RHA mixed business with pleasure Wednesday as members dressed in costume for its annual Halloween-themed meeting.

“It’s a good way to get everybody excited,” said the cheetah, RHA Secretary Alyson Feenstra. “(Meetings) can be mundane … It spices things up.”

RHA President Kelcey Gapske, dressed as a nerd, said the annual meeting is just a “silly way to bring everyone together” and boost morale in the general assembly.

However, spirits did not appear to be any higher than usual at the especially colorful meeting, as most members of the General Assembly chose not participate in the festivities.

Prizes were awarded for the funniest, scariest and best costumes. However, the meeting did become serious with presentations concerning the upcoming Great Lakes Affiliates of College and University Residence Halls, or GLACURH, conference this weekend.

Gapske said this is the regional conference for Great Lakes region universities’ residence halls associations.

She said this year’s conference especially is important to students because MSU’s RHA is putting in a 40-page bid to hold next year’s regional conference at MSU, which they will present this weekend.

“It’s such a unique opportunity to interact with different students in different states (who are) all doing the same thing — trying to better the on-campus experience,” said RHA Communications Coordinator Zachary DeRade.

It’s also another opportunity for MSU to go head to head against universities such as the University of Michigan, Purdue University and Central Michigan University, for numerous competitions at the conference.

“It’s a great way to represent Michigan State University to the region, not just in the U.S., but abroad because the conference this year is in Canada,” Gapske said.

DeRade said MSU frequently sets an example for other RHAs at these conferences. He said the conference should help to develop leadership skills, amongst others, that will help make RHA leaders become more effective than they currently are.

DeRade said besides himself, the RHA adviser and Gapske, about six other delegates will go to the conference. He said MSU’s RHA is the largest in the region and one of the largest in the country — one of the reasons the organization should host the next conference.

“I think it’s a shame that we haven’t held a conference in nearly 25 years,” Gapske said to the approval of both the festive and nonfestive members of RHA.