Residence Hall Association amendment passed
St. Michael's tries to bridge the gap in residence halls

Kelly Brooks | staff writer

St. Michael’s Student Association (SA) passed an amendment on Oct. 23 to allocate $2,400 to a newly recognized Residence Hall Association (RHA), which plans to spend the money on activities for students.

Lee gives life to representatives

Elections took place in the beginning of the semester to vote on a president, vice president and representative for each area and hall to represent the RHA, says Brian Lee, associate director of Residence Life. These areas include the quad, Founders and Senior Halls, the suites, townhouses, and North Campus.

Residents of Alumni Hall gathered in their basement to watch the Patriots game last Sunday. Mary Cate Connors, photo

Lee says he played an important part in founding the RHA and believes the purpose of the RHA is to allow area and hall representatives to have a leadership position within their living environments. He also wants the RHA to provide students the opportunity to bring their concerns or ideas to the representatives, and to provide funds for them to put on programming in residence areas across campus.

Lee is the point person for the RHA, along with secretary of student policy, Gary Levante, until the association gets completely off the ground, Lee says.

The association will be beneficial because it will be another resource to provide programming for students on campus, especially on weekends, Lee says.

According to Lee, the hardest part was getting students on board and being recognized by the SA.

 “The organization is still in its beginning stages, but everyone is working hard, and there is a lot of energy from all involved,” Lee says.

According to Lee, the RHA is moving from brainstorming ideas to now hosting small programs. It is presently working on getting its name out across campus.

“We are going to start small, but the goal by the end of the year is to have a big program,” Lee says.

Pig roasts and highlighter dances

Over the last few years, Lee worked alongside students to develop the RHA at St. Michael’s. They have attended leadership conferences, which exposed them to other colleges with similar associations, Levante says.

Lee’s work was continued over the summer and into the fall semester, working specifically with Levante to earn SA recognition, Levante says. 

The old form of hall and area government was similar to the RHA in the way representatives were elected, but their only responsibilities were to attend SA meetings and they could vote along with the committee. Those aspects stayed the same, but now they have funding to conduct programming, Levante says.

“Last year the S.A. eliminated the old form because it never functioned well, since there was no funding and it was not advised or overseen from anyone,” Levante says. “People just forgot about it.”

In order for the SA to recognize and allocate money to the RHA, a vote had to pass through the SA and through campus. Each time there was only one vote against it, Levante says.

Representatives will establish themselves and will inform students of events through posters, e-mail and word of mouth, Lee says.

Not only is money coming from the SA, but Residential Life is allocating about $5,500 to the RHA, which they earn by selling care packages to parents to send to their kids, Levante says.

It has not taken long for the RHA to conduct activities and put that money to use. Last Sunday, the townhouse representatives held a pig roast which over 100 students attended, Levante says.

“The pig roast turned into a sausage, peppers and onion roast,” Lee says. But the food ran out quickly and it was a big success.”

In addition, Pontigny suite representatives set up a big-screen television for students to watch a Red Sox game while enjoying candy, snacks and soda. Joyce Hall and North Campus also passed out goodie bags, Levante says.

The townhouse representatives hope to hold a highlighter dance in Alliot on Dec. 1 for students of all classes to attend.

“Programming on weekends is big with the Board of Trustees because it tends to keep kids out of trouble,” Levante says.

Spending money on students

Levante encourages students to submit ideas and problems to the RHA representatives.

“We are here for the students and if they have concerns about anything or want to give us positive ideas to spend the money on, we will listen,” says Amanda Matonis, a sophomore representative of Alumni Hall says. “We are open to ideas and want to spend the money the way students want.”

Some ideas on how to spend the money have been ordering Chinese food during the Patriot’s football games, building ginger bread houses, designing Christmas ornaments, and playing laser tag in the dorm buildings, Matonis says.

Chris Maloney, resident director of Alumni Hall, watched the Patriots game with his residents. Mary Cate Connors, photo

Heidi Griswold, the resident director of Joyce Hall, has spoken to her representatives and they are excited to take on leadership roles, which is important to have in first-year buildings.

“For students it is nice to have two channels to bring up concerns, especially regular students, instead of just the Residence Life staff,” Griswold says. 

The elected hall and area representatives will be holding meetings in their respective areas on a regular basis overseen by Lee, Levante and selected residential directors, and all residents are invited to attend, Levante says.

“This is a great way to provide alternative activities for students and brings classes and buildings together,” says Lindsay Bernard, a sophomore and resident assistant in Ryan Hall, says. “I’m excited to see what they’re going to do for us for the Super Bowl.”