Residence hall dues to hit $22

The Residence Hall Association passed a proposal last night to raise the student Housing fee $2, resulting in a total house due of $22 per student living in the residence halls.

In the past, RHA received 60 cents per student each semester from University Housing, taken from the fee for a student's room and board, and the house councils of the residence halls received the $20 student fee charged to the student's account.

In accordance with last night's decision, RHA will no longer receive funds from Housing.

Instead, the $22 student fee will be divided among RHA, the house councils and the residence halls' multicultural councils. Last night's resolution for the allocation of funds to RHA called for a $16 charge for house councils, a $4 charge for multicultural councils and a $2 charge for RHA - totaling the $22.

In the end, RHA will receive an 80-cent increase per student in funds.

"They made the most well-thought decision, thinking of the resident first," said RHA president-elect Albert Garcia, an LSA sophomore. "We did not want to raise the dues when residents would not be happy."

Last night's proposal changed the format of billing as well. Students now will be billed for RHA, house councils and multicultural councils individually.

"It's going to ensure that residents will be able to hold RHA, house councils and multi-cultural councils specifically accountable," Garcia said. "Residents will know exactly where their money is going."

Until last night, the $20 fee was charged to student accounts, which was then distributed to house councils. The councils decided to distribute the money to multicultural councils within their residence hall.

Several groups expressed concern about this allocation, citing disproportionality among the residence halls. Students acknowledged that the multicultural councils for Couzens and Alice Lloyd residence halls would actually lose funding if they were to become independent.

RHA Treasurer Jason Taylor, an Engineering sophomore, said the primary focus of RHA has been allocating money to councils in need, but the new funding system will make the councils more comparable to other campus groups. He also noted that the amount and allocation of fees hasn't changed in more than two decades.

What RHA is "trying to do now is move ourselves into the '90s," Taylor said. Other campus organizations "certainly haven't gone 25 years" without a change, said Taylor, adding he would like to see the group "being more out there on campus doing things."

RHA has been involved in activities such as the Eco-olympics, the Environmental Theme Semester and a variety of multicultural council events.

Garcia said he would like to use the allocated money to see more programs brought to the residence halls next year, including self-defense programs, speakers and leadership initiatives.

04-17-98