American University
Residence Hall Association
c/o Housing & Dining Programs | 4400 Massachusetts Ave, NW | Washington, DC 20016-8142
Phone: (202) 885-1878 | FAX: (202) 885-1154 | E-mail: info@aurha.org | www.aurha.org
General Assembly Minutes
October 16, 2014
Megan O’Toole
President
202-885-3606
megan@aurha.org
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Joanne Frangias
Vice President of
Administration & Finance
202-885-3676
joanne@aurha.org
Nate Warszawski
Vice President of
Advocacy &
Community Coordination
202-885-1878
nate@aurha.org
Sarah Nylen
Vice President of
Programming
202-885-2774
sarah@aurha.org
Jody Gregory
National Communications
Coordinator
202-885-2179
jody@aurha.org
Devin Moore
Chief of Staff
202-885-1742
devin@aurha.org
Daniel DeHollander
Advisor
202-885-3138
deholla@american.edu
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McDowell Formal-9:00pm
Call to Order
o Called to order at 9:02pm
Attendance
o Anderson
 6/6
 Proxies: 0
o Cassell
 5/6
 Proxies: 0
o Centennial
 5/6
 Proxies: 0
o Hughes
 6/6
 Proxies: 1
o Leonard
 7/6
 Proxies:1
o Letts Clark and Roper
 6/6
 Proxies: 0
o McDowell
 6/6
 Proxies: 0
o Nebraska
 2/6
 Proxies: 0
Minutes Approval
o Motion- made by Arthur R- to approve last GA’s minutes by unanimous
consent
 Seconded by Matt B
Agenda Approval
o Motion- made by Matt B- to approve this GA’s agenda by unanimous consent
 Seconded by Joesph A
Hall Reports
o Anderson
 New Delegate
 5 new Cabinet position
 Pumpkins at Fall Fest
 Tabling event
o Cassell
 Meet your hall council
 Tabling for Halloween

 Finals study break planning
o Centennial
 Set the budget for the remainder of the semester
 Process of selecting floor reps
o Hughes
 Filled all position
 North side Halloween
 Study break planning
 Getting residents out to Geena Davis
o Leonard
 Floor reps
 Decorating event
o Letts Clark and Roper
 LeCloper pumpkins went well
 working on Fall Fest
 Puppet show
 Floor reps
o McDowell
 Filled hall council
 North side Halloween planning
 Figuring out what to do for the rest of the semester
o Nebraska
 Trying to fill Hall Council
 Teach for America collecting resumes
 Halloween planning
Executive Board Reports
o President
 What I did:
 Attended Assistant Director interviews for the Center for
Diversity and Inclusion (CDI)
 Attended SAWG interviews for Coordinator of Victim Advocacy
Services
 University Council
 Dining Services Project Team
 Continued coordination efforts with STEP Up
 Began preliminary phase for the Bylaw Review Task Force (call
for further interest)
o Email Megan if you are interested
 CAACURH Bylaw Review Task Force
 What I didn't do:
 Finalize Bylaw Review Task Force
 What I'm planning on doing:
 Finalize Bylaw Review Task Force
 Final SAWG interview for Coordinator of Victim Advocacy
Services
 Breakfast Club
 Hold one-on-one meetings with all Hall Presidents
o Vice President of Administration and Finance
 What I did:
 Prizes for American Weekend
o Attached on the minutes email for tabling
 Budget stuff done
 What I didn’t
 Send emails
What I’m planning people
 Emailing people
Vice President of Advocacy and Community Coordination
 What I did do:
 Finalize 2015 Blood Drives
 Met with Daniel and Tracey to start conversation on dialogue
plans on campus (came up with a potential framework)
 Attended the donating and services committee
 What I did not do:
 Work on HOTY updates
 What I will do:
 HOTY updates
 Meet with relay for life
 Meet with Monique
 Work on dialogue plans
Vice President of Programming
 What I did:
 Finalized contracts for Diversival
 Confirmed almost all activities for Diversival
 Co-sponsored event for this weekend (Saturday’s soccer
game)
 Signed up to table tomorrow
 Starting to work on thanksgiving dinner (emailed RAs here and
RD and 25 lived location and sent out survey)
 Poster requested for tailgate
 What I didn't do:
 Decide on rain date for Diversival
 What I am going to do:
 Decide on rain date for Diversival (potentially Nov. 21)
National Communications Coordinator
 What I did this week:
 Confirmed conference attendees
 Had first conference delegation meeting
 Started drafting the POTY bid
 Organized conference committees
 Got accepted to NACURH committee
 What I didn't do:
 Have my one on one with Daniel
 Have my one on one with Rachel
 What I'm going to do:
 Hold second conference delegation meeting
 Hold roll call and bid committee meetings
 Submit the POTY bid
Chief of Staff
 What I did:
 Updated website, now there are minutes from the first GA and
our current Bylaws
 Met with the Advocates to talk about how to type minutes
 Met with Daniel, video summary of GA idea
 Set a final date for Delegate
 Looked through previous resolutions from previous GAs
 What I didn't do:
 Email Nikki about putting Resolutions from last year on the
website
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o
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Advisor
 What did Daniel Do?
