Efforts to improve the relationship of the Residence Hall Association and the Undergraduate Student Government are being made following recent controversy between the two organizations, members of both groups say.

RHA, USG and University Housing officials met Tuesday night to discuss how a recent USG resolution, which called for the removal of two Housing officials and stated that RHA is not properly representing the students, can be overcome to bring the groups together and serve students’ interests.

Ed Jones, University Housing director, said for there to be improvement in the RHA and USG relationship, there has to be some agreement on how things work.

Advertisement

Controversy is what got us here, Jones said. We (Housing) want something ongoing to keep everybody informed. This should not be a crisis group but a constructive working relationship.

Jones said the way to reach this relationship is by members of both organizations utilizing the biweekly meeting set up by Housing where the two organizations are suppose to meet and communicate.

We (Housing) already have the vehicle set up to where USG and RHA can meet to discuss any issues dealing with Housing, Jones said. The concern is getting USG members here. Senators Dave Vingren, Thompson Point, and Jason Barrett (University Park) have been at almost every meeting over the past year. But other than that, we haven’t gotten USG people to come most of the time.

Jones said attendance of only a few USG senators to USG/RHA meetings caused miscommunication between the organizations.

It is difficult for me to understand how someone can come to one meeting and then write a resolution opposing a Housing decision when he does not know all the facts, Jones said. What we do at these meetings is have ongoing discussion about issues that concern the students. No one is going to agree on every issue, but we do listen to everyone’s opinions.

Scott Pfeiffer, USG chief of staff, said more senators should attend the meetings to avoid any more problems.

As I see it, the solution for us (USG) is to have all the housing senators here, Pfeiffer said. That way we can be fairly represented.

Advertisement*

RHA President Ray Owczarzak said USG needs to inform RHA when there are issues between the two organizations that need to be addressed.

We (RHA/USG) all want to be listened to, Owczarzak said. As I see it, RHA does more with Housing than USG does, but we both are concerned about the students needs. Frankly, I’m quite insulted when we’re not informed by USG about problems dealing with us that we could possibly respond to.

Pfeiffer said he will be going to the housing senators to discuss ways they can improve RHA/USG relations.

Vingren said the meetings were going well and RHA/USG relations were fine until Housing proposed changing Neely Hall, in University Park, to the only over-21 residence hall for fall 1996.

The over-21 housing decision is where the battle started, and we (RHA/USG) need to work past that, Vingren said.

Warren Hall, in Thompson Point, and Allen Hall, in University Park, were both over-21 housing until last semester when Housing officials suggested Neely become the only hall for older students. Some students and USG members opposed this decision, and the USG Senate is still debating the issue.