After being inactive for nearly two semesters, the Residence Hall Association (RHA) is now back up and running.
Following an election last November for officers, the RHA was reinstated as an active organization and is now getting more involved with the students at Texas A&M University-Commerce through planned events and supporting other organizations on campus.
According to Brandon Settles, vice president of communications, one of the main goals of the RHA is to encourage students to stay on campus for more than just attending classes, by organizing different events and recreational activities for them to participate in.
For Valentines Day, the RHA will be selling candy roses, made of Hershey’s Kisses. Anyone interested in purchasing them can come by the booth that will be set up on the first floor of Whitley Hall on Feb. 14 or can pre-order them by visiting the RHA office or on the first floor of Whitley.
The candy roses will be sold for $1 each, or individuals can buy them six for $5 and 12 for $10.
Also coming up in February is Residence Life Week, which will be from Feb. 17-23. Many organizations and residence halls will be involved in this week, which will include scavenger hunts for prizes and a petting zoo at family housing. During the week, the RHA will also be giving out free laundry cards through several raffle drawings.
The grand prize will be a $50 laundry card, second prize a $25 laundry card and third place an array of clothes washing supplies valued at $15.
When Residence Life Week starts, to get into the drawing for the laundry cards, students will need to visit the office of the residence hall they live in to pick up a free ticket.
According to Heather Kercheval, vice president of programming and leadership, a charity event has been scheduled to launch in April for Children’s Medical Center in Dallas. The event will include collecting teddy bears for children coming out of surgeries at the hospital. Teddy bears can either be donated to the cause, or individuals wanting to contribute can pay $1 to have a teddy bear given out in their name.
Other organizations the RHA will be working with include the Golden Leos, sororities on campus and Breakout Entertainment. By getting involved with these larger organizations, the RHA hopes to get more students interested in joining their respective residence hall associations, as well as in the events coming up.
Students may be surprised to find out they are automatically a member of the association if they live in any of the residence halls. Meetings for the RHA started last Friday, and will continue for a month at 5:30 p.m. on Fridays, then going to every other week. All students, both residents and commuters, are encouraged to attend these meetings and voice their concerns and ideas.
Other officers include Charleston Handsome, executive vice president, and Mohammad Irman, vice president of finance and administration.
Currently, only two individual residence hall associations are active, including the Mayo Council of Mayo Hall and the Whitley Hall Association of Whitley Hall. Residents living elsewhere interested in starting an association for their residence hall should contact the RHA president, Demarcus Hornsby at 903-468-3610.
Any questions about the RHA or how to get involved should be directed to the president during office hours from 1-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, or from 1-3 p.m. on Fridays. Hornsby can also be contacted at DHornsby@leo.tamu-commerce.edu.