Community Council’s goal is to build a fun and safe environment within the residence halls on campus. Students are appointed to positions by the Resident Directors (RD) and Senior Resident Assistant (SRA). Those positions range from marketing communication chair to president. From there, the council plans, promotes and advocates for different programs within the halls. Community Council is also a way for students to get more involved on campus, specifically within their living community.
“It was a good leadership opportunity and a networking opportunity to engage with other students on campus,” said Jacob Taylor, who is a part of the service team on the Mears Complex Community Council. “It was another way to get into Residence Life as I would like to be an RA [Resident Assistant] in the future.”
After some trial and error in the first year of Hall Council, Western decided to change the name to Community Council. This adjustment is to make Community Council more inviting, because the whole point of it is to build a community within the residence halls.
“The major reason for the name change was to more accurately represent what Community Council is about,” said Hope Howard, the RD of Mears/Moffat Complex. “The whole purpose is to make sure that we are building community in each hall on campus, and to focus on the people and making connections.”
This is Western’s second year being affiliated with the Intermountain Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (IACURH) and the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH). IACURH and NACURH are two of the largest student-run organizations in the country.
Being affiliated with IACURH and NACURH, Western’s Community Council members and Resident Assistants (RA) have the opportunity to attend a regional and national leadership conference. Each happen only once a year.
Western is fortunate enough to be able to take five to eight students to the regional conference. This year the conference will take place at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, in the beginning of November. Western’s students will be able to attend programs put on by other students from different universities in the region.
Story by Taya Olson.
