Matt Riley
News Editor
This year marked the 7th annual Model United Nations Sophomore Simulation. Every year, the MUN club organizes and runs a special simulation specifically for sophomores, and, with each year, the event grows exponentially both in size and in creativity. This time, one major change that was made to the simulation was the inclusion of new technology to create news-broadcast type messages played to the students in order to detail new developments and crises that the sophomores had to react to in real time. This technique, again, was brand new this year and certainly proved to get sophomores a little more interested and involved.
Junior Michael Popper, who chaired the Russian Revolution room for the simulation, thought the news broadcasts were a good idea to keep things moving. “I was actually very excited to hear that we were incorporating different techniques into delivering our crises,” he said. “I thought it would help keep kids on task and interested in the debate.”
Students agreed that the news broadcasts kept them interested and on their feet during the simulation. Miles Turpin, a sophomore participating in the simulation, detailed his excitement about the simulation and the videos. “After the simulation I was exhausted. All in all it was a great experience,” he said. “The broadcasts helped keep me focused on new topics. I liked how it was structured.”
Seniors Johnny Osterndorf and Juan Pablo Rivera Garza, co-captain of the MUN club, were the main force behind creating the videos for the simulation. Johnny thought it would be a fun idea to include broadcast-type video in order to show those who did not know so much about MUN how fun it can really be. “Some of the videos were kind of ridiculous and fun, which helped show that Model UN definitely isn’t just serious and boring,” he said. “These conferences are a really good time. Showing that fun side of model un is definitely important for everyone to see, and we tried to include a little of that in our videos.”
History teacher and MUN club advisor Paul Phillips believed the simulation ran more smoothly this year than ever before. “ I think this year was overall much better- we’ve gotten some great feedback from teachers and students,” he said. “Part of that is because we learn from the previous year, but the other reason is that the kids in the club use their previous experiences with the club to become much more comfortable in their roles.”
With the success of this year’s sophomore simulation behind him, Johnny is already looking forward to next year’s changes. “I think that because I got to be so creative with my role in the simulation that it became beneficial to the rooms because sometimes when you don’t know how Model Un works, things can get stagnant and the debate can die down,” he said. “I think that these videos were a good way to keep things interesting and I’m very happy with the way they were included, and I look forward to seeing how they could be used in years to come.”
