The Residence Hall Association was given the opportunity to voice its opinion for strategic planning and make a difference. This came after two future candidates expressed why the students should vote for their campaigns and offer to make a change on this campus.

Dawn VanGunten, a secondary education and foundations faculty member, presented strategic planning with Jocelyn Tipton, head reference librarian of Booth Library.

“We are trying to get as much feedback from everyone as we possibly can,” Tipton said. “We’re going to as many groups on campus as we can; this process will go through May.”

The strategic planning committee then will evaluate the answers from all the groups and develops a plan for the university.

“Every 10 years the university goes through its strategic planning process,” VanGunten said. “Various groups on campus get together and say what the university is doing really well.”

The answers are then compiled together and posted on the strategic planning website.

The committee began meeting in February to organize how they wanted to complete the process and plan on finishing it by January 2012 to present to the Board of Trustees.

“We’ll present it for approval which would become the plan for the university for the next five years,” Tipton said.

Alex Boyd, a sophomore political science major, is running for student body president. Boyd and Roberto Luna, a junior finance major, helped establish LEAD, which stands for Leaders Establishing a Difference.

Boyd wants to make a difference when he runs for student government.

“There hasn’t been a very good connection with the students and between student government and other groups,” Boyd said. “My biggest goal I want to accomplish

is having a greater kind of communication between the students and student government because I know there are students out there that either don’t know we have student government or don’t know what student government does.”

Boyd said students have the ability to be the voice to the administration. This is how changes can be made on campus.

“I will make sure my office is always open, that we will be able to communicate with students better than we have in the past,” Boyd said. “The things we can do for you and the things we can change-I’ll make sure we do.”

Boyd said for those things that may be more long-term he will try his best to make sure the action takes place to start the process in the right direction.

“The people that come after us can continue helping with those projects,” Boyd said.

Luna spoke to the RHA about his future candidacy for vice president of student affairs.

Luna is a member of LEAD as well.

“Ever since I was on student government, I was on the tuition review committee,” Luna said.

Luna was on the Committee for bylaw and revision adoption, which he began his work in business affairs.

Jennifer Brown can be reached at 581-2812 or jebrown2@eiu.edu.