On Monday, Ohio resident Chad Stanton was arrested for submitting fraudulent voter registration forms to the election board in Cleveland. Stanton’s plot was uncovered when officials decided that Dick Tracy, Mary Poppins and Michael Jordan were not residents of Defiance County, as the phony forms indicated.

But wait, it gets better. Stanton allegedly turned in more than 100 fraudulent forms to a woman in Toledo in exchange for an undisclosed amount of crack cocaine.

Wow.

Now here is a person who has drive. This guy knew what he wanted in life and he knew how to get it. Although he could have come up with a few less conspicuous names, it’s hard not to give him an A for effort.

We live in a lazy society. We are ruled by remote controls and microwaves and any other invention that makes the everyday, mundane tasks that fill our day a little less painful. It’s good to see that there are a few hard-working, dedicated people that have set clear goals and will do everything in his or her power to meet those goals.

Another worthy example would be Jared Bailey of Bloomington, Indiana. He was arrested on six counts of forgery and theft. In an attempt to lower his bail, he forged the signature of circuit judge Douglas R Bridges on a court order which lowered a $100,000 surety bail to $500 cash.

He couldn’t quite pull it off, however, and was busted when his roommate unknowingly faxed the bogus papers directly to the jail and not to Bailey’s lawyer’s office.

As of Tuesday morning, Bailey’s bail was $250,000 surety.

Again, while Bailey couldn’t quite follow through, you have to take your hat off to him. Too many people would have rolled over and said “You know; 100 g’s ain’t so bad. I’m just going to give up and pay the man.”

This is as applicable right here on campus as it is anywhere else. We are at a potentially dangerous point in the semester right now. The deadline to withdraw from a class has come and gone, and it’s time to buckle down and really put forth that extra effort to end the term in good academic standing.

So get out there fellow Seahawks, and go that extra mile in your lives. Take these two brave men as examples of how a little blood, sweat, and tears can make all the difference.

Put down that remote control! Forge those important documents! Get that crack at all costs! Put in a little extra effort and watch it come back your way tenfold.

When all the work is over, and you finally get a chance to catch your breath, you’ll be glad you did. And if you ever feel old man laziness tapping on your shoulder, don’t even turn around. Run like the wind toward that goal and don’t ever look back. You can thank me later.