Aja Frost
[follow id = “ajavuu”]
As Cal Poly’s on-campus population continues to grow, the organization responsible for transmitting those students’ voices is growing as well.
Inter Housing Council (IHC), the student government group that represents all on-campus student residents, has doubled its number of officers in the past year, added a new Representative at Large position, increased programming twofold and opened a new office, called ROLO.
“ROLO stands for Residential Outreach and Leadership Office,” IHC President and mechanical engineering sophomore Marcus Pereira said. “If you have an issue on campus, you can go there and find someone to talk about it with. And get Rolo candies.”
The office — located in the Cerro Vista community center — is staffed by IHC officers, the Cal Poly Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary and the presidents of each hall and apartment complex’s Community Council. ROLO is open Monday 10-4 p.m., Tuesday and Wednesday 9-4 p.m. and Friday from 10 a.m. to noon. It exists as a place for students to ask questions and share concerns related to housing.
“We take what people say and discuss it at our Friday meetings with the president of each residence hall and the executive board,” Pereira said. “We may not be able to solve the problem ourselves, but we’re probably students’ best shot at being heard. We have direct communication with a lot of those housing administrators.”
Recent issues students have brought to IHC’s attention include Campus Dining and inadequate lighting on one of the paths to Poly Canyon Village (PCV).
“We haven’t seen too many people come in,” Pereira said. “But we think that’s mainly because people don’t know about it.”
According to coordinator for the Transitions and Connections learning communities Ben Meoz, ROLO gets approximately one to three visitors per week — and they’re usually the same one to three people.
“Right now, the on-campus voice only comes out when there’s a catalyst — something specific,” Meoz said. “There isn’t a constant voice for our on-campus students, so that’s why IHC wanted an office.”
Before, there was an office in PCV, but it was inconvenient for freshman and difficult to find, so they moved to Cerro Vista, Meoz said.
Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) President and agricultural business senior Jason Colombini was president of IHC when the office was located in PCV.
“It was hidden away in Huasna,” Colombini said. “An office like the Cerro Vista one was what we always dreamed of.”
The physical move characterizes IHC’s shift towards having a bigger presence at Cal Poly.
“In our future, I can see us taking on a much, much stronger role — because as we move toward a residential campus, the number of students that IHC represents and that ASI represents grows closer and closer,” Pereira said.
Colombini and Pereira meet at least once a month to strengthen the partnership between the two organizations.
“It’s a great connection,” Colombini said. “There’s a huge on-campus population now, the highest percentage out of all the CSUs. So IHC helps us figure out what’s going on with the freshman and the on-campus students and the pulse of the population.”
Colombini and Meoz agreed that as IHC grows, it will have to figure out how to balance the increased interests it’s responsible for protecting.
“The more and more current students who live on campus, the more and more issues are important for IHC,” Meoz said. “It changes the nature of what issues they engage in and how they react.”
However, Pereira, Colombini and Meoz expressed confidence that IHC will be able to adapt.
“It’s changed a lot in the past two years. and that’s encouraging; that means it’s getting better,” Colombini said. “If it were the same as when I left it two years ago, I’d be concerned.”