RHA to propose institutional restructure
The organization is discussing changes for parking and residence hall money allotment.
Published March 16, 2010
Residence Halls Association Speaker of Congress Michael Crawford will introduce a proposal to largely reconstruct RHA at a future Congress meeting.
The proposed restructuring plan would mirror the system used in the House of Representatives, Crawford said. Congress would be the only section of RHA that would stay the same. Both internal and external committees would be split up into smaller subcommittees.
"It's going to be a more efficient system with more distributed power and be more representative-oriented," Crawford said.
External Committee Chairwoman Natasha Desai has had experience with a previous system in high school. Desai said though Congress is a great way to keep representatives together, smaller committees would help representatives stay focused.
"When you're constantly thinking about one topic, you're more likely to come up with great ideas that you can bounce off Congress," Desai said. "When you're focused that comes off in our dedication."
Although the proposal will be introduced Monday, representatives will not vote on the structural changes until later in the year, Crawford said.
RHA President Rachael Feuerborn will introduce a joint parking initiative at the next Congress meeting. Both Feuerborn and Missouri Students Assocation President Tim Noce collaborated to create the parking proposal.
The parking proposal suggests converting the parking space selection process to MyZou. The created system would give students preference based on seniority and residential status. Neither Feuerborn nor RHA Vice President Lauren Thomas returned phone calls Monday night to specify the details in the pricing plan.
Freshman Daniel Young said he does not use his car much, save for the occasional trip to the store or out to go out to eat.
"It's harder for people who live off campus," Young said. "They'd need to park in Hearnes and spend an extra 20 minutes getting to the bookstore."
Like the class system, no freshman would have as many credit hours as a senior, Desai said, relating fairness to the proposed parking resolution. To that, Desai said some students just needed to deal with it.
"I don't know of any freshman who doesn't have a spot on campus," Desai said. "It might not necessarily be the location they want, but they have one."
The parking resolution requests a greater difference between rates charged for parking spaces in parking garages and parking lot spaces. The resolution states existing prices do not adequately reflect the convenience one student gets from parking in a garage or loses when parking in a lot.
The joint parking proposal awaits a vote within both RHA and MSA, which will occur in the next few weeks.
Feuerborn will also introduce a bill Monday that would limit individual residence hall government rollover. At the end of the academic year, RHA would transfer all surplus funds greater than 20 percent of each halls' original balance into a fund for student scholarships.
"We hope that it would influence them to budget their money more effectively," Feuerborn said. "Having halls spend their money on residents is better than them giving us their money."
Any hall wishing to save funds for a more expensive, long-term investment may petition to retain funds in its budget by presenting a proposal to the budget committee. RHA does not have a budget committee at the moment, but the aforementioned restructuring plan would create one.
RHA will also vote on a bill that would transition all RHA representative elections online.
The existing process is an in-hall election, which must be completed within three weeks of the beginning of the fall semester.
Feuerborn said the new procedure might reduce the process from three weeks to two but would definitely allow students easier access to meet the candidates and participate in the elections.
