We started off this year with the fall “Back to the Brook” concert, with Mac Miller and The Cataracts performing. It was a pretty good concert (despite the minor issue of moving the audience farther away from the stage) and the music was modern in the sense that when I found out the artists’ names, I knew who they were and what their music sounded like. I don’t even remember who came last year for the fall concert because I did not recognize them at all.

Most recently, USG held a comedy show featuring Demetri Martin. For those of you that went, that show was spot-on entertaining. His unconventional stand-up style that utilized dead-pan one liners and drawings on a large note pad provided the perfect escape from the stress of midterms for a good hour. The event itself was unique, in my opinion, because it was a comedy show. It was different – the setting was new, the show was something I did not expect, and it was a lot of fun.

Now, it’s usually quite difficult to say anything positive about politics – we’re finally past a government shutdown, and as a student, I have nothing kind to say about either political party, not that I have been paying a lot of attention. But when it comes to USG, I tend to care a little bit more, because what they do affects how my campus experience is and how much I shell out to pay for tuition.

And I think they’re doing a good job. Granted, we are only two months into the semester, but I’m actually having fun. The fall concert was impressive, the comedy show – a success in my eyes. Another concert has been announced, and it has been announced that “Taking Back Sunday” will be performing. It’s refreshing to see a rock band come to Stony Brook. We have such a large student body, and USG is finally recognizing that a good number of us might not like rap music. I like having another option; I like that they’re branching out and bringing different acts.

I’m praising USG for focusing on the student body. Yes, it is their job to address the needs of the students to the university, but I feel like they have been very involved, more so than USG was last year. At the end of last semester, USG paid attention when students started complaining about the absurd amount of money they got charged for not throwing their garbage out before moving out. At the beginning of the fall semester, everyone was in an uproar on the price and portion size of the meals offered on campus. USG held an open forum with students and FSA on September 18, 2013 to address some of those issues and to show FSA how the students themselves felt. I thought the greatest initiative was the focus on transportation. So many of us use the buses to get off campus on the weekends, especially those living in West and Chapin, and improving that system would make life on campus a lot easier. Getting that coach bus system running from here to the city? That would be golden.

There are so many events going on this semester, and I feel like each one is bringing the school community together. I think that USG is listening to what students have to say about issues that affect us, like campus food, and they’re trying to do something about it. They are doing what we elected them to do – they’re representing the students to the administration.

So here’s to you, USG. You’re doing a good job.  I hope you keep it up.