If you are living in any of the dorms this semester, you have surely seen the dozens of brightly-colored fliers that are posted all over your halls and common spaces. Most of these fliers come from various student groups and stress the importance of the organization and the necessity of getting involved on the campus. And though we did contribute to the mass of advertising, the Residence Hall Association truly is one of the most influential organizations at the university and has the power to make immediate changes to our community.
The RHA acts as the voice of on-campus students, and through programming and policy initiatives, we do everything in our power to make your experience living on the campus more enjoyable.
Within the RHA, there are 14 separate hall or area councils that plan social activities throughout the year for their residents. Last year, there were several successful events: The South Hill Area Council House of Horrors, the North Hill Holiday Dinner and the Denton Olympics were just three of many. These events and others like them allow residential students to meet people from their communities, make new friends and just have a great time.
In addition to the various social events that our hall and area councils sponsor, each council also sends representatives to the RHA Senate, a body that works to make important changes within the university. To do this, we work closely with four departments within the Division of Student Affairs: Resident Life, Residential Facilities, Dining Services and Transportation. By communicating directly with administrators in these departments, it is easy to implement most changes that we propose and to directly impact students’ lives.
Some of the more recent actions that we have taken include changing the junior housing lottery, helping to implement the Promoting Responsible Action in Medical Emergencies Protocol, changing bus routes and running meal-point donation drives to support both the relief efforts in Haiti and the Keep Me Maryland Fund here at the university.
This year, we plan on doing a lot of work surrounding Oakland Hall and the Denton Community’s dining facility, both in-progress construction projects. As an organization, we plan on playing a major part in the decisions that need to be made regarding these new facilities.
The RHA is one of the most influential and fun organizations at the university, and we would love to see some new faces as we strive to make a difference here. So if you are interested in being a part of the RHA, whether your interest is in planning events for your hall or in representing your classmates in the RHA Senate, please stop by our RHA open house tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Cambridge Community Center. Applications for positions in each dorm are currently up on our website, www.marylandrha.umd.edu, and elections will be held Sept. 14 and 15. We encourage everyone to apply and to continue to make our university community stronger.
Corie Stretton is the public relations officer for the Residence Hall Association. She can be reached at coriems19 at gmail dot com.
