Missouri Team Places First at Midwest Model European Union Conference

Columbia, Mo. (April 26, 2004) -- A team of students from the Missouri School of Journalism placed first at the recent Midwest Model European Union Conference held at Indiana University - Purdue University in Indianapolis. This is the third time that Missouri has won the top spot in as many years.

Fritz Cropp Strategic Communication Faculty Byron Scott Professor Emeritus

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During the two-day competition students develop a working idea of how European Union institutions function at a variety of levels. Each college or university team represents a current European Union member state and Missouri represented Finland this year. Members of the team submitted policy proposals dealing with agricultural, foreign, security and other issues in correct EU format based on their knowledge and expertise of that particular country. They were then asked to debate the proposal based on how it would affect the member state and its citizens. The final action was to vote to adopt or reject it.

"Winning this year's competition is a testament to the understanding these students have of European Union issues, and an example of dedication to a cause," said Fritz Cropp, coordinator of the international programs office at the Missouri School of Journalism. "These students prepared for this on their own, independent of a classroom experience."

Missouri Journalism students who participated are Calvert Collins, Jon Halvorson and Chris Shields. Collins, a junior from Dallas, is studying broadcast news and pursuing minor degrees in political science and Spanish. She has studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, and will be serving as an intern at CNN London this summer through the School's London program. Halvorson, a senior from Highland, Ill., is a double major in advertising and economics. He has served as the president of the MU European Union Students Association. Shields, a broadcast news senior from St. Paul, Minn., works as the nightside producer for KOMU.

The Midwest Model European Union Conference was created eight years ago by John McCormick, a IUPUI political science professor. A native Briton who has studied and taught both in the US and the UK, McCormick wanted his students to better understand the many changes occurring within Europe. More than 10 colleges and universities participated in this year's competition.

The Missouri Journalism program promotes international study. Approximately 12 percent of all undergraduate students have participated in a study abroad experience before graduation. The School maintains numerous partnerships and other alliances with universities around the world.

The University of Missouri-Columbia is one of several American universities designated as a European Union Center and is funded by the EU. The Center is part of the EU's effort to build stronger ties among Europeans and Americans through outreach, educational, and research programming. Cropp and Byron Scott, a MU journalism professor, sit on the cabinet of the university's EU Center.