Students from schools in Canada and the western states began a conference at UA yesterday to learn how to be better leaders.

The Intermountain Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls conference began yesterday, and 350 students from 26 schools will be on campus until Sunday participating in workshops with UA residence lifers.

The annual conference rotates between schools in the region, and UA IACURH members won their bid to host the conference this year.

The UA's IACURH chapter has spent $67,000 to put together the leadership conference, and organizers say the planning has gone smoothly and they are excited for their hard work to pay off, said Tera Monroe, conference adviser and assistant director of Residence Life.

"Everything has been pretty smooth, and we have been fast and fiercely planning this conference," Monroe said.

The conference was paid in part by the delegates' $167 registration fee and $8,000 allocated by the Residence Hall Association, Monroe said.

Students from schools in Canada, New Mexico State, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Utah, Colorado Mountain College, and the University of Wyoming will be at the conference participating in workshops on topics such as personal development, leadership development and global and campus issues, Monroe said.

Daila Temple, entertainment chair for the conference, said the planning committee has a lot of entertainment planned for the delegates.

Five drag queens from the UA's annual Diva La Paz will be performing in Diva IACURH at the Inn Suites Hotel, where the delegates will be staying.

The UA's Swing Cats will perform and give swing dancing lessons to attendees. There will also be a casino night and karaoke for the delegates in the hotel, said Temple, a physiological sciences junior.

"There is all this stuff for (the delegates) to come and have a good time," Temple said.

The planning committee has also planned for 12 to 14 vans to transport the delegates between the hotel and campus.

Ted Theodorou, RHA president, said he is proud of all the work the committee has put into the project over the last two years and knows the conference will be a great success.

"The UA is really excited to be hosting the conference this year, and I'm just thrilled it is on our campus," said Theodorou, a political science and classics junior.

A large part of the conference is the delegates' exhibition of spirit for their schools.

The UA won the national spirit award at last year's national conference in St. Louis, and coordinators are excited to see what spirit the other schools are bringing with them.

Paty Gonzalez, a resident assistant in Hopi Hall and UA delegate, is looking forward to the workshops and hopes to bring beneficial activities to her residents.

"I'm looking forward to getting a lot of projects and ideas to bring back and I'm hoping to show off my U of A spirit and our campus," said Gonzalez, a bilingual education junior.

Last year's IACURH conference was held at the University of Utah and Theodorou said organizers at the UA know this year's conference will be even better.

"It's going to be bigger and it's going to be better. It gives us a chance to show off the UA to (the other schools)," Theodorou said.

The planning for the conference started in December 2002, when RHA elected the co-chairs of the conference. In February 2003, the co-chairs compiled a 13-person staff for the conference, said Emily Ladd, conference co-chair.

"We are all really excited. A lot of us have been to five or six conferences and, we are excited to see everyone here and see how they like our university," said Ladd, a political science sophomore.