The Democratic National Convention will be held in Denver from Monday, Aug. 25 through Thursday, Aug. 28, and DU is doing some of the hosting.

“We will be housing the Democratic National Convention Committee that is located here in Denver and they will be given a certain amount of beds in Centennial Halls and Centennial Towers,” said Melanie Eaton, assistant director of conference and event services.

“They will be here through the end of convention and the check out date is Aug. 29. We don’t have specifics of who will be staying in Halls and Towers yet because they haven’t assigned all of the rooms.”

Staff, early arrival students and residence assistants will be in the buildings at the south end of campus so that is all the room allotted for them, said Eaton.

It is estimated that there will be 50,000 people attending the convention with 5,000 delegates and 15,000 members from the media.

The convention will take place in the Pepsi Center.

The first Democratic Party convention was held in 1832.One of its accomplishments has been the establishment of the Democratic National Committee, which is now the longest running political organization in the world, according to the official Web site for the convention.

The first time the convention was held in Denver was in 1908.

According to the Web site, a comprehensive greening plan was implemented a year before this year’s convention.

The DNCC offices were created as energy efficient as possible. Many of the employees walk or ride bikes to work.

For the convention, they plan on calculating the carbon footprint of the event and working with Camco, an official carbon advisor, to see how much waste they can reduce.

The greenhouse gas emissions that cannot be reduced will be offset by a carbon offset program. The Pepsi Center will have high-efficiency lighting systems as well as LED and solar-powered lighting. They will also implement recycling, compost and sustainable materials.

The Pepsi Center, the Convention Center, the DNCC Headquarters Hotel and the DNCC offices are all located within walking distance of either the RTD light rail or the 16th Street Mall shuttle, according to the Web site.

The year’s race for the nomination is noteworthy because Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are still neck-in-neck for delegate support.

One of the first issues the convention will face is deciding whether to seat the delegates from Michigan and Florida.

These two states moved their primaries up and the Democratic National Committee has not yet decided whether or not to count their delegates.

The Democratic National Committee and the city of Denver have been working for months now on how to treat the protesters that will be outside the center.

To apply to become a volunteer or delegate or get more information, go to www.demconvention.com.