RHA President explains the organization's opportunities

There are close to 3,000 students who call Southeast Missouri State residence halls their home. Some come from far away, some from closer, but each of them is looking for great things from the place where they live.

Residence Hall Association's mission is to serve the needs of those 3,000 students. We do this in many ways and all are ways in which you can get involved.

A consistent need on the Southeast campus is community. RHA wants people to be involved on campus and take advantage of all the residence hall community has to offer. One of the ways that we do this is through programming. Each month we plan at least one program for students to take part in. Programs are a really good way to meet people, and there are programs for everybody.

We have karaoke programs, programs where we watch Cardinals games and game nights. In the buildings, we host door decorating contests and offer prizes for people with the coolest rooms.

Students wanting to get involved with RHA can also get leadership opportunities as well.

RHA is part of the National Association of College and University Residence Halls, an organization that seeks to advocate for residence halls across the country.

Each year regional and national conferences are held at universities across the United States. They offer leadership workshops and programs that help students grow as people and give things for students to bring back to their prospective universities. Conferences are a lot of fun and a great way to network. You can build friendships with people from a lot of different schools and meet professionals from other aspects of university life.

There are many other ways for students to get involved. Anyone can attend RHA meetings. They are in the UC at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays. They are a great way to talk about concerns students have with the residence halls as well as find out interesting things going on.

Dining services meets once a month, and they handle specific issues that students have with eating on campus. It gives a chance for students to meet with dining administrators, who are ready and willing to listen to student concerns. A new way in which RHA is getting involved is philanthropy. We are reaching out to our community and our campus to help make it a better place to live. This includes collecting tabs for the Ronald McDonald house.

RHA has a lot of opportunities for students living in the residence halls, and we need students to be involved. Don't hesitate to stop into RHA meetings. Remember your residence hall is where you live, and your opinion counts!