By Meryl Roche
The Resident Student Association (RSA) will present a bid at North Carolina State University Memorial Day weekend to hold a regional conference at Northeastern on Nov. 14-16.
According to Scott Minkin, the national communications coordinator and the conference co-chair, the goals of the conference have “an emphasis on sharing program ideas across resident campuses.”
Another goal of the 12 member committee, according to Minkin, is to “plan the best conference the region has ever seen.”
The conference that has been in the works for the last six months will present “A Tribute to H.E.R.O.E.S.” The theme, which stands for “Helping Every Residence Organization Excel and Succeed,” is an original concept that will help to shape the direction of the regional North Eastern Association of College and University Residence Halls (NEACURH) conference to hopefully be held at Northeastern this fall.
The proposed NEACURH conference is expected to draw between 250 to 350 students from other RSAs on the east coast. Students will be able to gain ideas and knowledge through student-run presentations on such topics as alcohol safety and sex awareness, among other things. An awards ceremony will culminate the three-day event.
Jason Russak, the vice president of administration and co-chair of the conference committee, said that he hopes the conference will be “very spiritful” and “friendly.” The last time that Northeastern held a conference similar to the one currently proposed was in 1999.
The NEACURH committee has already made plans for people in attendance of the conference to stay in the Colonnade Hotel on Huntington Ave., which is also where the banquet will be held. Accomodations have also been discussed with Northeastern for holding programs in Ryder and Shillman Halls and the Curry Student Center.
Associate Dean of Residential Life M.L. Langlie said that the NU RSA is “very well prepared” and that they are doing “a wonderful job with keeping the cost of the event to a minimum and getting the best price for the Colonnade.”
Langlie also said that the conference is “a credit to our school.” She said that the Northeastern community as a whole will be able to benefit from this regional conference because, “we have a wonderful campus and this conference gets our name out to over 300 representatives.”
The National Assocation of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH) conference at NCSU, where Northeastern will present its bid, will be the “world’s largest student leadership conference,” said NACURH conference chair Jonathan Wylie.
Approximately 245 registered schools will attend the conference, consisting of 2,600 students and advisors. Approximately 350 programs geared toward sharing knowledge and helping others will be the focus of the event.
The theme of the NACURH conference is “Experience the M.A.G.I.C.,” which stands for Motivating Achieving and Gaining Involvment in Communities. As the name states, learning and gaining experience is a large part of NACURH’s goal for this year’s conference.
Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of this national event, which is held in a different location every year. An important aspect of the conference, according to Wylie, is “rowdy college students coming together to have a good time without drugs and alcohol.”
Having a conference that is alcohol-free is something that is important to the organization and all of the students must sign a contract stating that they will not consume drugs or alcohol during the timeframe of the conference.
