On Feb. 7, twelve students and one adviser of the United Residence Hall Association left Martin to attend the annual Tennessee Association of College and University Residence Halls (TACURH) conference at the University of Memphis.

Approximately 125 student leaders attended the TACURH conference. Since the first TACURH conference in 1991, the number of participants has grown dramatically.

One of the goals of the conference was to bring residence hall leaders together from across Tennessee, so that they may learn new ways to reach their residents.

The goal was achieved through programs such as “Suck on this”, the best program of the year award winner.

The program was about how to educate residents on how to be safe while having oral sex and how to use a controversial title to draw students in.

“The conference was educational. It enabled us to interact with other RAs in Tennessee and better reach our residents,” said Jodi Smith, assistant hall director of Ellington Hall.

UTM was definitely not a newcomer to the conference either. A delegation has attended for the past four years.

The group managed to claim the most spirit award, which was decided by enthusiasm, participation and a group performance, among other things. UTM was also named the Most Unique School.

On an individual level Jama Durham, resident assistant in Austin Peay HalL, was elected the treasurer for the state. She will work hand and hand with other students across the state. Also, Jim Colvin, the housing coordinator for UTM, was honored with a community service award.

He was nominated by URHA because of his hard work and dedication to the lives of the students on the UTM campus.