As I’ve mentioned many times before, I didn’t know anybody as a freshman coming to UMass. Therefore, I knew I had to get involved on campus in some way; I just didn’t know how. 

In the first few weeks of school, my friend suggested that I join him in running for House Council. I never heard of the organization before, but I ran with my friend purely because I had no better idea of what to do. Although joining was definitely a sporadic decision, I can truthfully say I really enjoyed my time being involved with House Council.

Every campus has their own House Council-type of organization, and I assumed it was more like a student government type of thing. However, House Council is actually a leadership organization where students are elected to serve as a voice for the residential “cluster” (building(s)) they represent.

My friend wanted to be president, so I ran as his running mate for vice president. For multiple weeks, we campaigned around Gorman and Wheeler, two freshman residence halls in Central that share a cluster. I was running for fun, with my friend. I had no consideration of what I would actually do if I won VP.

To my surprise, we both won.

I was announced as vice president of the Gorman/Wheeler Cluster. At this time, I had no idea what the job entailed, as I didn’t think an only semi-politically-inclined newbie like me would be awarded such a title. To say the least, I was flattered that people elected me. My job was to listen to what the students in the cluster wanted to change and aim towards fixing them based off a generous budget we were provided by the school. Problems ranged from people wanting more events held for our dorms to the lack of laundry machines and so much more.

My weekly schedule for House Council consisted of a one-hour meeting with the programming members and three other E-board members (so it was me, the president, treasurer, and secretary). Anybody interested and who lives in the cluster was able to be a programming member; you just had to sign up. At these meetings, we would brainstorm ideas for new events and things we could buy to improve our buildings. Along with these meetings, as Vice President, I was the only one responsible to attend weekly Residential Hall Association meetings. For these, I would meet with every other House Council cluster on campus (standing as a representative for my own) and Student Area Governments. House Council and SGA together made RHA. At the RHA meetings, we discussed problems occuring on campus and kept the clusters updated on what events were being held. Although I was not nearly as informed as my peers at these meetings, I always looked forward to attending them. I learned about my school and the areas on campus in great depth. Being a freshman, it was a really unique way to familiarize myself with my new home.

I would urge any freshman to run for House Council or become a programming member for your cluster. It’s an amazing way to improve our campus to our liking. You literally are given money to fix the problems you have with your dorm. What a way to love where you live! Being in House Council was also a nice way to learn about UMass: where things are, how policy is made, etc. House Council gave me an automatic appreciation for UMass, and I would strongly recommend joining to anyone!