Residence Hall Association hosts regional conference

The Western Washington University Residence Hall Association played host to an annual regional student leadership conference from Nov. 13 to 15. The RHA is a member of the Pacific Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls organization; PACURH is one of eight regional associations affiliated with the National Association of College and University Residence Halls.

The regional fall conference is a significant event that includes a full schedule of activities, including inspiring keynote speakers, leadership development and training sessions, regional business meetings, educational programs, a formal awards banquet and entertainment. There were 326 attendees representing 45 colleges and universities from Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and British Columbia, along with several guests from the regional and national boards of directors.

One of the recurring aspects of the PACURH Conference is that the host school will design a Philanthropy Project in which all delegates are invited to participate. This year, WWU decided to host a “Box Tops for Education” drive and challenged each school to cut box tops and bring them to the conference. Twenty-one schools participated in the philanthropy project, and more than 3,500 box tops were collected and will be donated to Shuksan Middle School. Central Washington University won the Philanthropy Award having donated the most.

Additionally, the WWU chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary also hosted a second philanthropy project during the evening activities. Delegates were invited to create handmade greeting cards that will be sent overseas to soldiers. The “Cards for Soldiers” project – selected because of the conference’s proximity to Veterans Day – yielded 96 handmade cards that will be distributed.

The last time WWU hosted the PACURH Conference was in 2000.