Mike Stahl ’10 and Jeff Seiser ’10 will embark on challenging, yet already-traveled, paths as respective IRHA and FUSA presidents next semester. But the real challenge for the recently elected rising leaders will be the attempt to unite those paths.
“I would call it a disconnect and am not quite sure why [it] exists,” said Seiser, who went on to say that IRHA and FUSA should be working together to best represent the students.
About a month ago, a Facebook group about the candidates running for FUSA president had a section designated for issues it hoped the new president would address.
Among the various items to be addressed was the alleged feud between members of IRHA and FUSA.
Current FUSA President Hutch Williams ’08 said in a previous Mirror article, “There are individuals in each organization that feel they’re in a competition, but the groups as a whole wish to collaborate.”
Steven Liguori ’09, a senator and former FUSA presidential candidate, also said that a need for collaboration on events was important. Former presidential hopeful Spencer Thibodeau ’10 emphasized that he had several IRHA members supporting his candidacy as well.
Stahl, the current vice president of IRHA, said that the so-called feud is really just an inability to collaborate, and it “came about because of personal conflict between members of IRHA and FUSA.”
Both Stahl and Seiser agreed that the main problem lies in communication.
The two groups “need to sit down to discuss what campus issues IRHA will be solely in charge of [and] which issues FUSA will take the lead on and which issues we will work on together,” said Seiser.
Stahl said, “IRHA plans on communicating and working with FUSA … as both have a focus on the students and they should be the center of our objectives.”
Darryl Brackeen ’10, will serve under Stahl as vice president of IRHA next year.
“We are two major student government bodies, but we operate at different capacities,” said Brackeen.
He said, “The creation of the two groups is essential because IRHA is geared to the Residence Halls and serves as a representative of housing issues,” while FUSA serves the student body as a whole.
One of those housing issues, which is perhaps currently the most talked about on campus and during this year’s FUSA presidential campaign, is that of the Off-Campus Boarder [OCB] lottery.
Seiser, the FUSA Senate and those who campaigned for FUSA president have all stated that a change is in order.
The OCB lottery dominated the issues discussed during the campaign, though candidates’ opinions on what to do with regards to the lottery varied.
FUSA Sen. Mike Meehan ’08 was IRHA president his sophomore year.
“When I was IRHA president I can surely tell you that I was jealous of that six-digit budget of theirs,” said Meehan.
Meehan said he frequently worked with FUSA.
“I used to head into their office a few times a week just to discuss what was going on campus and get their take on it,” he said.
Meehan did say that tension was starting to build.
“When you have a lot of motivated, opinionated people working in similar, even if different capacities, there is going to be friction,” said Meehan.
During the FUSA presidential debate, in reference to housing, Seiser said, “Students should be able to choose what they want.”
Thibodeau, his opponent in both the primary and the general election, said he “wants students to come to [the FUSA president] and work with [him] on this issue.”
If the two groups are going to tackle the OCB issue, they must begin by opening up dialogue.
Stahl said that one of the main conflicts between the two, in terms of programming, is that FUSA must hold events on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, while IRHA does not have that constraint.
“FUSA is concerned with every student, while IRHA is concerned with those who are residents,” Stahl said.
Seiser said that working together could bring better events next year, as well as better represent the student body as a whole.
“FUSA will increase the dialogue with IRHA, and together we will devise a plan that clearly states which types of issues each group will take leadership on,” Seiser said.
He also said he hopes IRHA will be willing to collaborate with FUSA on programs next year, as that will lead to more funds and manpower.
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