Article I NAME AND PURPOSE

The name of this organization shall be the Residence Hall Association (RHA). The primary responsibilities of this organization are to act as a resource to individual halls and as a channel of communication between the nine residence halls; promote: civic engagement, cultural diversity, social, educational, and recreational programming for residence hall students; and provide a voice to residence hall and university policies.

Article II MEMBERSHIP

Section 1

Section 2

Each hall may have up to five (5) appointed voting representatives attend RHA throughout the academic year. Benton, Stateview, and Lawrence must have a minimum of two (2). W.W. Holes, Sherburne, Stearns, Shoemaker, Hill-Case, and Mitchell must have a minimum of three (3) appointed voting representatives.

Section 3

RHA shall have advisor(s) as appointed by Residential Life.

Article III OFFICERS

Section 1

Section 2

Section 3

Payment of Officers

Section 4

Officer Follow-ups

Article IV DUTIES OF OFFICERS

Section 1

The President Shall:

Section 2

The Vice-President shall:

Section 3

The Administration Chair shall:

Section 4

The Finance Chair shall:

Section 5

The Programming Communications Coordinators (PCC’s)shall:

Section 6

The Technology Chair shall:

Section 7

The Philanthropy Chair shall:

Section 8

The National Communications Coordinator (NCC) and NCCIT shall:

Section 9

All Officers Must:

Article V DUTIES OF MEMBERS

Section 1

The RHA representatives are the exclusive voting members of RHA. The representatives are appointed from each hall. Each hall may have up to five (5) appointedvoting representatives attend RHA throughout the academic year. Benton, Stateview, and Lawrence must have a minimum of two (2) representative. W.W. Holes, Sherburne, Stearns, Shoemaker, Hill-Case and Mitchell must have a minimum of three (3) appointed voting representatives.

The primary duties of RHA representatives are to:

Section 2

The RHA General Body Members include any residence hall student not appointed to RHA.

Duties include:

Article VI ATTENDANCE, RESIGNATION, AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE

Section 1

Attendance

Section 2

Attendance Executive Board Members

Section 3

Attendance of the Representatives

Section 4

Resignation

Section 5

Impeachment

Article VII MEETINGS

Section 1

RHA will meet every Monday from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m. during the academic year, except during finals week, days of no class, and unless otherwise agreed upon by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote.

Section 2

Committee meetings shall be held during the RHA general body meetings, and outside the meetings as necessary.

Section 3

Executive Board will meet weekly at an agreed time and place.

Section 4

A quorum shall consist of 50% +1 majority of the RHA body and eight (8) of the nine (9) voting Executive Board members.

Section 5

All meetings of RHA shall be open to anyone who wishes to attend.

Section 6

Special meetings may be called by the Executive Board twenty-four (24) hours in advance and with notice of the special meeting posted.

Section 7

The order of succession for running meetings is as follows: President, Vice President, NCC, Administration Chair, Finance Chair, Programming Communications Coordinators (PCC’s), Technology Chair, Philanthropy Chair, NCCIT.

Section 8

All voting taking place during meetings should be passed by amajority.

Article VIII COMMITTEES

Any student may participate in a RHA committee without being an active member of RHA.

Section 1

The standing committees of RHA shall consist of:

Section 2

Committee Expenditures
Committees may utilize up to $100.00 of their budget per semester for one item or event without the approval of the general body.

Section 3

The Programming Committee

Section 4

The Recognition / Leadership Committee

Section 5

The Finance Committee

Section 6

Constitutional Review Committee

Section 7

Philanthropy Committee

Section 8

Technology Committee

Article IX ELECTIONS

Section 1

Election Dates

Section 2

Candidate Qualifications

Section 3

Election Procedures

Article X REFERENDUM

Section 1

Shall be conducted on matters deemed necessary by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote.

Section 2

A vote on the referendum shall be taken at each residence hall. This is a hall-wide vote, not just hall council. This vote shall be handled by the hall's RHA Representatives.

Section 3

The minimum of ten (10) percent of all residents must vote for the referendum to be considered valid.

