Students are reading less and, according to professors, the lack of reading is contributing to lower intelligence levels.

There are relatively easy solutions to curb this trend, but they will require some effort on every student’s part.

More and more frequently, students are piling other priorities on top of reading for leisure.

“It’s not that there isn’t any time for [leisure] reading,” said Gulsat Aygen, associate professor of English. “Our lifestyles just don’t promote it.”

It’s hard to imagine committing to another task in addition to school, extracurricular activities and work, but if you’re reading something you enjoy for just a small portion of your day, reading won’t feel like an undesirable task.

“I treat it like a reward for myself,” Aygen said.

Find something to read you actually enjoy. If you don’t appreciate nineteenth-century literature, don’t subject yourself to a Jane Austen novel or something by one of the Bronte sisters.

Read a magazine or newspaper article or revisit a topic that you enjoyed learning about as a child. Don’t trick yourself into thinking that reading is anguish at every level.

Students can even look to their required coursework as an opportunity to read. Required reading may seem boring, but if the reading is required anyway, why not put a little extra brainpower to use and try to enjoy it?

A National Endowment for the Arts study titled “To Read or Not to Read” outlines evidence proving that reading for fun “strongly correlates with academic achievement.”

The November 2007 study also reveals that “good readers generally have more financially rewarding jobs.”

These facts alone should be strong selling points for students who consider academic achievement and job prospects to be top priorities.

Students simply need an attitude adjustment to realize required reading doesn’t have to be torturous.

Obviously, there are more benefits of attempting to comprehend a school-related text than only reading all your friends’ Facebook statuses.

The sooner someone finds something they enjoy reading, the sooner they’ll form a habit of reading. Aygen said a comparison can be made between reading and exercising.

“You may hate working out, but it feels good,” Aygen said. “You may not see immediate results, but reading is exercise for your brain.”

College students, you are here to learn.

If you aren’t willing to pick up that book, newspaper or magazine and learn something, maybe you should reconsider why you are here in the first place.