Every semester at UW-Whitewater seniors graduate and new students enroll. Those who leave UW-Whitewater are embarking on their first steps into the real world.

While this is often celebrated, today’s world seems to have a grim outlook on the future of our generation.

As our friends leave us and begin their careers, they enter a world where the economy is unfriendly to job seekers and the future of our country is at stake.

Economically, our country is in serious trouble. Despite efforts made by President Barack Obama, the unemployment rate has remained at 9 percent consistently.

The United States faces problems abroad that might overshadow our current problems with the economy. Obama has taken troops out of Iraq. Don’t be surprised if a new war in the Middle East arises.

We may be on the cusp of a war even larger than the Iraq War as we shift our focus to Iran. The Iranians have almost purposefully burned any shred of good relations with the United States.

Iran recently had spies caught in the United States, intercepted a U.S. spy drone, claims to have caught multiple CIA agents, is a known country for harboring terrorists and are still actively seeking a nuclear weapons program.

What does this mean for today’s college student? It means America’s future is more uncertain than ever.

If our allies, such as Israel, go to war with Iraq, the U.S. will have to join. We have no money to go to war with the Iranians. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently visited Venezuela and Cuba, two of Iran’s strongest allies.

Is it out of the question he may be discussing war with his dictatorship allies? Probably not at this stage, but five years from now the world could be in shambles compared to where it stands today.

While drafts are rare, it is conceivable to think that students at UW-Whitewater might someday be affected by a conflict with Iran.

College students have a lot going on: studying hard, having fun with friends on the weekend and finding money for groceries are problems we are all familiar with.

But what if we began to worry what to do if a nuclear bomb strikes? What if students worried about being drafted?

While these are extreme scenarios, the point is that America is in a crucial part in its history. Many students don’t follow the news or politics because it doesn’t hold their interest like sports and MTV do.

If students paid more attention to such things, then at least we could rest assured that the  leaders in Washington making big decisions have us, the voters, in mind.

Being informed is important. By making sure we all know what’s going on, we can ensure that our country lives peacefully.