For representing such a large portion of Columbia’s population, it’s a rarity to find students speaking up at city government or policy-making meetings. As a result, it was encouraging for us to see some passionate students show up at Wednesday’s Citizens Police Review Board meeting to voice concerns.

On the board’s agenda were CPD SWAT raids and in what types of cases they should be used. Several students from the MU National Organization for the Reformation of Marijuana Laws spoke against raids for non-violent crimes, such as drug use, saying non-violent crimes aren’t a cause for dynamic entry into a home.

While we are not presently taking a stance on the issue discussed Wednesday night (there’s still plenty of reporting for us to do on it), we would like to commend those students who stood up for what they believe. MU students, 30,000 strong, are a legitimate part of the Columbia community, whether we act like it or not. We are all subject to Columbia’s laws and police practices. As democratic citizens subject to such legalities, we are entitled to a voice.

We would like to encourage more MU students to be involved in the Columbia community at large, be it by expressing your concerns to CPRB or Columbia City Council, or getting involved in some other organization.

Why not give yourself a voice? Even though we all come from different parts of the state, country and world, we live here now. When we’re at school, we’re all Missourians, or more specifically, citizens of Columbia. It’s about time the thousands of MU students that live here became a legitimate constituency and voice in the city’s affairs.