 Met with Megan, Devin, Nate, Sarah, Joanne, Audrey, Landria,
Meg, Max
 Met with Ryan from Intramurals to discuss possibilities for
RHA/ResEd/Intramural collaboration
 CAACURH Advisors Conference Call (10/16)
 What did Daniel Not Do?
 Review Joanne’s RHA Rental Agreement Form
 Review Joanne’s co-sponsorship agreements
 Attend first CAACURH Delegation Meeting
 What does Daniel Plan to Do?
 Schedule 1:1 Meeting Times with Monique and Natalie
 Meet with HDP Financial Administrators to clarify budget lines
 Attend CAACURH Delegation Meeting (10/19)
 HDP and Other Updates
 Health and Wellness Checks and AC to Heat Changeover
o Fall 2014 Timeline:
 Friday October 24th - A/C shutdown
residence halls: Anderson, Centennial, Letts,
Hughes, McDowell and Leonard. Also include
McCabe, Roper, Clark, Gray, Rockwood and
Public safety
 Saturday October 25th to Monday
October 27th - Residence Assistants (RAs)
switch over fan coil units where applicable
(Anderson, Centennial, McDowell and Leonard)
 Tuesday October 28th to Thursday
October 29th - Residence halls plus McCabe
changeover to heating (Anderson, Centennial,
Hughes, McDowell, Leonard, Letts, Clark,
Roper, Cassell, and Nebraska)
o Resident Assistants will be entering spaces to conduct
health and safety inspections and change HVAC units
from AC to Heat depending on weather patterns
o Residents will receive at least a 48-hour notification
before this process happens
o Policy violations will be documented
Administrative Board Reports
o Parliamentarian
 Met with Disciplinary review council
 Met with some roundtables
 Bylaw review taskforce being finalized
o Deputy Programmers
 Meg
 Sending out emails about Diversival
 Final perk prepartations
 Landria
o
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What I am going to do:
 Meet with my Delegate Roundtable
 Email Nikki with tonight's approved minutes, resolutions from
last year, and resolutions from tonight if they are passed
 Meet with Natalie to discuss her role more in depth
 Finalize RHA roster, hopefully
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 Food quote for the tailgate
 Football and wing night quote
o Deputies Advocacy and Community Coordination- Monique Absent
 Met with Daniel
 Going to Relay for Life
o Deputy of Marketing and Design
 Made posters for Centennial, and Southside poster
 Meet with Devin
NRHH Update
o None
Old Business
o Swearing in of our new members
New Business
o OTM Winners – Matthew Morrissey, NRHH
 Resident Assistant of the Month
 Sarrynna Sou
o Nominated by Natalie Gangai
o Resolution 14-15-001
 Presented by Martin Slezak, Centennial Hall President
 Mandating all elected and appointed members of RHA to complete
STEP-Up Bystander Intervention Program within three months after
being sworn-in
 Question and Answer Period
 Adrienne- What are the requirements?
o You have 3 months to complete a training
 Justin R- is there a GA STEP UP?
o Megan- cannot make it a 9pm GA, but there will be an
RHA sponsored one
 Joe A- Isn’t this similar to other
o Researched and STEP UP
 Nolan R- is this for everyone in RHA?
o open to suggestions
 Christina L- is this a one-time training?
o You would have to do this every year
 Katie W- why is this necessary?
o Our campus has a stigma attached, student leaders
should be STEP UP trained
 Open discussion
 Joe A- the format is weird
o Not on the official document
 Speakers List discussion
 Saagar G
o Pro, only an hour long, it is very beneficial, RHA should
do this for reputation
 Cristina C
o Agree with Saargar, STEP UP is a good thing for
everything to know
 Joe A
o Huge issues on our campus, this is an effective
program
 Ron H
o It sets a really good precedent
 Jose V
o
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o
o
In the middle, if this is to be enacted, will this later be
a requirement
 Megan- once you are sworn-in, you will have to
go through
Linda
o Do we get a certificate?
 Not an official certificate
 Alex K
o Change wording
 Joe motion to change wording- change “needs”
to “need” and add “the”
 Seconded
o Vote: 42/0/0—passes
 Stephanie M
o Do we get a door décor
 Megan- RHA can talk to the Wellness Center
 Arthur R
o Poster saying all members completed STEP UP
 Daniel- don’t think of this like a requirement,
but it helps the community and your learn
something, but suggestions noted
 Adrienne
o SG passed a similar resolution as well
 Joe A
o Do we need to do this once?
