Interested in Student Leadership?

You're in the right place! Learning about the election process here is the first step in having a leadership position in the RHA

Become a Member of The RHA!

As a member of the organization, you will have exciting opportunities to: create advocacy initiatives within your halls and on campus; plan and execute events for your halls and with the rest of the RHA; and write and pass legislation to implement policy across the residence halls. Of the three branches within RHA, you will have the choice to run for Hall Councils or General Assembly. The Hall Councils plan programs and initiatives within their respective residential halls, in addition to working with with other hall councils and the RHA Executive Board to plan events and initiatives. The General Assembly writes and advocates for legislation within the residential halls, in addition to working with the RHA Executive Board on cross-campus initiatives and programs.

RHA Executive Board Positions

President: The President serves as the spokesperson and official representative of the RHA to the university.

VP of Community & Advocacy: The VP of Community & Advocacy advocates on behalf of student residents, promotes the development of community through targeted initiatives, and liaises with other student

organizations.

VP of Administration & Finance: The VP of Finance & Administration manages the finances and budget of the RHA and interprets its governing documents.  

VP of Residential Engagement: The VP of Residential Engagement develops the RHA through recruitment, election administration, training, and liaising with the Hall Councils and Student Residential Staff.

VP of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Accessibility: The VP of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Accessibility advocates and programs for

marginalized communities to encourage inclusivity and support well-being.

VP of Social Programming: The VP of Social Programming plans and implements large-scale programming to build community and enhance the on-campus living experience.

Hall Councils

Within each hall council, there are 5 elected officials, including: the President, Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion, Vice President of Programming; Vice President of Finance; Vice President of Communication & Outreach. Provided below you can read more in-depth about each position, and find which most speaks to you, your advocacy initiatives, and leadership for the RHA.

Within American University, there are 4 residential hall groups that could be represented and advocated for by you and your leadership. The 4 residential hall groups that are in need of representation by a hall council are:

The Southside Hall Council

• Anderson
• Centennial
• Letts
• Roper

The Northside Hall Council

• Cassell
• Hughes
• Leonard
• McDowell

The East Campus Hall Council

• Constitution
• Duber
• Federal

The Frequency & Nebraska Hall Council

• Frequency
• Nebraska

Hall Council Executive Board

President

• Coordinates and presides over Hall Council meetings
• Assists in implementing programs and initiatives with the rest of the hall council
• Responsible for connecting Hall Council members to the General Assembly and Executive Board and serves as a General Assembly Delegate
• Time Commitment: GA meetings, Hall Council Meetings (2 meetings per week)

Vice President of Diversity & Inclusion

• Be responsible for the development and facilitation of diversity, inclusion, and advocacy-based initiatives
• Be responsible for outreach to other campus organizations for advocacy partnerships
• Time Commitment: Hall Council Meetings (1 meeting per week)

Vice President of Programming

• Responsible for planning and executing events
• Coordinate logistics with hall council and campus partners
• Assist E-Board VP of Programming with coordinating full RHA events
• Time Commitment: Hall Council Meetings (1 meeting per week)

Vice President of Administration and Finance

• Responsible for budgeting and finance of the Hall Council
• Work with Community Directors to make purchases for events and RHA initiatives
• Time Commitment: Hall Council Meeting (1 Meeting per week)

Vice President of Communication & Outreach

• Oversee communication to hall and to other organizations
• Often the point of communications and publications for their Hall Council
• Time Commitment: Hall Council Meeting (1 per week)

General Assembly

The General Assembly is the largest representative body of the residence halls within the organization. Every residnce hall send three senators to the GA. Each member of the General Assembly, known as a General Assembly Delegate, is considered a Legislative Representative of their respective halls. Delegates are responsible for writing legislation and working with fellow delegates to implement policy throughout the halls. Delegates additionally serve on committees to improve policy and the RHA as a whole, in addition to having the opportunity to work with their respective Hall Councils to assist in programming and advocacy initiatives as a Senator. The typical time commitment as a General Assembly Delegate consists of general assembly meetings and possible hall council meetings once or twice per week.

Hall Council Senators
 

General Assembly Delegate

• Legislative Representative of their respective halls
• Responsible for writing legislation and working with fellow delegates to implement policy
• Serve on committees to improve policy and RHA as a whole
• Have the opportunity to work with their respective Hall Councils to assist in programming and advocacy
• Time commitment: Weekly General Assembly Meetings and at least one Hall council meetings per month (1 or 2 per week)

Committees

Committees are smaller representative bodies within the General Assembly, which are established in the bylaws. Each commission is chaired by a GA delegate of the President's choosing. The committees of the GA are:

• Committee on Finance
• Committee on Rules
• Committee on Oversight
• Committee on Policy

General Assembly Elections Timeline
 

Students intending on running should also review campaign rules and regulations found on our website here. 

Elections for the 23-24 General Assembly have now concluded. Please check out our social media for upcomming events.

Campaigning Rules

Should you wish to run for any of the above positions in RHA, it its imperative to follow the campaign rules created in the Election Rules and Procedures found below.

If a violation of these rules is noticed by or reported to the RHA Parliamentarian, disciplinary action up to and including disqualification from the election may be implemented, violations can be reported to the Parliamentarian at rha@american.edu.

Additionally, please find the camapign finance reporting form for this election cycle.

Ready to Run?

Should you wish to officially run for either Hall Council or General Assembly Delegate, it is imperative that you fill out their respective form to confirm your running. Without completing the form, we cannot verify your running in this year's elections. You may find the Hall Council form and the General Assembly form above when they are open. We wish you the best of luck in this year's elections, and look forward to the work that we can do together to make the most out of our residential community experiences!