RHA President's Remarks to the Board of Regents
Remarks to the Board of Regents by Amy Keller, President of the Residence Halls Association (2004-05) on November 18, 2004.

Before I begin I would like to thank you for allowing me to speak with you today. My name is Amy Keller and I am the President of the Residence Halls Association. I was elected to serve as a representative of the 9,600 students that live in the residence halls to Housing, to the University, and to you, the Regents.

Today I am here to celebrate the Residential Life Initiatives and the establishment of a clear timeline for hall renovation and new construction.

Finally, a clear answer to the age-old question, “when will U of M ever build a new residence hall?”

This is my second year serving as President, and in my ‘tenure’ I’ve learned to walk the very fine line between the administration side and the student perspective. From an administrative standpoint, I can identify with the excitement and steadfast commitment to this master plan. As a student, I want to encourage the University that it is truly important that the RLI is based, first and foremost, on the priorities set forth by the students living within the walls of our residence halls. These are our homes.

And when I say ‘home,’ I refer to the residence hall that has water damage in its game room because the windows leak when it rains, the residence hall with any available lounge space being used as student rooms, the residence hall where programs cannot be held on the second floor because it is not ADA accessible, the residence hall with large amounts of unusable space due to non-compliance with fire-code, the residence hall with elevators so unreliable that students have been stranded inside of them for hours at a time, the residence hall that has to have its food prepared next door and carted over because its facilities cannot support an up-to-date ventilation system…

I stand before you as a student having lived in said halls for what is now my fourth year here at the University. I have witnessed first-hand everything that I have told you now, and I am only one in 9,600.

But I know that from my various visits to other Universities, we are fortunate. Never at Michigan have I seen ceiling tiles missing from student rooms or stained and cigarette-burned mattresses. Never from Michigan have I heard any horror-stories regarding how students moved into their rooms to find a surprise third roommate waiting due to a housing crunch. We are better than that.

But we can do better…

The need for this master plan is quite evident based on the condition of our current living environment, and I cannot express how excited I am that this process is finally moving forward. The Residence Halls Association has been passing resolutions regarding RLI topics for several years now, beginning with a resolution in support of a Hill Dining Center back in 1992 and consolidated dining in 1996 and again in 2002. Of course, support for a new residence hall has been persistent and unwavering since the late ‘80s.

So as a leader of this student government, I am elated that our vision for a better residence hall experience and passion for positive change are being finally realized. As a leader of this student government, I am here to express the importance of the student voice; it is a voice that needs to remain ever-present in this process as a reminder of the goals that are being proposed here today.
As a leader of this student government, I am here to remind everyone that Michigan is not only a highly ranked academic institution, it is not only the place where we study, but it is also the place where we live. Michigan should provide its student residents with the full experience – not only academia, but also thriving and exciting outside-of-the-classroom learning communities. Our application is holistic, and the University experience should be as well. THAT is the Michigan difference.

Thank you.