The Residence Halls Association has some earnest explaining to do if it wants students to take the organization's request to renew its $21 per semester tax seriously in the spring.

In the same vein, it is important for the more than 14,500 students living in the residence halls, who foot the bill, to take the time to hold their RHA representatives accountable. These students also need to take the time to vote on the issue when the opportunity arises online later in the semester.

This semesterly tax helps fund movie rental programs and campus center events throughout the year. But RHA doesn't have a history of using its money wisely.

Last March, RHA officials had to stop the organization's dorm movie rental service and lay off the employees when its movie department had over spent its entire $82,500 spring semester budget.

In 2000, RHA officials exceeded their budget by nearly $30,000, and a year later lobbied on-campus residents to approve a $3 tax increase, which brought the semesterly fee to its current cost.

"The movie program has always been one of the largest budgets in RHA. With a budget that big, it's easy to go overbudget," former RHA President Nick Kovacic said of the spring movie fiasco.

Answers like that are not exactly promising. But it seems current RHA leaders are trying to clean up the organization's act.

The movie rental programs have reopened and RHA has had a clean spending record for this semester. Still, RHA leaders need to spend the beginning of next semester reassuring on-campus residents they have taken steps to put a stop to the organization's growing list of fiscal blunders. By doing that they might earn enough trust from students to maintain their tax base.

On-campus residents are able to have their RHA tax refunded each semester.

We hope RHA leaders will learn from their past mistakes. This is the only way the organization will stay financed.