While we’re on the subject of student apathy at NIU, Sunday’s appearance by U.S. Senator Paul Simon illustrates the utter lack of interest in all things political on this campus.

About 60 people on a campus of nearly 25,000 students showed up at a rally featuring the bow-tied politician. This paltry total is simply pathetic.

Granted, it was a Sunday afternoon, the weather was poor and the event was not highly publicized because of its spur-of-the-moment nature. However, this is not the town dog catcher coming to NIU—it’s a senator plugged into the game being played on Capitol Hill. In an election year, one would certainly think students would want to become informed on the issues.

Today’s generation wonders why no one takes them seriously. NIU students are puzzled as to why candidates basically ignore the campus even though it makes up a large portion of any political district. Students complain when tuition is raised and our local legislators don’t aggressively advocate NIU interests in Springfield.

Maybe NIU students should take a lesson from the actions of Michigan State University which was scheduled to host a presidential debate.

Well, students have no one but themselves to blame. Why should a politician pay attention to a constituency that displays no interest?