Section 4

A simple majority shall be required to pass the measure.

Article XI AFFILIATION

RHA shall be affiliated with the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH) and shall be a member of the Midwest Affiliate of NACURH (MACURH).

Article XII CONFERENCES

Section 1

Any hall council, NRHH, or RHA member may attend MACURH and NACURH. Preference shall be given to active RHA members in good standing who have completed a conference application. In the event of an approved delegate cannot attend, he or she is responsible for finding an approved replacement or paying all costs incurred on their behalf.

Section 2

RHA pays all transportation fees and at least one-half (1/2) the delegation fee for RHA members (funds permitting based on the budget set by RHA) in good standing.

Section 3

The transportation fees and all of the delegation fees for executive board members will be paid (funds permitting based on the budget set by RHA).

Section 4

The NCC, the NCC-IT, and the Residential Life Advisor may limit the size of the delegation as they see fit.

Section 5

No Frills delegation shall consist of the President, NCC, NCC-IT, PCC’s, NRHH Representative, and an advisor.

Article XIII FUNDING REQUESTS

Section 1

Any organization that will benefit all residence hall students may apply for funding from RHA.

Section 2

Any hall that does not have consistent representation at weekly RHA and committees meetings may or may not be granted full funding requests.

Section 3

The Finance Chair will make funding request forms available.

Section 4

Funding requests must be filed no later than the Friday prior to the RHA meeting in which the funds will be requested. Additionally, a preliminary budget of the event or program must be submitted at this time.

Section 5

Final approval of all funding requests shall be voted upon at the general body meeting of RHA and will require a simple majority to pass.

Section 6

Should the funding request pass, funds shall be transferred in a timely manner.

Article XIV AVAILABILITY OF THE CONSTITUTION

This Constitution shall be available on the RHA Website: http://studentorg.stcloudstate.edu/scsu_rha.

Article XV METHOD OF AMENDMENTS

Section 1

Amendments to this Constitution shall be developed by the Constitutional Review Committee, who shall bring amendments to the RHA body. 

Section 2

Proposed amendments shall be submitted to the vote of RHA.

Article XVI SUSPENSION OF THE CONSTITUTION

The suspension of the Constitution requires a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote of voting members present, and the unanimity of the Executive Board present. All or any part of each article may be suspended. A time limit for the suspension must be designated within the original motion.

Article XVII PARLIAMENTARY AUTHORITY

Article XVIII RATIFICATION

Ratification will be in accordance with Robert’s Rules of Order (newly revised edition) and shall be automatically implemented upon ratification.

Article XIX PROVISIONS

If any of the provisions of this constitution shall in any manner be held in conflict with any Federal or State law, any Minnesota State Colleges and University Board regulation, or the St. Cloud State University Student Code of Conduct, such provisions shall be considered null and void; in such an event the remaining provisions of this constitution will remain in full force and effect.

Information for New Members

RHA Constitution

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abbreviations and Terms

OTM (Of the Month)
OTMs are to be filled out once a month on a person, event, or organization that you feel went above and beyond the call of duty.
NRHH (National Residence Hall Honorary)
NRHH is an organization that is made up of the top 1% of student leaders on campus.
NACURH (National Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls)
This is the national organization we are associated with.  This conference takes place in May. Schools from all over the nation gather to attend programs on various issues, share ideas, and have fun!
MACURH (Midwest Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls)
This is the regional organization we are associated with.  This conference takes place in November. Schools from all over our Midwest region gather to attend programs on various issues, share ideas, and have fun!
NO-FRILLS
This is a conference that takes place in February.  Attendees include the NCC, NCC-IT, Advisor, Programming Chair, and a NRHH representative.
NCC (National Communications Coordinator)
The NCC helps plan conferences, keeps in contact with other regional and national schools, and keeps us affiliated on both the regional and national level.
NCC-IT (National Communications Coordinator In Training)
The NCC-IT is the individual that is training for the NCC position.
RHD (Residence Hall Director)
The RHD is the person in charge of your hall. They supervise the resident advisor staff, night security staff and much more! The RHD also acts as an advisor to your Community Council, and is a great resource for any questions you may have.
AD (Assistant Director)
The AD in your hall is a fellow student who assists the RHD in the supervision of staff within the hall, and helps out with many other hall functions.  The AD serves as co-advisor to your halls Community Council, and is also a great resource for any questions you may have.
RHA MEMBERS AT LARGE
RHA Members at Large are members that do not vote (except in the case of absent voting members), but serve on committees and participate during meetings.

