Increase in room and meal plan rates

Under a proposal by the Residence Hall Association at the first Student Government meeting of spring semester, residence hall students can expect to see a 5% increase in room and meal rates. 

RHA President Sammy Higgins addressed several of the recommendations sent out to students, most of them adding to the base rates on room and meal plans. Over 27 students from the RHA participated in the voting.

One of the suggestions passed was upgrading residential hall desk equipment to check out such as games, sporting equipment and cookware. Only one student rejected the idea, adding $1 to the base rate. 

The other suggestion that passed regarded adding more berries to the salad bar in the Dining Center on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Strawberries, raspberries and grapes are a few of the additions. Over 20 students voted in agreement, adding an additional $10 to the base rate. 

Suggestions that didn’t pass included: giving students a promotional RHA item, swapping hand dryers for paper or cloth towels in bathrooms and a make-your-own-omelet option in the Dining Center. With the $11 increase, a 5% increase is expected to take place during the 2024-25 academic year. 

Director of Residential Life Cindy Janney mentioned the bathrooms in Crawford will be renovated in the next two years. 

“We have to do it because we’ve got leaky plumbing. Rather than replace leaky plumbing and keeping the old bathroom design, we’ve been hearing concerns from students for a number of years, we’re increasing the privacy quite a bit,” Janney said.

In the new bathrooms, there will be four spots where a toilet and shower will be behind a full-length door. Two additional spots will be just for showering, another two spots will have a toilet and urinal, and six additional spaces will still be out in public. 

Half of the halls will be renovated from May to December of 2024 with the other half of the halls being finished from January to August 2025.

Photo caption: Residence Hall Association President Sammy Higgins addressed several suggestions toward the residence halls including room and meal rates to increase. (Nathanael Tilahun/The Reporter)

Write to Emma Johnson at Emma.johnson.5@mnsu.edu