OUR VIEW:  Students should stay informed of drought developments even if they aren’t from Wichita Falls.

NewsChannel 6 hosted a forum about cloud seeding at MSU on April 5.

About 20 people showed up for the informational panel, most of them being Wichita Falls citizens, not students, faculty or staff.

Students need to show more interest in cloud seeding and the drought, as it affects everyone in Texas.

The city has multiple Web pages dedicated to information on the drought, water restrictions and cloud seeding. City officials have hosted numerous public forums and panel discussions. They have produced multiple, informative publications.

Some students may be too busy to attend one of the public forums, but if that’s the case, they can take advantage of the online publications and resources.

Using the university as a public meeting place for the community is great, but doing so won’t draw a student audience on its own. Promoting the event to students is necessary to convince students that it is worth their time to attend such events. During the April 5 forum, students were walking by Shawnee Theatre and had no clue that city officials were in the room presenting on a problem that affects them directly.

Wichita Falls may not be a majority of the students’ permanent residence, but staying informed will help them understand that there are more than 100,000 people who have to adjust to the continuing drought.