The Residence Hall Association, an organization that holds activities in residence halls, has seen an increase in membership over the past few years in addition to increased student interest and involvement in activities and attendance at events. In response to this, RHA has been seeking to expand its impact on residence life.
Nick Di Liberto, current RHA president, said, “When I was a freshman, we had five members. Now, we have more than 30 committed and active members.”
RHA’s goal is to represent the voices of the students, and holds events to both enrich students’ lives and raise awareness about the issues that students face in residence halls. RHA’s activities are supported by its $5000 budget, which is solely sponsored by fundraising activities like the Student Advantage Card program (a discount card that is available to all students), the final exam care package, and the refrigerator rental program on campus.
This year as a fundraiser, RHA is holding a raffle called “Rub Your Duck for Luck.” Those who enter buy a duck with the hopes of winning one of the prizes, which include a free room for a semester, or a free board plan for one semester, among other things. The purpose of this event is to fundraise and hopefully double RHA’s current budget. Anyone can participate by buying a duck in the Commons, the DCC, or the Union. The goal of the fundraiser is to sell 1000 ducks, and RHA is 30 percent there.
The idea came about when Nick Di Liberto and Tom Boetig attended a conference at Northeastern University in October where another association held an event similar to this. When Di Liberto and Boetig presented the idea to the executive board, they were all very enthusiastic about the program, slightly to the surprise of both. “We started this as a humorous thing, but everyone seemed to like it,” said Di Liberto. The board met with Pete Snyder, director of Residence Life, and Kathy Edick, director of auxiliary, parking, and transportation services, and got the raffle approved and the prizes were donated to them.
RHA officers work alongside Residence life office staff and resident assistants try to compliment what residence life is all about: “we try to shape how the buildings live and act. We do not want students to just come back and sleep, we want them to feel comfortable in their dorms”. RHA’s budget goes toward putting on programs that enhance the quality of life for students in all residence halls.
Emily Bologna, assistant director of residence life and RHA’s advisor, said, “RHA is about programming and advocacy. We hold programs that make students feel at home.” Bologna works closely with the RHA board as well as Residence Life to ensure that things run smoothly.
Many students feel that RHA should not be governed by Residence Life, as is the case at other schools. There have been many attempts to try and separate RHA from Residence Life, but they have been fruitless so far.
