Today, the RHA will elect the next president of their organization, who will face larger-than-usual responsibilities in the coming academic year.
Commons senator Casey Anis and Residence Hall Association spokeswoman Sam Lengyel, who are both rising seniors, announced their intent to run last Tuesday, and will make their final pitches to the voting members of the RHA senate tonight. The elected president will have their hands full with the opening of Oakland Hall, the continuing debate surrounding telephone landlines in dorms, the opening of the new Northwoods Dining Hall and a national conference in the fall.
Both Anis’ and Lengyel’s campaigns focus on forging a stronger relationships with resident constituents.
Anis said he will accomplish this by creating a semesterly meeting where council presidents visit every committee and present reports about how committee resolutions impact constituents.
Lengyel would attack the problem by improving relationships with hall councils via e-mail and more open communication — she also recommended publishing a semesterly news letter to inform residents and hall council members.
“It’s very important to our organization, this is something we need from [hall council presidents],” Anis said. “I don’t really anticipate it being an issue.”
Many senators were concerned about the relationship between the Student Government Association and RHA and how it would continue to evolve. Both candidates said they were willing to cooperate with the SGA in light of recent collaborative successes.
“I see SGA as another student organization,” Lengyel said. “Yes, they’re big — we’re big too. This year, we’ve done the donation drive, housekeeper’s lunch, and it was a really great experience.”
Anis, who is in the SGA, promised to use his role to develop connections to strengthen the relationship between the two organizations.
“I don’t look at the SGA as something the RHA has to fight with. One of the first things I’m going to do is to sit down with the new SGA president and to work out with a joint platform of issues,” he said. “If there are conflicts of interest, I have no doubt that I can resolve those through negotiation.”
Anis also proposed introducing safety into two of the RHA’s committees: Indoor safety issues like vandalism would be dealt with by ReLATE, RHA’s Resident Life Department committee, while outdoor safety issues, such as crime awareness, would be handled by the transportation committee.
“Since TAC [RHA’s transportation committee] deals with transportation at night, which deals with the bus routes, it also helps campus safety,” Anis said. “I’m giving TAC the job of dealing with outside safety issues.”
Lengyel emphasized “success from within” — progress that can be achieved through training and higher retention rates. Based on her own experiences with RHA, Lengyel thought that students with seniority would appreciate their efforts in RHA more because of the sentimental value it would hold.
“I want you guys to come back next year,” Lengyel said. “You can chair a committee and get our organization farther. I feel like you value that experience.”
RHA senators will also be voting on next year’s vice president. Four members are vying for that position.
Member Taylor Cole, who represented Leonardtown last year, emphasized the problems with the junior housing system. North Hill Area Council Senator Nicolaus Krug made accountability and openness the focus of his campaign. South Hill senator Matheos Yirga is focused on making the RHA more organized. Courtyards senator Josh Griner wants to make RHA meetings a place for open dialogue.
korkut@umdbk.com
