Fourteen Brigham Young University students brought home top honors from the Model Arab League Rocky Mountain Regional Conference held at Metropolitan State University in Denver.
The students won the coveted grand prize for Outstanding Delegation, as well as Outstanding Delegate awards in three councils and Honorable Mentions in four councils representing the Kingdoms of Saudi Arabia and Morocco. They effectively played their roles at the conference by embodying the political, religious and cultural stances of these countries.
The students are Alex Riehle, Ashley Robinson, Chris Tellington, Colby Peterson, David Wall, Emily Paxman, Garrett Root, Joachim Austin, Josh Balleck, Logan McDermott, Ryan Hughes, Stefanie Stakland, Taylor Lantz and Zoya Krupczynski Draper.
While networking, collaborating and disputing in a diplomatic setting, the students interacted with many delegates from other universities. In the simulation, they passed resolutions and debated issues in the Middle East related to social affairs, political matters, defense concerns, the environment and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Seven members of BYU's winning Denver delegation also participated in the National Model Arab League Conference at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., representing the Republic of Djibouti. There they made another strong showing and enjoyed a stimulating learning experience as they debated and interacted with hundreds of students from across the U.S. and the Middle East.
For more information on Model Arab League, contact James A. Toronto, associate professor of Arabic and Islamic studies, 203 HRCB, 801-422-2494.
Writer: Colby Peterson and Stefanie Stakland
