as the representatives of Washington University.

The more you engage with SU, the more SU can get done. Active awareness of the topics that SU handles fosters discussion that brings out new ideas and forces tough conversations that need to be happening. It is not enough to merely denounce the actions of SU; we as a student body ourselves must be proactive.

There are many different ways you can begin to engage with SU. Reading the emails SU sends instead of ignoring them, talking to your friends about SU developments, and reading Student Life are all ways to stay aware of and informed on our student government.

We are not suggesting that you spend your time overly invested in the happenings of SU, but you should educate yourself on SU’s actions. You should be aware of what this organization thinks about the salient issues on campus, and you should engage with their ideas on how to solve the problems that face Wash. U.

A lack of awareness on these issues only silences your own voice.