Final Family Forum provides ideas, goals for RHA’s halls

Trout Hall residents proved they care about the Residence Hall Assembly with characters and cookies.

The fourth and final RHA Family Forum, presented by Trout Hall, took place Sunday night with a spirited Care Bear theme.

Family Forums were new to RHA this year and designed to bring the halls together for idea sharing and fun outside the traditional RHA setting.

“The whole part of being a family is being there for each other and exchanging ideas,” said RHA President Phil Hernandez, Garden City senior.

The non-formal meeting opened with a skit put on by residents of Trout Hall with Liz Orvis, Westland sophomore, sporting a full Care Bear costume. It related to the burnout that many individuals on campus feel at this time of year.

The halls exchanged ideas about how to prepare respective executive boards for the upcoming year.

Trout Hall President Kristin Ross, Davison sophomore, said halls brainstormed a new way of helping the future executive board.

They began a traditions book, which lists the program the hall has done for the academic year, how much it spent, the turnout and any other pertinent information about the program.

“This way the e-board next year can decide if it is a program they would like to continue,” Ross said.

Robinson Hall is having each member of its executive board make a transition folder for the person taking over their position.

Members also will do their best at hands-on training before the year is over.

“Once the new e-board has been elected, we are going to bring them to our meetings so they can see how things will go next year,” said Aaron Lewis, Chicago senior.

The Community of Excellence Awards, presented to the most outstanding hall community on campus, also were discussed.

The awards will take place April 8 and Hernandez said he is hoping it will be a celebration of the halls.

“It won’t be RHA’s night, but the hall councils’ night,” he said.

There also were treats for those attending.

Each hall decorated cookies for another hall and gave reasons as to why the students believe the hall has done an excellent job in RHA.

“The Family Forum was an idea that I and the e-board thought of at (National Association of College and University Residence Halls) last summer. It was a dream of ours and you guys made that dream come true,” Hernandez said.