Sunday’s Residence Hall Association election exemplified the organization’s heavy reliance on nepotism instead of merit.

The RHA met in Stevenson Towers North to vote on next semester’s executive board members, including RHA president. What struck me most was that candidates were chosen for positions based not on skill, merit or experience, but by how many friends they had. Voters used reasons such as “He’s such an awesome dude” as their primary reasoning for their decisions. The RHA affects more than 6,000 students living on campus. The elections should be taken seriously. Instead, the RHA election turned into a beauty pageant-like popularity contest.

As the night went on, I became increasingly disturbed by the outright favoritism. I heard voters say, “He has a car,” while they were voting for next semester’s E-board members. Not once did I hear, “He or she has a lot of experience in similar positions,” or something to that effect.

Furthermore, former members of E-board, some known for their incompetence, were re-elected. Some ran for positions unopposed.

I have never been a big fan of the RHA – you may remember a tile falling on my head from a previous column – but this election truly took the cake.

Next year’s RHA president has very limited experience in comparison to his opponent. Ask yourself: How did a younger student with little to no experience beat another with three years under his belt? The answer is simple – he had more friends.

This corrupt method of selecting RHA’s E-board members frustrates me as a student living on campus. However, what bothered me most was the constant slander and mud-slinging during the election. One student spread slanderous information about the candidates during the Q and A portion. This was allowed to continue as the RHA did nothing.

Students voting in these elections should look at experience and qualifications when selecting our campus leaders. If we choose not to, the inexperience or incompetence of said officials will negatively affect us all.

Moreover, students living on campus need to start questioning not only the RHA, but other organizations on campus that represent and make decisions affecting students.

The actions and decisions of some RHA members make this disenchanted student want to look for off-campus housing.