NIU residence hall residents can “shed the shadow of the past and be the outline of the future” by attending the 10th annual Illinois Residence Hall Association conference.

The conference will start Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn, 1212 W. Lincoln Hwy., and it will run through Sunday. There will be 11 schools bringing delegations, including Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois State University, Normal and University of Illinois at Champaign.

Sharon Ainger, registration chairman for the convention, said NIU has been working on this convention for two years. She said this is the first time NIU has hosted a convention.

Ainger said the conference gives ideas and information to use in the residence halls. She said the contacts people make serve as an idea-sharing network.

“It’s been both fun and frustrating. The staff gets along really well, but this has been a lot of work. My class work has suffered a lot,” Ainger said.

Dawn Zilligen, conference chairman, said the NIU Residence Hall Association’s goal is to have the best state conference ever.

“I lived, breathed and slept IRHA for the last couple months,” Zilligen said. “I’ve even had some nightmares.” She said any hall resident is welcome to attend the conference.

Zilligen said the public is welcome to hear the keynote speaker, John Cassis, the motivational consultant for the Chicago Bears, on Saturday in the Skyline Lounge at Grant Towers North.

The conference will feature several special-interest panels which are done by students, Steve Ruments, programing chairman said. “Every school has a delegate who is prepared to speak on a different subject, like visitation/security, RA (Resident Assistant) responsibility and food service.”

uments said there will also be workshops done by professionals from NIU. Some of the topics include, alcohol effects and consequences, sexual assualt awareness and contraception.

“All these people come in, and they’re excited, and they have a lot of school spirit. Everybody learns a lot about each other’s RHAs. Then they can bring it back to their own school to better their own RHA,” Ruments said.

An event designed so that the delegates can meet each other is called “future dates.” Everyone who attends the conference will find the name and school of another delegate in his/her hotel room. Amanda Dussault, social chairman, said they selected people by a questionnaire they sent out.

Joe Scheidler, programming chairman, also said the conference promotes individual school spirit and leadership. “It gives NIU a chance to showcase our university,” he said. Scheidler is also vice president of RHA.

Jeanette Beauregard, food chairman, said she likes conferences because she meets a variety of people, has a good time and learns a lot.

“The conference involves a lot of motivation, which is important to college students. Self-confidence, motivation and support are some of the main attractions for me,” Beauregard said.