Hi 76 / Lo 54
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Hi 76 / Lo 54 |
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Volume 72, Issue 109,
Friday, March 9, 2007
News Complaints brought to RHA Slow Internet speeds, questions over space reservations were discussed at Tuesday°Øs meeting by KELSIE HAHN
Students voiced concerns about slow Internet speeds and a request by the Honors organization Club Theater to reserve space in the Oberholtzer Ballroom for two weeks at the Residence Hall Association meeting on Tuesday. Computer engineering freshman John Amstadt said a Residential Life and Housing plan to charge students extra fees to access faster download and upload speeds in the residence halls was °°an insult to the students,°± and called for RHA and residents in general to demand faster base Internet speeds. Amstadt, a Cisco Certified Network Associate, said RLH had run too few cables to individual rooms to accommodate faster Internet and was passing the cost of upgrades on to residents. °°In the end, they are charging us for their mistakes,°± he said. °°We as residents should not accept a decrease in our provided services.°± RHA President Micah Kenfield said a spring forum would be held after spring sreak with a panel of representatives from RLH, Information Technologies and Plant Operations to address questions and concerns. Hotel and Restaurant Management sophomore Katelyn Halpern spoke on behalf of Club Theatre, a branch of the Honors College Student Governing Board, to inquire about reserving space in the OB Ballroom, or another large residential area, for a two-week period in April to put on a production of The Importance of Being Earnest. Halpern said the request had initially been made in December, and at that time she had understood the play would be co-sponsored with RHA and Club Theater could use the space. °°Frankly, we don°Øt have anywhere else to put it,°± she said. Although the group is seeking other areas to use on campus, a rental fee of $200-$400 a night is far beyond the scope of the organization°Øs $200 annual budget, half of which was spent in its fall production. Halpern said the two weeks were needed in order to construct, rehearse in and maintain a stage in the room for two weekends of performances: April 12 through 14, and 19 through 21. °°For theater, you really need to have the actors and the crew in the space,°± she said. On concerns that Club Theatre was not a residential program and that allowing them to use this space would be preferential treatment, Halpern said many students in the Honors College and in Club Theatre were residents. Residential programs can use RLH space for free if a five-day advance notice is given. °°We°Øre not looking to make a problem for anybody,°± she said. °°We planned ahead, we°Øre trying to be extremely respectful.°± Area Coordinator for Cougar Place and RHA Advisor Lin Crowson noted that RHA does not have control over RLH space. °°There°Øs some misperception that they have more power over space than they do,°± she said. Crowson also said that while residential programs may use RLH space for free with advance notice, other student organizations must pay fees to rent the space, and allowing non-residential groups to use the space for free would be a °°slippery slope.°± °°We°Øre in the business of programming for residents who live on campus,°± she said. Kenfield later said he was reluctant to form a co-sponsorship because of the lack of advertisement for the group°Øs casting calls in residential areas. °°There were no major attempts to Å6¶5bring the entire residential community into this program, and thus it Å6¶5fails, in my opinion, to be the sort of program RHA could responsibly Å6¶5co-sponsor and advocate on the behalf of,°± he said. Students for Fair Trade also made a presentation to RHA, urging them to support the sale of 100 percent fair trade coffee at UH. Fair trade coffee is certified to have been purchased from the growers at higher than the world market price, history Ph.D. candidate Tim O°ØBrien said. O°ØBrien said many of those who work growing coffee are exploited and live in slave-like conditions. °°We need to stand up and say that°Øs not right,°± he said. °°We should say where our tuition money goes.°± Send comments to dcnews@mail.uh.edu |
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