University of North Georgia’s Residence Hall Association is back.

Julia Skala, a senior in UNG’s education program, decided to jump-start the RHA after the association went inactive because of COVID restrictions in 2020. 

Skala reached out to Seth Ledford, Residence Director and former advisor of RHA, to express her interest in leading the association. “I really wanted to jump out there and create a group that will help others. It’s an advocacy group, and we really want to advocate for residents… It [creates] more of an outreach and more community,” she says.

Luke Lopez, a freshman majoring in marketing, says he believes if enough students come together with RHA, they will be able to make a difference in the quality of the residence halls, like making sure that all of the halls have water dispensers and keeping the buildings up to date to ensure student safety. 

The RHA had its first meeting of the fall 2023 semester on Sept. 11. Skala introduced RHA’s new advisors Draven Green, residence director of North Georgia Suites West,  and Zach Kusch, residence director of Owen Hall and Patriot Hall. Green says that his goal for RHA is to prioritize fun, safety and socialization for students living in residence halls. “RHA was starting to look like a second SGA… [we] want to focus on fun and making the residence halls a second home to these students,” says Green. 

Kusch says that his goal is to create a voice for each building’s residents. RHA is making a council for each residence hall that will hold meetings to hear concerns and ideas for improvement. These councils will report back to the RHA executive board. 

Graceson Casey, sophomore marketing major, says she wants RHA to create community within the residence halls through events, as well as maintaining a safe environment. Sage Mitchell, sophomore digital arts major, says she would like to see RHA working as a team to resolve issues within the residence halls. 

If you are interested in learning more about UNG’s Residence Hall Association, Lopez, who’s also the RHA social media director, says the  Instagram profile has more information.