Temple’s Residence Hall Association
A deeper look into the group of students that represent Temple’s on-campus housing life.
The Residence Hall Association, commonly referred to as RHA, is an organization that represents the voices of students living on campus.
RHA is comprised of two main bodies- each residence hall consists of the Executive Board and Community Councils (Peabody, Johnson and Hardwick, 1300, 1940, Beech International, Temple-Sponsored Edge, White Hall, Temple Towers and Morgan North/South).
The Executive Body is responsible for overseeing and guiding the array of Community Councils and representing Temple’s RHA in regional conferences. Kelsey Mallon, a student at Temple University studying environmental science, is the current president of the Executive Board.
The duties of the president involve a variety of responsibilities.
“As president, I meet with different directors, including Residential Life and Maintenance, to discuss the desires of the on-campus student population. I also lead several different types of meetings that cover the agenda of RHA in order to accomplish the needs of the residents,” Mallon said.
Community Councils are comprised of a president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, RHA representative, public relations representative, advocacy representative, sustainability representative and community service representative. Each student role has specific responsibilities, but they all work together to represent the best interests of the students in their respective residence hall.
The Residence Hall Association is delegated a sum of money to use in event planning.
The money is split between the individual Community Councils and the Executive Board. The Executive Board plans large-scale events that includes the entire student body, while the Community Councils work closely and develop programs within their halls.
Alongside event planning, the group of students attend town hall forums hosted by a board consisting of Temple staff. At these events, the board members answer questions about housing and deliver future plans Temple hopes to achieve.
These students are passionate about helping the Temple community.
Isabelle Lawler, the treasurer of the RHA Executive Board, likes the idea that she is able to help others. “I am able to work as a team to help improve the lives of Temple’s on-campus community,” Lawler said.
Tyler Ressler, vice president of external affairs for the Executive Board, values the opportunities that being an executive board member provides.
“My favorite part of being an e-board member is that I get to interact with not only other incredible executive board members, but also a number of amazing students who live on-campus and wish to have a positive impact on community,” Ressler said.
By Lubin K. Park
