The RHA passed a resolution last night to amend its bylaws concerning the exemption status for on-campus housing for senators-at-large.

The resolution, authored by Constitutional Review Committee Chairman Tsvi Glazer, vied to add a new clause to the bylaws. The clause states,“If a Senator-at-Large fails to meet his/her responsibilities and he/she went through the housing exemption process, his/her housing may be revoked.”

At the Residence Hall Association meeting two weeks ago, two resolutions passed that set the stage for this resolution. One involved reinstating an ad hoc Constitutional Review Committee, which deals with RHA constitutional and bylaw questions, and the other encouraged the allowance of all executive board members, including senators-at-large, to be afforded housing exemptions and guaranteed on-campus housing for the coming year.

Senators-at-large are appointed during the spring semester and confirmed at the start of the fall semester. Glazer said this resolution would ensure that any senator-at-large guaranteed on-campus space remains committed to his or her position and doesn’t waste an ensured housing space on the campus.

All 40 senators present at last night’s meeting voted in favor of the resolution.

PARKING

Steve Chen, the RHA Transportation Advisory Committee chairman, asked RHA senators to provide input on how to allot parking spaces next year.

There are going to be about 1,200 parking spaces available for on-campus student parking next year, Chen said, and the Department of Transportation Services is trying to figure out how to distribute them.

Chen presented the RHA with four methods to determine parking priority for students: parking based on seniority, academic need, a combination of academic need and seniority or other factors.

A majority of senators said parking spaces should be given to those with demonstrated academic needs first and then to those with seniority. Some argued seniors should not get parking solely because they are seniors, especially if other students need cars on the campus to get to internships or jobs.

Chen said he will take the input he received from RHA members and present it to DOTS representatives as they continue to discuss parking options for the coming year.

ELECTIONS

RHA senators elected a new president and vice president for the 2015-16 academic year last night.

Junior government and politics and history major Allison Peters will serve as president, and junior geography and government and politics major Ashley Feng will serve as vice president.

Peters said she has been involved in the RHA for three years and is confident in the “solid foundation” of her experience. She said she is excited to work on some of her ideas next year.

“I am so passionate about RHA. It is vital to my campus identity,” Peters said. “It has given me so much, and now I want to give back.”

Both Peters and Feng said they plan to work more closely with the Student Government Association and other campus government bodies to build strong leaders within the RHA.

Current RHA President Sree Sinha said the wealth of knowledge and experience Feng and Peters will bring to their new roles in the RHA are crucial and that they will be strong leaders for the organization.

“I’m so excited to see such qualified and forward-thinking and experienced leaders who will be carrying RHA’s mission forward into the next year,” Sinha said.