News: Students AIPAC Activists Award

CCU Students Honored as Activists of the Year

CCU students at the annual American Israel Public Affairs Committee conference in Washington, D.C., this week earned a high honor: the AIPAC Activists of the Year. The award was given for outstanding work advocating for Israel, as the Students for Israel group has labored to inform and rally fellow students.

"We are proud of our support for Israel," mentioned Joshua Sherwood, a member of the Students for Israel group at CCU. "Last year we were able to bring Congressman Lamborn to CCU to speak, and our community volunteered over 100 hours for the Joe Coors for Congress campaign, among other achievements."

Accepting the award for CCU along with Sherwood were fellow students Shawn Dean, John Hoffner, Matthew Erickson, and Stephen Scheffel.

The students went on to meet with a variety of congressmen as part of their advocacy. The conference included meetings with Senators John McCain and Michael Bennet, and Representatives Ed Perlmutter, Jared Polis, Mike Coffman, and Doug Lamborn.

The annual AIPAC Policy Conference featured 13,000 attendees, including 2,000 students, and it is aimed at strengthening U.S.-Israel relations in a mutually beneficial manner. Other universities that won Activist of the Year awards were the University of Oregon, University of Pennsylvania, University of South Florida, and New York University.

This award marks a burgeoning political engagement at CCU. It comes on the heels of two CCU students representing Colorado as pages at the Republican National Convention, CCU being named a Top Conservative College by the Young America's Foundation, and an overall greater awareness and emphasis on political action.