The Residence Hall Association unanimously approved the $1,750 budget for the Great Lakes Affiliate of College Residence Halls delegation at Thursday night’s meeting in McKinney Hall.

Brittany Kraft, National Communication Coordinator/Illinois Communication Coordinator for RHA, will lead the delegation and created GLACURH’s operating budget this semester.

Kraft said the budget based off of the template left by the previous NCC/ICC and some tips from the GLACURH Web site.

Kraft told the assembly she over-budgeted most of the expenditure requests in order to ensure the delegation received all of the funds it required for this semester.

“I knew about what I wanted to spend in each area, but I also wanted to get all of the money I could get approved just in case some emergency happens,” she said.

Kraft budgeted $120 for spirit wear, which included 14 T-shirts, $750 for supplies used to create displays, roll calls, banners and spirits, $200 for the delegation closing and $593.55 for the delegation registration fees.

“The only thing I didn’t really over-budget were the registration fees,” she said.

RHA Treasurer Justin Meyers, a sophomore accounting major, said the leftover funds from the GLACURH budget will be placed into the reserve budget, then reintegrated into next year’s budget, which he is currently working on.

RHA started off the year with $20,145.66 in the checkbook and Meyers said he budgeted $15,705 for the year.

Registration fees were the one area of the budget Kraft made certain was completely accurate because students were partially paying for the registration fees.

The budget paid one-third of each delegates’ estimated $120 registration fee. The budget fully covered Kraft’s and RHA President Jarrod Scherle’s registration fees.

Scherle said he believes the delegation is worth the money spent on it.

“So much stuff can be brought back,” he said. “It’s just an enlightening event.”

Scherle has attended two GLACURH conferences and will present a program at this year’s conference called “What’s in a leader?”

Scherle said this program is designed to ask delegates what they consider to be important in leaders. Students will be presented with a variety of historical figures ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Adolf Hitler and be asked whether they consider them leaders.

He said he hopes to get other delegates interested in the program and he hopes Eastern’s delegates bring back programs and ideas of their own.

Also attending the GLACURH conference with the delegation are two advisers, whose fees are covered by Housing Services, and a NRHH Communication Coordinator, who will have their fee covered by NRHH.

The next RHA meeting will be at 5 p.m. Nov. 8 in Carman Hall.

Cristin Prince, a member of Student Senate, asks members of Residence Hall Association their opinion about a winter festival Student Senate wants to hold at the beginning of spring semester at the RHA meeting in McKinny Hall Thursday evening. Karla Browni

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