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:: F.A.Q. ::
Residence Hall Association (RHA)
What is RHA?From the Preamble to the RHA Constitution: We, the occupants of the Residence Halls of the Georgia Institute of Technology, in order to foster a firm spirit of leadership and citizenship, to provide a positive cultural, educational, and social atmosphere, to encourage participation in extracurricular activities, to aid the housing administrators in improving living conditions, and to represent the residents of Georgia Tech Housing, do hereby establish this Constitution of the Residence Hall Association of the Georgia Institute of Technology.., The Residence Hall Association is the Governing Body for all residents on Georgia Techs campus. RHA is the residents' voice for all campus issues and also strives to make their lives better. RHA provides programming for the campus as a whole, as well as many committees to discuss the concerns of the residents. RHA is also the parent body for the Hall Councils, providing them with advisement and funding. Although RHA does many things on its own, it also encourages other organizations to plan activities for residents through financial backing.
What is Hall Council (HC)?A Hall Council consists of the residents of a selected group of residence halls. The Hall Council is the primary governing body for those halls. They not only control policy issues, such as quite hours, but they also plan programs for their residents. Furthermore, they act as the link between the residents and RHA. Meetings are open to all those represented by that Hall Council.
How do I purchase something for RHA/HC without paying with my own money?First off, unless RHA/HC will be paying for the complete amount, this is not possible. Assuming this is so (and that a bill has been previously passed in RHA/HC), first an invoice must be obtained from the company for all goods being purchased. Then that invoice must be given to the RHA or HC treasurer with the understanding that a check needs to be cut to the company. The Treasurer will then obtain a check made out to the company for the amount requested. This process can take up to 2 weeks, so start early. That check will then either be mailed or given to the company.
How can I submit a bill to RHA?Bills can be submitted here. Or, on the navigation bar to the left go to "Legislative" >> "Submit LC Bills" and fill out all requested information. The author or co-author of a bill must be a Hall Council Vice President, but anyone can present the bill once it is on the floor. Note all bills must be submitted by Sunday at midnight to be considered at the next Legislative Council meeting. For a detailed description of the bill submission and reimbursement timeline and process, click here .
What is the RHA Bill Process?When a bill is submitted, it is sent to the RHA secretary to be added to the agenda of the next Legislative Council (LC) meeting under New Business. At that meeting, it is brought to the floor and presented to the council where the representatives may ask simple questions regarding the event or purchase. the bill is then postponed until the next week (unless by-laws are suspended, which is not likely) and placed under Old Business. The bill is then reviewed at the Financial Oversight Committee (FOC) meeting right before the next LC meeting, in which the financial aspects of the bill are discussed. At the next LC meeting (the same day as FOC), the bill is then passed, failed, postponed, or tabled.If the bill is passed, the substance of the bill then goes into effect (either money or resolution). If it is failed, it does not go into effect and cannot be re-presented until the following year. If it is tabled, more information or discussion is requested, and the bill will be discussed again at a later date decided upon by the council, generally the next meeting. The author and co-author are requested to be present at all times a bill is discussed. For a detailed description of the bill submission and reimbursement timeline and process, click here .
Where is the RHA office?The RHA office is in room 101 of the Student Services (Flag) Building.
When does RHA meet?The RHA Legislative Council meets 9:00 PM every Wednesday night in room 117 of the Flag Building.
When does my Hall Council meet?Each Hall Council sets its own meeting time for the semester. Times for your specific Hall Council should be posted around your residence hall.For a complete list of Hall Council meeting times, click here .
What committees does RHA have?RHA has six committees:
A description of these committees can be found here .
How do I get reimbursed?First off, one needs an itemized receipt issued by the place of purchase. This receipt must be taped onto an 8.5. X 11. piece of white paper, and the tape may not cover any text or printing on the receipt. This receipt needs to be handed to the treasurer of the Hall Council (or LC) you are receiving money from. On the sheet of paper, next to the receipt, include your name, phone number, and gtnumber, as well as the event the receipt is for.The treasurer will then do all the necessary paperwork and get all of the signatures needed. This process can take up to two weeks. Afterwards, the treasurer will give a reimbursement form to you or whomever is being reimbursed. Bring that form to Central Housing (located in the Flag Building) to receive your money. Note, if you are in the Freshman Experience East, you will need to go to the East Community Housing Office to pick up your money.
What is the Schwarzmueller Award?The Schwarzmueller is a grant of $200 to the Georgia Tech Bookstore awarded on a semesterly basis to the student who has shown dedication and leadership in his/her involvement with residence life system.The award will be given to any resident who has shown exemplary participation in an official or unofficial position. There are no limitations on the number of times or consecutive times the award can be given to the same person. The award for a semester will be given at the first LC meeting of the following semester. The selection committee consists of the current RHA officers, ex-officio officers and the RHA Advisor. All previous recipients are listed on a plaque in the RHA office. The Schwarzmueller was first awarded December 4 th , 1991.
What is the funshop and how can I use it?RHA has created the funshops to store long lasting items that can be used multiple times. These include things like board games, coolers, and BBQ equipment. For a full list, see the RHA web site. To reserve or check the availability of equipment, send an e-mail to funshop@rha.gatech.edu .Please send requests at least 2 days in advance, so we can help you make other plans if the items are already checked out for that day. Housing
How does the Housing heating and air conditioning system (HVAC) work?The Housing website has a detailed description of policies concerning when they activate our heating or Air Conditioning. To read them, please go to http://www.housing.gatech.edu/Policies/index.html and click on Heating and Air Conditioning Policies. If you have any suggestions for improvement of this policy, please send them to rhic@rha.gatech.edu .
Why can't sophomores get on-campus housing?The Housing Selection Process committee (made up of students and faculty) decided it would be more fair for sophomores not to get on-campus apartments because of their guaranteed status.
Why can't sophomores pick their own rooms?In the past, when sophomores picked their rooms, there was a limited selection as to what they could pick because they were so low on the selection list. Then, once overflows were assigned, the overflow students ended up with better rooms then those who actually got to pick the rooms themselves. So, housing has decided to assign all sophomores based on selection priority around July 1, when the most rooms are available to choose from (because of cancellations). This way, those highest on the priority list will actually get rooms they wanted from a larger selection of residence halls, instead of the smaller selection from what is available early in process.
How does the room selection process work?The Housing Selection process is a lottery-based system designed to be fair to as many students as possible. First, one must pay the $600 deposit to housing to become eligible, and then go online and sign up for the lottery process (web address pending testing). Rising sophomores are guaranteed housing, as well as all current graduate residents of Hemphill and GLC; however, they still must remember to sign up online and pay their fee. Housing will then run the random lottery program to select students for housing. This process will take two days.Students will be able to check their eligibility online once the lottery has been run, and if eligible, choose what they wish to do (stay in the same room, stay in the same dorm, move to a new dorm, or do block housing). Also, they will be able to check who else made the lottery, to help in their decision. The actual selection of the rooms will not be online this year, but will be in a future designated area. Note sophomores will not be able to pick their own room, this will be done by the Housing Department with preferences chosen online by the student.
How can I change my residence hall's quiet hours?The Hall Councils, at the beginning of each year, set the quite hours for their respective residence halls. During the year, the quite hours can be changed with a vote of the respresenting Hall Council.
How do I submit a maintenance request?Go to the Housing website at www.housing.gatech.edu and click on 'Maintenance Request' at the bottom of the page. This will pull up the maintenance request page along with instructions on how to log in and fill it out. Don't see a question answered? Feel free and ask. Click Here. |
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