by Rob Hanson, ACJA President

The University Of New Haven’s Chapter of the American Criminal Justice Association, formally known as Psi Omega, attended the ACJA Region 4 conference last year and came home with 20 awards. This year the goal was to attend the same conference hosted in Philadelphia, PA and bring students of all class standings to compete.

This year, the 16 students who attended brought home 25 awards including two of the most prestigious awards to the region, the Sweepstakes Award that is awarded to the chapter that wins the most awards during the conference, and the Spirit Award that is given in honor of Jim Hooker to the chapter that presents the most spirit and “defines the goals and purposes of ACJA.” This year the conference grew to the largest regional conference, which consisted of 18 chapters and over 200 students competing in events and testing.

One struggle that the club encounters on a yearly basis is the issue of having funding provided to attend both this and the National Conference. This year there was a great show of support from the Bartels Fund that single handedly allowed for students to attend this conference and embrace the dedication and spirit of UNH students to Criminal Justice professionals across the nation.

Chapters in the region host the conference annually, but consist of the same competitions every year. This year students competed in all competitions offered, shooting (both individual and team), physical agility, crime scene, and 5 written tests in various criminal justice related categories.

The students who attended and competed in this conference were Robert Hanson (President), Angela Martello (Treasurer), Daniel Hemperly (Sergeant At Arms), Tim Farmer, Kyle Turpin, Devin McCabe, Liliana Queiroga, Gerard St. George, James Russo, Corey Burke, Ross Olivier, Joseph Mangeno, Derek White, Nathan Melchor, Sean Grabowski, Elizabeth Jaconi, and an advisor Professor Dan Maxwell. I ask that if you see these students around please congratulate them on their hard work and commitment to the university. Also look out for information when the University of New Haven’s Chapter of ACJA travels to Portland, OR and competes in the National Conference.