Two slates have announced bids for RHA presidency

Platforms include trayless dining and parking.

By Luke Udstuen

Published Jan. 22, 2010

Correction appended

This week marked the first week members of the Residence Halls Association were able to declare their bid for presidency.

Incumbent President Rachael Feuerborn and incumbent Vice President Lauren Thomas announced Tuesday night they will both seek re-election on the same slate.

Wednesday evening, Parliamentarian Jared Grafman, who works for The Maneater, and freshman Colten Ross also declared their bid for presidency.

Last year, five slates bid for RHA presidency, but two slates dropped before the election occurred.

"I can see more people declaring (their bid for presidency) after our meeting Monday," Thomas said.

Speaker of Congress Blake Lawrence, the most senior member of the executive board who is not seeking election, will act as the chairman of the elections board. Lawrence predicts a shift in the focus of campus issues on which slates will campaign.

"Trayless will probably take a backseat, although it would be an issue," Lawrence said. "A big issue this election year would be parking."

Lawrence also predicted internal organization will take a back seat, as most organizational problems that had plagued the organization for a three year period were alleviated this year by the Feuerborn administration.

Thomas said her and Feuerborn's stance on policy would remain similar to the last election.

"I would assume it would be a continuance of what we've started," Thomas said. "We don't want to see it stop, drop or roll."

Thomas said their campaign would focus on changing the constitution where the spirit of congressional meetings doesn't reflect the language of the constitution.

"We don't want the president in the future to have to rewrite the constitution every time they come in," Thomas said. "We want things to be in a stable situation where the president and vice, for the years after we're gone, don't have to start from scratch, like we did."

Thomas said she and Feuerborn would focus on gaining fair parking policy for students, while citing past policy changes to establish ethos.

"We are working on formulating some sort of plan with parking — we want to go at it with the same drive as the returners policy initiative," Thomas said.

The Grafman-Ross slate said they see trayless dining as one of the hottest issues.

"I have no opinion on whether we go trayless," Grafman said. "If it's brought up again, I'll just go with what the students decide."

The Grafman-Ross slate said they would also like to see parking policy reform and echoed the ideas of internal committee chairwoman Emily Fujita.

"I think Emily Fujita had a good idea as to variable pricing," Grafman said. "I think she thought that through really well. I was in favor of that."

Ross agreed with Grafman.

The RHA election will take place online from 12:01 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 25. The results will be announced at the RHA Ball on Feb. 26.

Last year, the election Web site was inoperable for the first eight and a half hours of the election.

"As board of election chair, I will ensure that it's absolutely foolproof and that it's on time," Lawrence said. "This year we're not going to take any chances, or take any risks."