During the fall, school begins, football season kicks off, temperatures drop (in some parts of the country), Starbucks releases it’s Pumpkin Spice Latte – and a vicious battle often ensues, polluting television with awful campaign ads.

It’s a presidential election year.

With such an important event under way, it is extremely important for everyone to stay informed. Not just voters. Everyone.

There are many other things happening around Abilene, around Texas, around the U.S. and around the world. The news changes every day. That fact in itself should motivate everyone to stay up to date on current events.

Where do students gather their news? What sources do they frequent the most? How reliable are these sources?

In this digital age it’s very rare for a typical college student to pick up a newspaper and actually read the entire thing. Kudos to you if you do. But chances are, most of you simply don’t have the time.

The internet has become the most popular source of information for busy students.  Perhaps two of the most popular sources are Facebook and Twitter. They’re convenient, and it’s easy to skim through a one or two sentence post about the latest happenings.

However, Facebook updates and tweets, while fast and convenient, are not always reliable. It’s important to make note of the source and, if necessary, find out more information.

Students often inherit biases or preferences from their parents. While it’s important to have opinions, it’s just as important for students to be able to develop their own opinions.

Television is another common distributor of information. While students are unlikely to watch the entire broadcasts of the Republican or Democratic National Conventions, they might turn to sources like The Colbert Report or The Daily Show. They might even catch snippets of Today, Fox News or CNN while getting ready for class in the morning. While these sources are reliable, they have a tendency to be biased, especially when it comes to politics.

Because of these biases, it’s helpful to have more than one source of news. When examining an issue it’s critical to have all the facts because there are multiple sides to every story.

No matter how you get your news, staying up to date with current events is important. Even if you don’t realize it, the news has an impact on you.