Students can vote for RHA today only

Students can choose today between a compass and Walker Texas Ranger.

The Residence Halls Association elections will be held today from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at every residence hall’s center desk or main lobby. For the first time in several years, more than one ticket is running – The Chuck Norris Ticket and Hoosier Compass.

The election will also include center executives and center constitution changes, if there are any.

Students can vote for an entire ticket or for individuals, said senior Eric Gibson, current president of RHA. In the end, there could be a mix-matched administration.

Residents must show their student ID to receive two ballots, one for the RHA executives and one for the center executives. Students will put their ballot in the designated voting box.

At the voting site there will be a list of residents in that particular residence hall, and when students vote they will sign or initial next to their name to ensure that each student only votes once, said senior Erica Wiley, RHA election commissioner.

Students can only vote in the residence halls they live in, Gibson said.

The presidential candidate for The Chuck Norris Ticket is junior Aaron Collins, and the presidential candidate for the Hoosier Compass ticket is senior Jessica Schul.

The goals of both tickets vary, but both aim to better the IU campus by creating more programs, helping students make the transition to college life, and getting the word out about RHA.

“The Chuck Norris Ticket hopes to expand and continue what we have established this year and work with other student organizations,” Gibson said. “Hoosier Compass hopes to do more RHA programming and create more diverse programs.”

Students are encouraged to vote in the RHA elections.

Gibson said if the administrators who are elected are not right for the job, the issues students care about will not be represented and their voices will not be heard.

IU students pay a $12 student activity fee per semester, which goes directly to RHA.

“Students pay a fee to RHA so students can choose who will do the best in serving the students and make good use of the fee,” Wiley said. “It gives students a voice in the dorm, especially with two tickets running, because it shows who they want to represent and what programs they want to see happen.”