University Council student member Steve Cohen should be commended for his attempt to give new student members a clue as to what’s going on in the council.

Cohen suggested a training manual for new student members to help retain those members for more than the usual one-year term. Because the job on the UC is less than exciting and hard to get a grasp on, students on the council tend to stay only for a year.

The manual is a good start to offering novices a chance to catch up on the university procedures that faculty, staff and administrators use daily.

This is a good example for other campus organizations that have students with fleeting terms to follow. Manuals will help organizations to cut to the chase instead of being bogged down by members unaware of the rules.

However, to get an effective member, the bottom line isn’t what some manual can tell a member, but what the member does within the organization. There is only so much a manual can do for a member.

A manual has potential to wipe out a lot of ignorance, but only if the members make a concerted effort to use it. And when the manual collects dust on some shelf, student members still will need guidance from other members.

Cohen deserves a pat on the back for his efforts. However, he also should try to convey that student members will need more than a book to be contributing members of the organization.