Updated at 12:01 a.m. CST March 25

Debate on changes to the bylaws and constitution of the Inter-Residence Hall Association dominated the organization’s meeting Thursday.

Largely because of the closing of the Towers residence halls, the association voted to change its constitution.

The new constitution states that every student who pays IRHA dues shall be represented by one and only one hall council. A resident is no longer to be represented by one residence association.

The Towers Residence Association will no longer be part of IRHA during the 2005-06 academic year, so the Union Drive Association and the Richardson Court Association would be the only associations remaining.

Earlier, a key topic of discussion was the proposed changes to the way the organization allocates funds.

IRHA President Drew Larson opened the meeting by stating he was “looking for a spirited debate.”

Following 30 minutes of officer reports and an open forum, IRHA dove into discussion about whether the organization should provide funding to residence hall students whose events benefit only a fraction of on-campus students.

The debate then moved to the subject of whether funded organizations should be subject to IRHA funding regulations.

This drew opposition from Larson, who argued that not making organizations subject to IRHA rules “clearly” limits IRHA’s ability to fund events.

“There a lot of things we shouldn’t fund,” he said. “I think there are things that could be localized and could be worked toward the goals of IRHA – particularly providing a welcoming environment.”

Richardson Court Association Treasurer Eric Aderhold disagreed with Larson and said he was in favor of requiring that funds benefit all IRHA constituents.

“I think the purpose of this section should be things that are more wide-reaching,” Aderhold said.

After debating for 45 minutes on the topic, RCA President Brandon Gray noted that the debate “was getting nowhere,” prompting Keith Wilbur, Union Drive Association at-large member, to make a motion to limit debate on the current topic.

“The goal here is for clarity,” he said.

The discussion took a slight turn to the topic of IRHA members’ duties.

“I think it’s important to note that this body is here to make decisions. The reason you’re here becomes less and less valuable,” Larson said, speaking directly to parliament members. “Instead of ruling out 50 to 60 percent of the bills before they hit the floor, we should be arguing. We don’t want to have our hands tied.”

IRHA members ultimately decided to postpone bylaw changes and moved to consider them further at their next meeting.