Tuesday's State of the Union address given by President Bush is probably a difficult act to follow. But Derek Wallbank tried his best on Wednesday.
The president of the Residence Halls Association gave his first "State of the Organization" address to RHA's General Assembly, highlighting his vision for the association's goals this semester.
"While 2003 was a year of great progress, we must gain a common direction to ensure that 2004 is a success," Wallbank said in the speech. He cited RHA's history of critiquing every university policy that affects housing, and hopes to revive that history this year.
Issues Wallbank raised in the address included funding for the organization, concern for students with disabilities and the drinking water on campus.
Lee June, vice president for student affairs and services, attended the meeting. He said he was just "in listening mode."
"I was there because I was interested in hearing the positives and concerns" of RHA, he said, because the Department of Residence Life reports to him.
"(Wallbank) commended us and raised some concerns, which we will look into as applicable," June said.
One of the concerns June might have been referring to is mobility for people with disabilities. Wallbank criticized residence life for not doing all it can to aid mobility on campus.
"Each winter day, students with mobility impairments get up in the morning unsure of whether or not they will be able to navigate the icy sidewalk outside their hall. I realize that this is a time of budget cuts, and that money is tight," he said. "In the meantime, I call on University Housing to ensure that each sidewalk is shoveled and salted by 7:30 a.m. each day. Classes begin at 8 a.m., and students must be able to attend safely."
Wallbank also addressed the quality of water on campus during his speech.
"Most residents can turn on a faucet, shower or water fountain and are disgusted by what comes out. This is not a problem confined to the residence halls," he said. Wallbank said that RHA will get help from ASMSU, MSU's undergraduate student government.
"I call on the university to cancel all of their water cooler subscriptions so that the administration will sense the urgency that we, the students, feel to this situation."
Andrew Schepers, internal vice chair for ASMSU's Student Assembly, called the cooperation regarding MSU's water quality a "groundbreaking" initiative between the two governing bodies.
"Nothing like that has ever been brought to light," he said.
Talking about RHA's affordability, Wallbank commended Eric Bolf, RHA's director of special events, for bringing in $30,000 from RHA's concert series last semester. Wallbank also plans to propose a bill that would give sweeping pay cuts to RHA, saving the organization up to $614 a week and about $10,000 each semester.
"It's something we've been looking at for a while, trying to streamline RHA," spokesman Brian Winters said, adding that there might be a few positions eliminated in the cuts.
"We're just trying to get more bang for the taxpayer buck," he said.
