Today is Election Day. And sometimes, people go out and vote on this day.

Go vote today. This is the chance for every student to make a difference in this community.

If a small percentage of the undergraduate student body voted, it could significantly affect who is elected.

Students should take into consideration that the local government officials have a major role in this community.

Take the cameras for example. The State College Borough Council made the decision to implement the cameras that directly affect students.

Currently, council is looking at the problems with infill housing, or the construction of more than one building on a single lot. The issue began five years ago, and the borough is finally feeling the effects of this zoning change. These are examples of issues that directly affect students, and every student vote can make local officials work for students.

Too often, students only come out to complain about an issue when it is in the hands of the officials already elected. If students took the initiative to vote for the locally elected officials now, then maybe later there would not be such a discrepancy over what those officials do. The officials would already be working for student interests.

Students comprise two-thirds of State College's total population. Shouldn't students then care about the people who are elected to represent more than half of the population?

About 1,000 students voted last year. One thousand students out of 40,000 -- some undergraduate students voted. With numbers like that, students shouldn't even be allowed to complain about issues that come up in the community.

Unless students stand up and take a stance on an elected official who makes major decisions that affect students, and by taking a stance that means voting, then students shouldn't have a say in cameras downtown or infill housing. Voting is the first step in gaining a say.

Obtain the right to complain -- or praise -- locally elected officials.

Vote today.