RHA & The Parliamentarian Procedure

On Tuesday, Feb. 11th, the Residence Hall Association [RHA] gathered for their weekly meeting to discuss changes, concerns, and opinions. Upon arrival, each voting hall resident received a paddle, took a seat, and waited through the 5-minute grace period for any late arrivals to enter.

The meeting uses specific wording to make the whole process more official. The type of procedure and wording used in the meeting is called Parliamentary Procedure. Parliamentary Procedure is a set of rules that shape the way the meeting is run to ensure that all participants can be heard. It also ensures that all decisions are made without fear of confusion.

The President of RHA, Madison Davis, starts the meeting by calling it to order. There is then a roll call of all members from each hall. Each group of residents sitting together raises their hand in unison when their hall is called, and the number of members is then recorded in the minutes (or notes). Attendees are given points; these are tallied up and used to give rewards to the hall with the most points at the end of the semester.

Following the typical parliamentary style, the President first spoke, then the Vice President of programming, then the Vice President of finance, and then there was the parliamentary procedure.

This week, the first pressing matter was nominating candidates for secretary. Anyone could either nominate themselves or someone else. After the nominations, there were 3 clear nominees.

The next matter discussed was Hall Olympics. This would be a competition-based game where halls would compete against each other in different games, sports, and puzzles. RHA is shooting for it to run in April, and they’re taking ideas and suggestions for activities.

They then discussed fundraising ideas for RHA to get more funding to do more activities.

Finally, the Parliamentarian introduced the parliamentary procedure.

During the parliamentary procedure, the elected went over parliamentary words and sayings that are to be used during meetings. They then introduced a constitution. The two-page constitution stipulates repercussions for unexcused absences of those who are on the RHA board, as well as all of the obligations of RHA board members.

RHA is hosted in CCIT 156, and it is an open event that anyone can join, and anyone can participate in it.