The Residence Halls Association’s newly elected leaders plan to instate many changes during the fall semester.
RHA President Zack Folk will serve as the face of the organization and work with other student leaders and administrators to make sure the interests of students living on campus are well-represented.
“We want to make sure that everyone who lives on campus knows who RHA (is) and how RHA can make sure that everyone’s time on campus is fantastic,” Folk said. “We want to build a strong connection between RHA and the residents that we represent.”
Folk said his biggest goal for RHA next year is to make itself more visible on campus. Folk hopes to expand and improve Paint It Pink Week, which raises money for breast cancer research.
“We’re working on expanding this week way more than we have in the past to include more events to get others more involved than just buying a shirt,” Folk said.
After increasing communication with residents, Folk said he hopes to increase its connection with other organizations on campus, which could lead to expansion and improvement in all the programs RHA already has. Folk emphasized his hope to get more students involved next year within their own residence halls.
“We want to attract passionate residents into becoming leaders within RHA and their own residence halls,” Folk said.
RHA Vice President Lindsay Weber said she plans to expand her role.
“It’s very important to me to be as supportive as possible for the rest of the executive board,” she said. “I want to know what’s going on with every position and be able to help as much as I can. I really want to dive in and work with each member of the executive board to achieve new things within their positions and the organization.”
The RHA executive board consists of six positions, all of which have specific functions: the hall governments coordinator, national communications coordinator, sustainability coordinator, programming coordinator, public relations coordinator and finance coordinator.
Hall governments coordinator Lindsey Vigoda will facilitate communication with the hall and floor governments and the leadership advisers who work with them.
National Communications Coordinator Brooke Shoopman will work to communicate with RHAs from other universities on national and regional levels.
Sustainability Coordinator James Jordan will be working to promote sustainability efforts throughout MU’s residence halls.
Programming Coordinator Kenton Gewecke will plan events for residents on campus. Gewecke will also be in charge of the Programming Board, which was established this past year to help with the planning of events.
Public Relations Coordinator Julie Larsen will be in charge of managing the promotion of RHA through technology and other forms of communication.
Finally, Finance Coordinator Matt Kalish will be in charge of managing the RHA funds, meaning he creates the budget.
“I’m looking to work with Congress in creating a framework ensuring that hall and community governments spend their social fees wisely and reduce their year-to-year rollover,” Kalish said. “I’m also looking to work with our amazing group of leadership advisers this year to make sure that they are educated on how to effectively spend their social fee allocations for their halls.”