The passing of a new policy bill within the Residence Halls Association allowing the removal of executive board members in cases of gross negligence will not prove effective in dealing with the shortcomings of the organization.

RHA has already had a history of irresponsibility, and although attempting to fix those problems is commendable, more effort is needed. For starters, it is impossible to know if the policy will work since RHA has not publicly said what the problem was in the first place.

The policy was created as a result of the formation of an ethics committee to investigate personnel issues stemming from an unknown issue with former RHA Movies Director Amondo Redmond. The movies program had spent its entire $82,500 spring semester budget by March. Both Redmond and Assistant Movies Director Keith Redmond, who are not related, resigned earlier in the semester. Neither received any disciplinary action.

Also disagreeable is that RHA has not disclosed information to news outlets or its general assembly. The RHA claims it is not a public body and therefore not subject to the Freedom of Information Act.

And the use of a secret ethics committee has not helped further the cause. From its inception, names of the members of the committee were not released and neither were its goals. To conduct an investigation secretly may be acceptable in rare circumstances, but the public has a right to know who is at the helm of it.

Members of RHA already have come forth and stated the ethics committee was of no use and merely another symptom of the problems plaguing the system.

RHA has had budget problems in the past, such as in 2000 when $30,000 of excess spending occurred.

The organization has a duty to inform on-campus residents who supply its budget through a tax of $21 per semester. The wasting of thousands of dollars is just the tip of the iceberg of problems surrounding RHA.

The people who supply RHA with its budget have a right to know what happened to their money. To not supply that information creates nothing more than distrust between the organization and the general public.

Other than the policy, nothing was solved or explained by the committee. Weeks were spent behind closed doors with no public resolution except for the ability of the association’s president or external vice presidents to remove executive officers.

If RHA hopes to continue to receive funding from students, something other than the latest Hollywood blockbuster is needed to provide validation.