by LINA GU and KELLY ZHANG
Earlier this week, Chadwick’s Model United Nations program embarked on a journey to New York City, where students are participating in the 50th anniversary of the National High School Model United Nations conference, hosted by the International Model United Nations Assn.
Model United Nations, better known as MUN, is a student-run co-curricular offered by Chadwick. With its 46 members, the group meets every Wednesday 7th period in the Lecture Hall to discuss real-world issues and current events, and their impact on the global community.
“Model UN is about modeling and replicating the function of the UN, and the function of the UN is to maintain world peace,” explained history teacher Nelson Miranda, MUN’s faculty advisor.
“I think this is really in alignment with Chadwick’s Core Values. We talk about global citizenry, we talk about being upstanders, we talk about speaking out for people who need help … and so much of what the UN does is geared toward those things.”
After World War ll, the United Nations was created in 1945, missioned to maintain world peace and protect human rights. Shortly after, Model United Nations became a popular high school extracurricular, with the first high school conference taking place in UC Berkeley in 1952.
Since then, more than 115,000 high school students have participated in MUN programs across the United States, making it one of the most popular co-curricular programs ever.
MUN is very student-run, as every meeting agenda is chosen, planned and operated by a pair or group of MUN Board members. The MUN Board is made up of nine students, including senior Secretary-Generals Ashley Neal and Josh Goodman.
“We normally have a slideshow that we will make, and then the board members will present for 15 minutes. The delegation chooses, and they get to come up with ideas and get to work together,” said MUN board member Natalie Bernstein.
Not only do MUN meetings allow students to learn about global events, but they also allow students to practice important leadership skills such as critical thinking, debating and public speaking through a global perspective.
“I originally joined MUN because at the time in middle school, I felt like there was a lot of world events going on, particularly climate change,” MUN board member Chloe Smith said. “It kind of frightened me, so MUN gave me an outlet to think about how that made me feel, how it impacts the world and kind of a sense of control over it, especially since I was literally just a middle-schooler.”
Smith also praised the warm community within MUN. “I feel like not only do you develop good public-speaking skills, but you also get to learn more about the world and meet more people. I’ve been friends with some Model United Nations members since sixth grade.”
Every year, a few students within MUN travel abroad to participate in both national and international conferences.
In these conferences, participating students are assigned a country to represent. They must have a detailed understanding of their selected country.
“I have the pleasure of representing North Korea, which is definitely hard,” Goodman said. “When you’re playing North Korea, and when you have to think like that country, it’s kind of hard because you want to be the good guy and you want to be able to help the conference and help people. But unfortunately, that’s not representative of their country’s policy.
“So kind of rule No. 1 of Model United Nations is to follow your country’s policy and act as if you were them.”
Smith, who is also representing North Korea, explained the importance of finding balance.
“When representing North Korea, I have to think about how I’m able to have a positive impact on people while also keeping North Korea’s general stance on positions, meaning not too much international interference.”
To prepare for a MUN conference, students must also write a position paper stating the contextual background of their country’s government, policies and conflicts.
The paper needs to be heavily researched and include a creative solution to any conflict present within that country.
A lot of time, effort and hard work goes into the preparation for these conferences. But students also have time to explore and have fun when they arrive at the conference destination.
Last year, Chadwick’s MUN group traveled to Glasgow, Scotland, where they attended a three-day conference at the University of Glasgow.
“It was incredible,” Goodman said.
“Seriously, like nothing I’ve ever done before. We competed with college and master’s students from across the world. It’s cool to be in a different culture and to practice worldly skills in a different country. It kind of shows the unification of Model United Nations, because doing it in a different country, you get exposed to different people. But you’re all following the same guidelines and the same ideology.”
This year’s New York City conference is offering students a chance to learn new things, collaborate, build leadership skills and create memorable experiences with one another.
Added Miranda: “It’s an opportunity for bonding and getting to know each other, and to continue developing the things we practice here, week in, week out … in a real live situation. So it’s exciting.
The Mainsheet 