The RHA is here to serve you. For years the Residence Hall Association was a driving force on the AU campus. This organization can be truly be a great programming and advocacy body for the students of AU. As many of you may have heard, the RHA has experienced resignations at the Executive Board level. I am proud to say that the RHA can and will overcome these challenges, and we are already on our way.
My name is Scott Goldstein, and I am your new RHA president. We will soon have a full Executive Board of five incredible people. Will Mount will serve as the vice president of community coordination. He will be responsible for coordinating with the Hall and Floor Boards and assisting them in setting up events on the hall and floor level. Aaron Hake will be your new vice president of administration and finance. Aaron is very dedicated to the RHA and will manage the RHA budget to make sure that your money is well-spent. Jon Engel will serve as vice president of programming, and will coordinate a very exciting line up of events for the 2004-2005 school year.
We have big goals for this year. This organization is all about fun. Last year alone, RHA sponsored the South Side Carnival, the Casino Night, the Etiquette Dinner, the Winter Ball, the tradition of "Taste of Leonard" and so many more events. But this year we have set our goals even higher.
One thing that the RHA has forgotten in recent years is that we do not just serve as a programming organization but we have a responsibility to advocate on behalf of the students. This year alone we will work on advocacy projects such as a new student security force, follow through on the University promise for a new Student Entertainment Center, and look into ways to reduce false fire alarms and in the case of alarms, easing the pain put on resident students by these occurrences. We are here for you.
In years past, the RHA Executive Board has held office hours in the office we have in Hughes Hall 116. This year, we will continue to do so. But even more, we are going to come to you. Instead of sitting inside our comfortable office awaiting the arrival of students, we will be holding office hours on the Quad and in each of the residence halls. We want your ideas, suggestions and even complaints.
Every student pays a $14 fee for the Residence Hall Association. This year we make you this promise: We will not waste one cent. Our goal is to use our budget to put on fun events, to make life on AU.'s campus enjoyable every single day. Most of all, we want pride back on this campus.
Among our ideas is an Inaugural Ball to be held on Nov. 5, the Friday following the presidential election. We won't be charging you $30 this year, and we aren't shipping you off campus. We have decided to plan an Inaugural Ball to replace the Winter Ball right on the Freidheim Quad. We will have a live band and buffet-style dinner. And after the dance, which will be held from 8 o 10 p.m., we will have an after party with a DJ in Mary Gray Center floor 1 from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.
That is only one of our exciting new ideas. We will also be holding a World Series-watching party and baseball games on the Quad, our annual Spring Grill on the Hill, and so many fun events put on by your Floor and Hall Boards. I am so excited to be your new president and so excited for the possibilities we have this year. We want your ideas. Come to our office hours on the Quad, or visit us in our Hughes office.
E-mail us at rha@american.edu, or call us at x1RHA. This is supposed to be the resident student government for YOU; the organization that truly represents and serves all Residents Hall students. This year, we will. Thanks and I look forward to a great year!
