CORRECTION: Christians, Republicans and the Environment

The story below had two errors: the last name of Calvin student Jared Rispens
was spelled incorrectly as was the last name of Richard Cizik of the National
Association of Evangelicals. My sincere apologies for these two mistakes. ==
Phil de Haan, media relations, Calvin College

March 13, 2007 == MEDIA ADVISORY

Summary: The Calvin College Republicans student group hosted a speaker last
week on environmental protection.

Full story, including further resources, see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2006-07/sisson-talk.htm

Recently the Calvin College Republicans hosted a conservative advocate for an
issue that is not typically associated with Republicans: environmental
protection.

Robert Sisson, the mayor of Sturgis and the membership and development
director of Republicans for Environmental Protection, spoke to a small group of
students in the Knollcrest Room at Calvin about the need for a strong
conservative approach to environmental protection.

The Sisson talk is the kind of event the Calvin College Republicans - which
numbers 250 members - are currently promoting, says 2006-07 chairman Jared
Rispens.

“This year, CCR leadership and I decided to focus on issues that weren’t
considered mainstream conservative Republican ideas yet were part of the
foundations of conservative and Christian thought," he says.

Sisson's talk fit right into that criteria.

He talked about one characteristic response to his group’s name: that it's
an oxymoron, and that Republicans don’t care about the environment.

"That’s not true,” he noted before giving students a brief history of the
environmental records of several Republican presidents.

And he praised the efforts of Rev. Richard Cizik for broadening the
conservative agenda to include environmental issues.

Republicans for Environmental Protection, which last year was recognized by
the National Parks Conservation Association for its work preserving National
Park Service management policies, has chapters in 11 states and members in 49,
Sisson said.

“If you have cousins in North Dakota, let me know,” he quipped. Along with
soliciting members, he urged those attending to get involved in efforts to
protect and restore the environment.

Sophomore political science major Paul Gehm, thought Sisson’s message was a
good one for a broader student constituency.

“I know a lot of times I’ve gotten into discussions with friends who care
about the environment,” Gehm said. “They align themselves with moderates or
democrats because this is their key issue. And with every other issue they line
up with conservatives. I think it’s good to hear from the conservatives who
are overlooked on this issue."

Full story, including further resources, see
http://www.calvin.edu/news/releases/2006-07/sisson-talk.htm

-end-
Received on Tue Mar 13 14:26:35 2007