Welcome home.

It is very exciting to see campus (and Aggieville) once again filled with students. Although the weather is still very warm outside, we will soon see the temperatures drop and the leaves begin to fall. If this is your first year at K-State, you are in for a real treat. Fall in Manhattan is simply amazing.

This will be a big year for Student Government. You should all be excited to see both an executive branch and a legislative branch not focused on internal issues, but rather working on the issues that affect each of you throughout your time at K-State. If we aren't doing our job, tell us. Our position is to serve you.

I encourage all of you to be involved in the process.

You've seen e-mails from me over the summer and the past few weeks touching on some of the hot-button summer issues. A quick recap:

(1) Don't talk on your cell phone or text if you're driving a car. You will get pulled over.

(2) If you are out with friends and need to get home safely, proceed to the nearest SafeRide stop. Or, go to the Union Parking Garage, where both the Purple and White routes depart every fifteen minutes.

(3) Tuition has increased, but it is going back to the colleges, and more importantly, back to the students in the form of new faculty, new laboratory equipment and new programming.

In the coming weeks, we will be introducing our plan to examine the classroom experience at K-State. We have many award-winning faculty and students on board, and we are excited to unveil this new program in the coming weeks.

Enjoy the Labor Day weekend! Thanks to all the students who purchased athletic tickets.

As you tailgate this Saturday, have fun, but please do so responsibly and with courtesy.

Be sure you make it into the game. SGA has worked tirelessly to provide the first 2,200 students in attendance with a free "Big 12" purple T-shirt. Not only will you want to wear it against UCLA, but it will be great to have when the Huskers come to town!

Finally, make the Bill the loudest stadium in America on Saturday. Go Cats!