Niklas Dehlwes | Reporter
Oct. 18, 2016; 7 a.m.

Lindenwood has created a Residential Hall Association to give students a platform to raise questions and concerns in dorm-related matters, said John Vanderpool, coordinator of Residential Life.

Vanderpool said the program is similar to the Lindenwood Student Government Association in that it is “student-run and every student on and off campus is automatically a part of it.”

He said any student who has a request, complaint or question about anything regarding activities and programs on campus, Lindenwood policy or matters regarding student housing, can fill out a form, which can be found at the front desk of each dorm, and which was also sent to every student via email.

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”Andrea Hoppert” link=”” color=”#D3DF36″ class=”” size=”26″]“There are many things to improve in both places, so hopefully the program does what it says.”[/perfectpullquote]

After the student submits the form to his or her residential staff, they will forward it to Vanderpool, the adviser of the whole program, and later to the executive board.

Vanderpool went to every dorm to explain to students what the association is about and how it will work with the students to improve campus life.

Andrea Hoppert, sophomore, said she was “looking forward to this program.”

“I lived in a dorm last semester, now I moved to a house,” Hoppert said. “There are many things to improve in both places, so hopefully the program does what it says.”

By next October, the association’s goal is to have an executive board, consisting of students who are elected by the entire dorm and housing population. The different positions are president, vice president, finance and administrative director, public relations and marketing director, programming director and a national communications coordinator.

For individual dorms, the group will implement hall councils consisting of a president, a vice president, a treasurer and a hall advocacy coordinator, all elected by the students living in the dorm.

So far Ayres Hall is the only dorm that has implemented these positions.

“We want the RHA to be established by October 2017, which means that by starting with Ayres, we plan on having a complete hall council for every dorm by that time,” Vanderpool said.

Whether or not students living in housing will be included in the process, Vanderpool said, “Currently we are looking into how an area council would work in such a vast area such as men or women’s housing. Where we could have a monthly meeting or how we could involve the non-traditional houses in the councils we will have in our residence halls. However, we are still working on what that will look like.”

[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”Basil Onyia” link=”” color=”#D3DF36″ class=”” size=”26″]“This organization can reach extraordinary heights in terms of changing concerning matters for the best, but only if the residents take the initiative.”[/perfectpullquote]

Basil Onyia, administrative assistant in the office of residential life, said he believes students benefit from the program because the organization is meant to voice their opinions, and the success of it is based on how much they put into it.

“This organization can reach extraordinary heights in terms of changing concerning matters for the best, but only if the residents take the initiative,” he said.

Vanderpool agreed.

“The students will get out of it what they put into it,” he said. “If they want change, they have to be part of the change.”