Students will be given access to suggestion boxes, have their laundry made easier and have chances to make their voices heard in the Residence Hall Association's (RHA) effort to make students more comfortable on campus.
RHA's main purpose is to represent the students that live in residence halls and to make sure that the students' concerns are acknowledged and made known to the groups involved.
This semester, RHA is making an effort to meet that original purpose.
"We feel as an organization that the students living on campus need to enjoy living on campus and be content in the environment," Megan Beavis, the president of RHA and junior sport, arts and entertainment management major, said in an e-mail. "We want to make the students happy and take care of their concerns."
In an effort to find out what issues students are concerned with, RHA placed folders in the elevator area of every floor in the residence halls. Students can place any suggestions or concerns they may have in the folders for RHA members to discuss them at their meetings. At the last RHA meeting, a suggestion taken from one of the folders in the suites asked for recycling bins on each floor of Pioneer and Conestoga Hall. They have not been enforced as of right now.
Another effort the organization took to make things better for students living in the residence halls was to offer DVD players in the lounges of the suites, and the installation of dry-erase boards in laundry rooms to let residents know when their laundry is finished. These suggestions were brought to the senate meeting where those in attendance offered their opinion by vote. DVD players in the suite lounges were voted down, but plans to get dry-erase boards for the laundry rooms were of interest to students.
The executive board also takes time at the end of senate meetings to address any concerns that the students participating might have. Following the last meeting, ideas concerning a number of things, including the hours of the Point Cafe were addressed. In the past, RHA has worked with the food service department on the quality of the Cafe food and facilities, but the hours are not something that can be easily changed. However, RHA continues to keep in contact with the food service department to make students' concerns known.
"I think it would be more beneficial, certainly, to the student body if they would focus on the [practical] needs of the student body rather than entertaining them," said Patrick Morris, a freshman creative writing major and Lawrence Hall resident. "But whether or not the students would appreciate that I can't say for certain."
So far, students are glad that the organization is putting a bigger emphasis on the needs of the students living on campus.
"Small events are a good idea," said Angela Semple, a freshman cinema and digital arts major and Lawrence Hall resident. "But student concerns are more important."
Events will still be a part of RHA's focus, but they will take a back seat this semester. The organization has sponsored events such as Late Night Breakfast, Last Comic Standing, Condom Carnival and Mr. Point Park. Late Night Breakfast will still be a part of RHA's programming, but the survival of the other events is up to voting which will be taken during future meetings. Any student, on-campus or commuter, may attend and vote.
Last Comic Standing is the one program that is still questionable for the organization due to other organizations holding the same type of event. Point Park's Improv Club has held comedy nights as well as other stand-up events.
"Rather than competing with other organizations [for events]," faculty advisor Amelia Hogan said, "[we] want to get back to the heart of what RHA is."
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
