The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

RHA focuses on the little things

Though students may not have noticed, the Residence Hall Association has accomplished a lot this semester, RHA officials said.

Last year, the issues RHA dealt with were more noticeable, according to Jason Curtis, president of RHA and sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences.

For example, last year's RHA replaced all washers and dryers in residence halls, he said.

"This year, people seem to be fairly content with residence hall issues," Curtis said. "We've been working with smaller things, but in the end, we've done just as much."

In October, RHA hosted "HALLoween," in which a total of 695 Milwaukee-area children trick-or-treated in the residence halls, Curtis said.

This total was "almost double what we had last year," said Julie Krupa, secretary of RHA and sophomore in College of Business Administration. It was one of their biggest accomplishments, she said.

On Dec. 1, RHA organized an event entitled "Crazy Fans," said Ashley Beckner, vice president of RHA and sophomore in the College of Business Administration.

During this event, each residence hall decorated a banner for the basketball team, Curtis said.

Cobeen Hall received $150 for its winning banner, he said.

"Miracle on Central Mall," another event organized by RHA, will be held Friday at 4:30 p.m. outside of the Joan of Arc Chapel, Curtis said.

At this event, University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild will address the crowd, and attendees are asked to bring personal care supplies for the Milwaukee Women's Shelter, including diapers, toothpaste and other toiletries.

RHA started a program called "Hugs and Hope" for which all residence hall councils wrote letters to terminally ill children, Beckner said.

In addition to organizing these programs, RHA has set up Dining Advisory and Hall Council boards, Curtis said.

The Dining Advisory Board works with Sodexho, the provider of food for residence halls, about dining issues, while the Hall Improvement Board works with the Office of Residence Life to solve issues in the residence halls, including broken doors, he said.

This semester, RHA has distributed funds to the Black Student Council to attend a conference and to Late Night programming as well as residence halls, Curtis said.

RHA usually has approximately $850-$1,000 to distribute, he said. Twenty-five cents of each resident's room and board fee goes to RHA and RHA decides what this money will be used for.

In November, RHA sent nine students to the Great Lakes Association of College and University Residents, Curtis said.

During the course of next semester, RHA has a number of programs planned, including The Marquette University Game Show, a version of the "Price is Right," and the annual Little Sibs weekend in April, Curtis said.

Curtis said it's difficult to tell what RHA will do next, because the issues are always changing.

"Each year, the issues are different," he said. "People are always going to complain about things like visiting rules and food, but there's not much we can do about that."

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Dec. 9 2004.

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