With more than 14,000 people living in MSU’s residence halls, representatives from the university’s Residence Halls Association say it has outgrown its need for statewide representation.
The nation’s largest association of residence halls announced last week it will no longer be affiliated with the Michigan Organization of Residence Halls Associations. The secession will take effect next fall.
The organization represents 12 schools in the state including MSU.
RHA president Nick Kovacic said he supports the general assembly’s unofficial decision.
“We can supplement our needs through a Big Ten organization rather than (the statewide organization),” Kovacic said. “We are way too big of a school and we can’t relate.
“You can’t relate to Central (Michigan University) when their entire budget is half the size of one of our programs. It’s hard to talk about issues with schools like that.”
But Kovacic said he is trying to bring the Big Ten’s residence hall associations to MSU to discuss forming a conferencewide organization.
“It’s an opportunity to show other universities the experience of living on the MSU campus that they never had before,” he said.
Most of the schools, he said, aren’t having their needs met by their state organizations.
The decision to leave comes two years after University of Michigan’s RHA left the organization for similar reasons.
Melissa Kessler, Michigan communication coordinator for MSU’s RHA, said the size of MSU’s association set it apart from other schools.
“There is a potential to service students at MSU, but by this time MSU has outgrown (the statewide organization),” she said.
Kessler said MSU has a different stance on issues of diversity and funding. RHA serves more as a business, she said, giving money for others to put on programming.
“It’s just too big,” she said. “We are a more highly progressive school than they are,” she said. “We are moving a whole lot faster.
“I don’t think it’s an appropriate way to spend tax dollars.”
Statewide organization director Dawn Kuhl said she had a feeling MSU would disaffiliate from the organization, but wasn’t aware of how to keep MSU with the organization.
“What so many people seem to forget about, MSU has been able to think of, and that opinion is greatly appreciated,” said Kuhl, a student at Saginaw Valley State University. “People’s eyes are open to another view and can see things in a different way, the way MSU has been able to help us see that. Without that opinion, it’s going to be hard to make sure we cover every end of all issues and problems with diversity.”
She said MSU helped to bring diversity issues back into the organization.
“There’s definitely going to be that empty space and an empty opinion,” she said.
