Residence Hall Association accepts applications

The UW-River Falls Residence Hall Association (RHA) is accepting student applications for executive board positions for the 2010-11 school year.

“RHA is a representative body that advocates for the on-campus student population,” said William Larson, the RHA chair.

The executive board positions available include a chairperson, Residence Life relations coordinator, programming coordinator, student issues and improvements coordinator and administrative coordinator.

They are also looking for a Student Senate Delegate, but this position is not part of the executive board.

The RHA deals with programming for the residence halls, hears housing appeals and approves purchasing materials and program funding for the halls.

The RHA is also an advising body for Residence Life, is a representative body for student issues and concerns of residence hall students and participates in state, regional and national residence life leadership opportunities, according to the RHA responsibilities chart.

Larson said the RHA is beneficial to UWRF students.

“The RHA centralized a lot of tasks that used to be spread out through other departments,” he said. “Now it is less confusing for students; they only need to go to one place to get their needs or concerns taken care of.”

The RHA has had many accomplishments in their first year on campus, according to Tracy Gerth, residence life area coordinator.

They unanimously approved their constitution, hosted two successful events and won several awards at the state and regional conferences.

The Highlighter for Life event and Midnight Madness helped raise money for Feed my Starving Children and Multiple Sclerosis.

The RHA is also looking forward to another successful event, Lil Siblings weekend (April 16-18), according to Gerth.

The RHA sent 14 delegates to the state Wisconsin United Residence Hall Association (WURHA) leadership conference, according to Gerth. Alissa Baker, the RHA’s current communication coordinator, won the Wisconsin Communication Coordinator of the Year award.

UWRF won the large school building block award for its progress with RHA.

For the second year in a row, UWRF won the large school of the year award.

UWRF also took home the best large school spirit award and the best large school roll call award for their creative skit.

The RHA also won awards at the regional conference, according to Larson.

The Great Lakes Affiliate of Colleges and University Residence Halls (GLACURH) conference awarded UWRF with best roll call of all the schools present.

Roll calls are when each school comes up with a skit or song that introduces them to the other schools at the conference.

UWRF also won the program of the year award for UWRF’s iRock program. The iRock program is a living learning community that will be located in May Hall next year.

This program will focus on the concepts of personal wellness, connection to the environment and social justice, according to the Housing Preference Choices flyer.

The students involved in this community will take two to three courses each semester that incorporate the concepts through team learning, experiential programming, service learning and regular positive interaction with students and staff.

Larson is excited to see what the new executive board will bring to the RHA.

“I hope for more programming from the RHA and for the new executive board to get the name out there and have more of a presence so more students can recognize what the RHA is all about,” he said.

Gerth agrees with Larson adding additional goals for the group’s future.

“I hope the RHA continues to grow in a positive direction, building on new programs and ways to make the residence halls a positive place for students to live,” she said.

Applications for the RHA executive board positions are available at the Information Center desk in the University Center. All applications must be turned in to the Involvement Center desk or to Laurie Cicchese (laurie.cicchese@uwrf.edu).