Will Mount, a senior in the School of Public Affairs and president of AU's Residence Hall Association, was recently awarded RHA President of the Year at the Central Atlantic Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls Convention.
Representatives from colleges and universities in D.C., Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Pen ?nsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio attended the convention, which was held from Feb. 10-12 at Bowling Green State University, in Bowling Green, Ohio.
According to Mount, several of the qualifications for earning the RHA President of the Year award include, "RHA Presidents who display leadership, strong programming and advocacy, dedication to their region as well as attendance of conferences."
Mount was nominated by fellow AU RHA member John Berman, a senior in the School of International Service.
Berman is AU's National Communication Coordinator for the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH), the national RHA association.
"I think it is a great honor and it represents the hard work of our organization," Mount said, in response to receiving the region's RHA President of the Year award. "Even though my name is on the award, I want everyone to get credit for their contributions as well."
Berman explained his nomination for Mount, saying, "I've been here for four years, and RHA has never been as strong since it has been under Will's leadership. We've really taken RHA to a higher level. There is really no reason not to take RHA as a big force on campus."
With help from Mount's leadership, AU's RHA is currently the second largest student-run organization on campus, behind the Student Government, according to Mount.
According to Mount and Berman, RHA has been responsible for numerous successful programs on campus, including organizing the American Formal at the National Press Club, bringing Chipotle and free pizza nights to campus, establishing an AUTO Shuttle to and from Park Bethesda and teaching leadership skills at Freshmen Orientation as well as helping to pass the resolution to remove Ben Ladner.
In addition to programming, "Advocacy is more what our organization is about," said Mount. RHA has advocated the north side recreational center, selected Napster as the campus-wide music provider, and worked with Women's Initiative and athletic organization to make the rules of intramural sport less sexist.
Currently, RHA is advocating for the installation of condom machines on campus because the RHA board feels that STDs are a serious health problem, due to the outbreak of multiple sexually transmitted disease cases, according to Mount.
RHA is also working to examine and possibly changing the alcohol policies on campus. RHA is working to increase the fine for fire alarms pulls by $50 and looking into ink dispensers to mark fire alarm violators.
Finally, Mount said, "RHA is making sure that we have a voice on the Board of Trustees." RHA has just joined the other student organizations represented on the Board of Trustees, which include the Student Government, Graduate Leadership Council and the Student Bar Association.
"We're a different organization, but should be given equal representation and have our own voice heard," he said.
To learn about more future RHA programs and advocacy issues, amd to provide any suggestions for resident life improvement, visit the RHA website at http://www.american-.edu/ocl/housing/RHA.
