DAVID HARDEN/Arizona Daily Wildcat Dan Tuttle, a sophomore majoring in International Studies and Economics, was elected Resident Hall Association Student of the Year at a regional conference in Salt Lake City last month.

Residence Hall Association shows spirit at conference

The UA Residence Hall Association is recovering from the darker days of its past, and after taking home several awards from this fall's regional conference, RHA members seem to be at the top of their game.

Dan Tuttle, president of RHA, an organization of student representatives from each of the 20 residence halls on campus, said RHA has overcome the motivational drought that plagued the organization in years past. The organization's newfound enthusiasm was bolstered to a new high after being awarded eight first place honors in categories ranging from spirit to service to outstanding students.

Thirty schools from seven states and two Canadian provinces attended the conference last month in Salt Lake City that was hosted by the Intermountain Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls.

There they participated in a number of teambuilding exercises and workshops on topics such as leadership, diversity and residence hall programming.

While UA representatives have attended the conference each year, this was one of their more successful visits.

"We came back with a new sense of community," said theatre arts sophomore Debbie Kagy, who as national communications coordinator for RHA, organized the UA's involvement in the conference.

After months of planning for the conference and drafting seven 8 - 20 page "bids" for particular awards, RHA delegates from the UA won eight of 11 awards for which they were eligible, including the opportunity to host next year's regional conference at the UA campus.

"We've never been this successful," said Tera Monroe, assistant director of Residence Education and the advisor of RHA. "The students who are involved are really motivated and really passionate about their residence hall experience here at the UA. It's been a while since we've had that enthusiasm here on campus."

Tuttle, a sophomore majoring in International Studies and Economics, who was named RHA Student of the Year for the region, said the conference marked a turnaround point for organization.

During the 1998-99 school year, controversy arose when the RHA president at the time was accused of using club funds for personal expenditures. Then, in January 2000, the president and vice president of RHA resigned after a committee of fellow RHA members accused them and two other executive board members of misappropriation of funds, tampering with RHA e-mail accounts, underage drinking in residence halls and sex in the RHA office.

Tuttle said now RHA is getting back on its feet.

"We're coming back from that. We're aiming for the top," he said.

Monroe said Tuttle has been instrumental in the group's success, adding that being named student of the year is the highest honor in the region.

"He's been a really strong leader and role model," said Monroe. "He's a very positive person and no matter how bleak something is, he always has the ability to see the silver lining. I think that's a very good quality for a leader to have."

Tuttle said he was thrilled to win the award.

"I was extremely flattered to be nominated by members of the board, especially as a sophomore," he said.

Tuttle said he hopes to win Student of the Year at the national level, but his nomination must be approved at a smaller scale conference in February before he can move on to the national conference in St. Louis, Mo., in May.

RHA will also be competing for School of the Year at the national convention, which is generally attended by 2,500 - 3,000 students from across the country.

Among the other awards presented to the UA at the regional conference were the Program of the Year award for Skyview's annual "Happy Hour" program that provides information on the dangers of drunken driving, and the Student Achievement in Leadership Training award for RHA's Hall Leadership Camp, a two day camp in September that brings together and trains new RHA members and hall government officers from across campus.

Tuttle said that while many students might not know what RHA is or what it does, the organization is often working hard behind the scenes to make living in the residence halls a positive experience.

A student initiative proposing that halls be able to vote on their own quiet hours, which was recently approved by RHA and is now being reviewed by Residence Life, could go into effect as early as the spring.

Also in the spring semester, RHA hopes to host a "winter formal" for students who live in residence halls as well as a hall Olympics competition called "Hall-a-Daze," a popular RHA program from the 1980s.