Committees

Finance Committee
  • Is in charge of the distribution of welcome kits and final kits. Welcome kits and Finals kits are packages filled with lots of goodies that parents purchase and send for their kids. This is done at the beginning of the fall semester and at the end of fall and spring semester.
  • Picks the RHA promotional items for the following year. RHA promotional items are items with the RHA logo printed on them. They help us to get RHA’s name out to the student body. Past RHA promotional items included: key chains, chewing gum, pens, ice scrapers, lip balm, and much more!
  • Helps with fundraising for RHA.
    Leadership and Recognition Committee
  • Recognizes RHA members for their hard work and dedication. The committee can do this however they see fit.
  • Organizes leadership events.
  • Helps NRHH in organizing the RHA/NRHH leadership banquet at the end of each school year.
  • Designs door decorations for RHA members.
  • Plans RHA social events for RHA members.
    Programming Committee
  • Helps decide what programs to put on.
  • Assists the RHA Programming Chairs in hall wide programming.
  • Helps decorate for RHA Programs.
  • Helps with the overall facilitation of any RHA programs!
    Philanthropy Committee
  • The committee shall assist with the facilitation of Ink Jets
  • The committee shall assist the Philanthropy Chair with a minimum of three (3) civic engagement and or fundraising opportunities per semester.
    ResLife Cinema Committee (Technology Committee)
  • The committee shall assist the Technology Chair with monthly movie selection and schedules.
  • The committee shall assist with public relations for the betterment and advancement of RHA.
    Constitutional Review Committee
  • Meets in March or April to review the current RHA Constitution. They propose various changes and additions to the RHA Constitution. Once they are finished viewing the Constitution and proposing changes, the committee brings back their suggestions to the RHA general body. The RHA general body then votes on all proposed changes and additions. The changes or additions that are passed by the general body are then added to the RHA Constitution, and such changes take effect for the upcoming academic year
  • Parlimentary Procedure

    Parliamentary procedure insures the most efficient handling of business at any organized meeting. Meetings must be run by rules which all members understand and accept. RHA utilizes basic parliamentary procedure to run effective weekly meetings. Here are some of the basics of parliamentary.
    Motions
    Anyone can propose a motion. Motions are used to present an item of business for the group's consideration.

    Procedure
    1. Obtain recognition from the RHA President. (Raising your hand will do).
    2. State motion in concise way. ("I move that....")
    3. A voting member must second the motion. ("I second the motion.")
      If no voting member seconds the motion, the motion dies.
    4. RHA President asks for any discussion (This is the time where people discuss whether they agree or disagree with the motion).
    5. RHA President puts the motion to vote and announces the results.
    Amendments
    To modify a motion. An amendment is made in the same way as a motion. You would simply state, "I move to amend the motion by..."

    Ways to Amend
    • To strike words.
    • To add words.
    • To strike out and add words.
    • To divide the motion into two (2) or more motions.
    • To strike the entire motion and substitute a new motion on the same subject.
    Voting
    RHA voting members can vote in one of three ways:
    1. Agree or be in favor of the motion.
    2. Disagree or not be in favor of the motion.
    3. Abstain, meaning the member neither agrees nor disagrees with the motion.
    When voting for a motion, RHA voting members must simply raise their placards or hands when the President requests it. Sometimes the RHA President may opt for a secret ballot vote so that no one can see how others are voting.

    RHA Representatives

    Please be mindful of the duties and responsibilities that RHA Reps must abide by. These are outlined in Article V, Sections 1 and 2, and Article VI, Sections 1, 2, and 3 in the RHA Constitution. The links below will direct you to the appropriate section. Please take the time to read all of these carefully!