LETTER: RHA deserves voice in ASUSU

Dear Editor,

I’m writing to express my dissatisfaction with ASUSU’s decision to deny speaking rights to an RHSA representative. I’ve worked in Housing and I’ve had the opportunity to speak to many on-campus students. These students have concerns, but nowhere to turn to with them. ASUSU said it was worried about over representation, but we still have an Arts and Lectures VP. Why is that? Arts and Lectures, along with Athletics and all the other areas that are represented, have very different issues than each college. And although every student has a senator, they may not feel comfortable discussing all their concerns with them. The same is true of Housing. To address the comment that if RHSA gets speaking rights then Old Farm and every other apartment complex should have rights, that is ridiculous. Old Farm has a landlord and if residents have a problem, there are venues through which it can be taken care of. Utah State University is the landlord for on-campus housing and it falls subject to legislation passed by ASUSU. Because of that, Housing should have a distinct representative. On top of all that, the sheer number of students living in on-campus housing warrants giving them a voice. If USU wants to continue its reputation as a residential university, then some changes need to be made to give those students an opportunity to be heard.

Twighla Hausner