DU hosted student representatives from the University of Colorado (CU), Colorado State University (CSU) and Colorado College (CC) in the first-ever Colorado College Democrats Convention Saturday afternoon in Craig Hall, an event which featured Congressional candidate Joe Miklosi and Colorado State Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino.

The event also hosted speakers representing Congressman Polis, Denver Young Democrats (DYD)  and Organizing for America.

“It is of the utmost importance that the youth gets the representation it needs and deserves, and the state federation provides an excellent opportunity to do so,” said CSU Democrats President Sam Starr, who helped representatives from the other colleges to organize the convention.

About 30 student representatives attended the event, which was the first of its kind for Colorado. The CC Democrats is the newest chapter of College Democrats of America, a nationwide organization.

During the event, an executive board for the College Democrats of Colorado was appointed. DU student Thomas McCarval was elected president, while one representative from each other school was elected to fill the five remaining executive psoitions.

The first speaker at the event was Joe Miklosi, a Democratic candidate for Congress representing the 6th District (DU’s district). His speech focused on energy reform, education and student loans.

“We must view universities not only as places of higher education, but also as job incubators,” he said, adding that he would work to increase the Pell Grant program to “make sure students have financial solvency.”

Colorado House Democrats Minority Leader Mark Ferrandino, of local House District 2, also spoke at the event, focusing primarily on education, budget and the importance of the upcoming November elections to students. He encouraged students to get others engaged and to participate in every way they could in the election process this November.

“We are at a crossroads in this state and in this country,” he said. “This is a pivotal election and we need to turn out the youth vote.”

Ferrandino also urged students to get involved in elections for “lower-tier” political races, such as the House of Representatives election, even though it is “not as sexy” as working on the presidential campaign.

Mara Brosy-Wiwchar, the Deputy Field Director for Congress ionalcandidate Jared Polis, also spoke at the event. She, like Ferrandino, focused on issues surrounding education and youth political involvement.

Representatives from volunteer organizations also spoke to the students, including Brandy Reitter, the president of Denver Young Democrats, and Alex Steele, Deputy Field Director of Organizing for America.

Reitter spoke about involvement and volunteer opportunities with DYD, while Steele discussed the importance of Colorado in the November election as a swing state.

“We’ve run the numbers, and there is no scenario that doesn’t include Colorado’s nine electoral votes,” said Steele. “This election will be won, and lost, on campuses in this country.”

He also encouraged students to become engaged in spreading their message to other students around the school by explaining how the president’s policies and decisions have affected them.

“The most exciting part of everything is getting to see everyone who came,” said CSU student Kelsey Maez, who will be president of CSU Democrats next year. “It’s seeing the product of all of our efforts.”

The convention, which occurs twice every year, will be held again in the fall at different participating schools.