The Residence Hall Association voted in a new vice president at its meeting Thursday evening in Andrews Hall.

Christopher Pickard, a sophomore political science major, emerged victorious as the RHA’s new vice president.

Pickard said he served on Student Senate, RHA and the Thomas Hall executive board, and he is secretary of sketch comedy group Lunchbox Voodoo.

He highlighted the fact that he had perfect attendance in both RHA and Thomas Hall executive board meetings.

He said as vice president he would “continue the executive board’s plan (and) fill the void (left by the last vice president) to get to the end of the semester.”

Pickard said he would work on managing his time, and would drop things if necessary to make room for RHA.

“I will focus on Social Justice and Diversity Week to make sure it goes off without a hitch,” he said. “I will work with the other committees as well.”

Because of his secretarial position on Lunchbox Voodoo, Pickard was asked if he was funny.

“I like to think so,” he said. “A lot of the time I end up entertaining myself.”

The other other nominee for vice president was Mackenzie Freund, a sophomore journalism major.

Freund said she wanted to be vice president so she could gain leadership skills.

She said she had a lot of experience planning retreats at home that were successful and important to her.

“I want to take what I’ve learned, and take them back to (RHA) programs,” Freund said.

An issue with both candidates brought up was that they might have difficulty with committing fully to RHA with their other extra-curricular activities.

Last week, each hall’s RHA representatives were encouraged to ask their halls what they thought about dining at Eastern during their hall council meetings.

Suggestions included healthier options in the dining halls as well as more variety in Taylor.

Cassie Buchman can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].