College students, we are about to face big problems when we graduate - from global warming to endangered species, from the escalating cost and declining quality of health care to the plight of the hungry and homeless.



Every campus has its share of apathy, but students care about these problems. And more than any other group of people, we have the time, the energy, the intelligence, the resources and the idealism to help solve them.



After all, colleges and universities teach students to become effective doctors, lawyers, engineers, computer programmers, entrepreneurs, managers and the like. But they don't really teach us to become effective citizens. And effective citizenship is what it takes to shake up the status quo and get decision-makers to act on big social problems.



That's where the Washington Student Public Interest Research Group, or WashPIRG, comes in.



For 30 years, students who have been involved with their WashPIRG campus chapter have not only learned how to investigate a problem and come up with a practical solution. We've also learned how to convince the media and decision-makers to pay attention and take action.



In other words, through WashPIRG we gain an educational experience in democratic citizenship. In addition, we get a chance to face up to society's big problems, take action, and win concrete changes that improve the quality of our lives.