The University of Alabama has always claimed itself as a place that seeks improvement and growth, and right now it seems to be undergoing more constructive change than normal. There have been many issues that have been placed on the table by students; issues ranging from personal, small scale concerns to larger problems that will affect the entire University population.

But what may be considered a small issue can still be an element of change that makes our University an overall better place. That is why every student’s voice and opinion deserves to be heard. Many of these issues lie under joint responsibility of both administrators and students.

Unfortunately, many students grow apathetic to the reality that their opinion matters. Issues become distant and eventually irrelevant when their ideas are not taken into consideration.

And it’s understandable. Perhaps it’s how the large (and growing) population of this school tends to make students feel like a number. Or maybe it’s the struggling relationship between the busy administration and the average student. Or maybe it’s organizations like the Machine that decide they are the determining factor for who deserves to be in positions of leadership on this campus.

Students with unique and intelligent ideas for our campus are disheartened and the voices being lost to this feeling of apathy are voices that are as equally detrimental to this campus as the voices of honors students, students who talk regularly with the administration because of their positions of leadership, or students who receive the Machine’s support.

But all hope should not be lost. As many students have expressed in these pages the past few days, getting your voice heard is not an impossible task. There are ways to have your voice heard, even if it seems it’s on a small scale.

This weekend, The University of Alabama Registrar’s office emailed the entire student body with two surveys asking about students’ experiences with advising, transcripts, DegreeWorks and administrative communication. And while these may not seem like groundbreaking issues for the University, they are aspects of this school that receive many complaints and could be improved.

These surveys are a chance for each student to express their opinion on something that affects every single student (and, every semester). Taking 10 minutes to answer a few simple questions isn’t asking a lot, either. The University is asking for your opinion. What they do with the information from these surveys is up to the administration, but I highly doubt these surveys were sent out for mere entertainment.

And sure, it isn’t a chance for you to sit down with President Witt, but it is a start; and if you don’t take advantage of even the smallest opportunity to have your voice heard, then you are missing an opportunity to express your opinions handed to you directly from the University.

Acknowledging the challenges of getting your voice heard is the first step. Once you admit there is a challenge in front of you, you can move forward. Write a letter to the editor, pick up the phone and call University Relations, email a professor, get involved in an organization. As it is said around November of election years, you cannot complain if you do not vote.

SoRelle Wyckoff is a junior majoring in history and English. Her column runs on Mondays.