 As of now yes
 Saagar G move the previous question (Voting to vote on the
resolution, needs 2/3rds vote)
o Seconded
 Vote: 42/0/0—moving to vote on resolution
 Vote on Resolution 14-15-001 32/1/9—passes
Questions on Debate procedure
 None
Resolution 14-15-002
 Presented by Martin Slezak, Centennial Hall President
 Mandating the Vice President of Administration and Finance post a
budget for the academic year on the RHA website and social media
every semester
 Does not say specific details about what accounts money is
going to
 Question and Answer Period
 Joe- Doesn’t specify how budget is presented
o at the discretion of the VP of Administration and
Finance
 Arthur- $14 per semester?
o Joanne- yes
 Christina L- can you just ask for the budget?
o This is to help the students understand
 Josh L- if there is a problem with the social media, could you
just leave it on the website
o It is at your discretion
 Michaela- would you update the budget as you get more funds
o It is at your discretion
 Katie W- What’s the point?
Martin would like to see what is going on, also helps
the administration, and outside schools to look at our
budget
 Sarah M- the administration already knows it
o Others need the information as well
 Lexi S- grammar, friendly amendment
o Martin- it is a friendly amendment
 Justin R- Does this help residents
o Yes
 Saagar- Will the RHA facebook page will only post?
o Yes
 Josh L- will the budget be more specific?
o It will look like Joanne’s budget presentation
 Guillermo C- Motion to extend the time by 3 minutes, placard
(retracted from 5 minutes)
o Seconded
 Vote: 32/7/3—passes
 Michaela- add to the resolution: “initial”
o Friendly Amendment
 Megan- asking for a friendly amendment changing “academic
school year” to “semester budget” and changing the VP of
Administration and Finance’s position
o Guillermo moves to pose the friendly amendment
 Arthur R- change “per semester” to “beginning of semester”
o Friendly amendment
 Katie W- motion to extend question and answer period by 3
minutes
o Vote: 13/22/4—fails
Speaker List Debate
 Saagar G
o This is all for transparency
 Justin R
o You want to see where your $14 is going
 Adrienne
o Majority of floor asking her where their money is going
to
 Josh L
o We need to see where our money is going
 Sarah M
o No residence approached Sarah over RHA funds
 Jose V
o Ask Joanne to express her opinions
 Joanne- makes RHA look a lot more
professional, they might not care, but RHA
looks a lot better
 Cristiana C
o There are people who want to know about this
 Joe A
o There are no negatives to put this up, doesn’t take that
long
 Nolan R
o Most students aren’t going to look at it, we will be
criticized, don’t care if we put it up
 Stephanie M
o
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o
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Creates a professional environment, we will get greater
criticism if we don’t put it up
Matt B
o On-request budget, thinks RHA will be ridiculed
 Guillermo C
o Transparency, and that one resident will know what is
happening
 Michaela
o You can link the RHA website to social media because
the resolution is so broad
 Meaghan
o Echo what Guillermo said, we are here to represent our
halls, free country
 Matt B, motion to extend debate by 5 minutes
o Seconded
 Vote: 17/20/4—fails
 Katie W, motion to extend debate by 2 minutes
o Seconded
 Vote: 18/16/8—fails
 Time elapsed
Vote on Resolution 14-15-00126/12/4—passes as is
Megan- voting can be tedious, but great job all
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Open Forum
o Late-night dining options on campus
 Speakers List
 Matt B- Tavern stayed open later last semester, open after
9pm again
 Katie W- One 24 hour food place on campus
 Matt- more staff members at late night
 Jordan- concerned about 24 hours, where the money is
coming from?
 Joe A- How would we be paying for food?
 Eamon Martin- 24 hour shuttle service to Tenleytown
 Mark- a lot of things close late night
 Jamie- long waiting time for food
 Jose V- Education on customer service, not residents fault
they use on-campus venues
 Nolan R- very apathetic service, Aramark’s nature of service
o Megan- Aramark is aware of the concern of customer
service
 Matt- Allow students to work for dining services
 Guillermo C- comes out of University’s budget, behavior of
staff members has gotten a lot better from previous dining
services
 Michaela- late night dining wanted, food has gotten better,
though hours are shorter
 Adrienne- Broader meal swipe options
o Megan- improvement with meal swipe, upward trend
 Katie W- POD at front desk of each hall
 Jamie- Chipotle on campus?
o Megan- Not possible to bring a brand name to campus,
Aramark could possibly make their own version of
Chipotle
 Michaela-Motion to table this Open Forum discussion until next time
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Seconded
o Vote: 40/1/1—Open forum discussion tabled
o Josh-Motion to table the remainder of open forum by unanimous consent
 Seconded- tabled
o Website updates
o Putting hall council, executive, and administrative information on website.
General Announcements
o Joanne- remember to sign-up for tabling
o Jody- email to how to get involved in CAACURH Committees
o Guillermo C- Teach for America event in Nebraska
o Martin S- Geena Davis event
o Nate- Tomorrow 8:30 in the Tavern- Indian Culture Show
Recognition
o Twitter Feed
o Megan- Shout Out to Martin
o Megan- Thank you GA! Most productive GA
o Saagar G- Thank you to the person who included Hughes hall at the table by
having everyone move down
Adjournment
o Saagar G- Motion to adjourn by unanimous consent
 Seconded
o Adjourned at 10:58pm
Respectfully Submitted,
Devin Moore
RHA Chief of Staff
These minutes were approved by unanimous consent by the 10/30/14 General Assembly