To newly elected Residence Hall Association president Keith Kruchten, dorm is a four-letter word in more ways than one.

Kruchten, a junior finance major, strongly discourages usage of the “D” word.

“The term ‘dorm’ is from another age of on-campus living,” he said. “If you look up the term ‘dorm’ in the dictionary, it says something like a place where one sleeps.

“What we have here at NIU is so much more than just a place to sleep. There are a huge number of people here on campus whose sole job is to make on campus living more enjoyable … It may seem like a simple thing, but it really is very important to everyone that is involved that these ideas are transmitted to the university,” he said.

Among Kruchten’s duties is representing on-campus students to Student Housing and Dining Services and the university.

“The position of president also affords me the opportunity to work with numerous different student organizations, many levels of the NIU administration and countless students,” he said.

Kruchten also said he is excited about RHA Week, which kicks off Monday. Festivities include flag football, giveaways, an open mic night and tailgating. Each event is part of Krutchen’s plan to be more inclusive this year.

“My goals for this year are on a broader scope than presidents in the past,” he said. “I am working hard to bring RHA together with the various student organizations on campus to provide more and better services not only to those students who live on campus, but also for those who have chosen to live off of campus as well.”

Alexander Gothard, Believing in Culture president and a junior management major, said he believes Kruchten will succeed.

“He’s a very organized guy and handles his business very well,” he said. “He is a very good leader because he delegates well. I am confident that he will accomplish his goals for the year.”

Julianne Heniff, RHA treasurer and a sophomore business major, also is impressed by Kruchten’s determination.

“He likes to get things done and is very focused on what he wants to do,” she said.

In his spare time, Kruchten said he enjoys golf and hanging out with his friends, but his priorities lay with RHA, which he strongly encourages people to get involved with.

“There are a number of good reasons [to get involved], but my favorite is that we are in college to get an education,” he said. “Education is not received in DuSable or Barsema or any other classroom. True education is interacting with different types of people from different types of backgrounds. RHA is a great way to get a huge amount of experience working with a cornucopia of new and interesting people.”

RHA’s first meeting is at 4:30 p.m. Sunday at Stevenson North’s Multi-Purpose Room.