By Ian Ziller

Hi, my name is Ian Ziller. I am a student at SMCC and I am writing this column to the SMCC community. I intend to go over the politics of the SMCC community, the local greater Portland area, and the world, and also to voice things that affect SMCC.

We live in a world where political participation is very low and the only way to change that is to have a more informed population. We also have to understand that most everything affects SMCC; global issues don’t just affect the world beyond. The reason that I am writing this column is because I believe that everyone needs to know what is going on in the world and how government of all kinds affects them.

We have many issues that I will discuss over the course of this semester at SMCC. One of the most important things that I will try to discuss that is focused on SMCC is education, for as students we are all affected more than anything by the government’s education policy. Although many issues are affecting the student body – some more than others – it is all connected together, and we need to be informed about what is happening in the world. The best way to have a voice in the political process is to be an active participant in the democratic process, and the best way to be an informed participant is to be informed about the issues affecting us.

I strongly believe that we need to be informed of what is happening in the world – that is why I have chosen to write this column on things that are affecting SMCC. It is very important to have a voice in government, for then our concerns will be addressed. So I shall try to cover all area of concern during this semester at SMCC, and to choose things that affect at SMCC and that are of concern to the student body.