RHA President-Elect Prepares for Office

By Will Arey

Staff Writer

Although her term will not begin until Tuesday, Residence Hall Association President-elect Joanna Jordan has been quite busy lately.

Jordan, a junior, said that in preparation for her inauguration Tuesday, she has been working diligently to ensure the success of her platform goals.

Jordan said she already has met numerous times with Christopher Payne, director of the Department of Housing and Residential Education, and Larry Hicks, assistant director of administrative services for the housing department, to establish bases for her administration in the upcoming year.

Jordan also said she has met with Student Body President-elect Jen Daum and Carolina Athletic Association President-elect Kris Willett.

She said RHA will help CAA coordinate Homecoming festivities next year and that she hopes RHA members will serve on the Homecoming committee.

"I feel that RHA can make great contributions to Homecoming in terms of publicity and manpower," Jordan said.

Jordan also said all preliminary work was complete in regards to choosing appointees for her Cabinet positions, which will not become official until after her inauguration. Jordan said RHA has been holding local area government elections since last week, which will continue through this week.

"The election of area government members is essential to the future success of RHA because they are the ones that truly make an impact on resident student life," she said.

Area government offices are designed to give students an opportunity to express ideas and concerns about the residence hall experience.

There are 11 individual areas on campus, and each of the government offices decides which programs to offer in the specific area.

Current RHA President David Cooper said input received from area officials greatly influences RHA's decision-making processes. "Governors (and other area officials) are at the core of everything RHA accomplishes," he said.

Ben Laws, current governor of the Olde Campus Lower Quad RHA district, said area officials work in semi-autonomous fashion, coming together to make recommendations to the area governor. Each area governor also serves on the executive board of the RHA.

"We are hoping to have a strong foundation in place and implement a definitive plan of action in place for next year," Laws said. "Our goal is to hit the ground running."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.