Over the past few years, the Model United Nations Club (MUN) has grown exponentially, approaching nearly 100 members this year. With so many members, the team decided to split to attend three different conferences which took place this past month: Harvard, Yale and The Hague.
This is not the first time the team has decided to divide. Last March they broke into two groups in order to attend the Cornell MUN Conference and Dartmouth MUN Conference. The team won Outstanding Large Delegate at both competitions, and was also very successful this year.
According to club advisor Paul Phillips, Harvard and Yale are both high-stakes Ivy League conferences similar to the ones the team attends throughout the year. “The Ivy League conferences are all about winning,” Mr. Phillips said. “They’re very competitive. The best delegate in each committee wins a gavel and that’s definitely what kids go there for, to compete and win.”
NCHS MUN club members gather for the closing ceremony after a long weekend of work at YMUN on Jan. 27.
During Jan. 24- 27, 24 club members, including junior Sam Kramer and senior co-captain, Evelyn Luchs, attended the annual Yale MUN Conference (YMUN). The theme of this year’s conference was “International Relations in the Information Age.”
Sam and Evelyn, among other students, competed in small crisis rooms. Sam’s room focused on issues surrounding the French Revolution while Evelyn’s focused on a future crisis which takes place in 2023. Prior to the conference, Evelyn expressed her enthusiasm. “Lots of the crises at YMUN are really interesting rooms, so I’m very excited for our delegates who are going to be in those rooms,” Evelyn said.
Despite it being an annual conference, the MUN club has never been to the Yale conference before. According to Sam, the club was excited for the new experience, “Yale was our newest Ivy League conference. It was uncharted territory for the club, so everyone had adrenaline coursing through their veins,” Sam said.
The team was very successful at Yale with Evelyn, Sam and junior Juan Pablo Rivera all winning Best Delegate. Sophomore Ann B also received an honorable mention. Sam and Steven Mettler both submitted papers on international relations and won Outstanding Essay and Best Paper, respectively. Steven’s paper will be published in the Yale International Journal.
The team was also successful as a whole taking the title of Outstanding Large Delegation. “I’m very proud of our team, we had lots of strong delegates and everyone did a great job!” Evelyn said. Sam also shares Evelyn’s pride. “I am extremely pleased with our delegation and with the conference. We held our own despite this being our first YMUN,” Sam said.
Senior Sam Murray confers with other students in a Spanish speaking room, La Crisis Millonésima, at HMUN last weekend.
19 NCHS students, including junior Connor Gress, attended Harvard’s MUN Conference from Jan. 31-Feb. 3. The Harvard conference is known for its size, with over 3,000 kids attending the conference and over 400 kids in each general assembly room this year. “At first it was pretty nerve racking being in a room with so many kids,” Connor said. “After the first committee session you get used to it though.”
At Harvard, Connor worked with the Special Summit on Technology committee. This room presented him with issues that have emerged with the advances of technology. Before the event, Connor was excited to discuss issues regarding the lack of privacy on the Internet and the need for regulations facial recognition and global positioning software. “I’m really excited to be able to hopefully solve some of the problems our world leaders can’t,” Connor said.
The team returned with junior Danny Konstantinovic winning Best Delegate, sophomore Charlie Sosnick winning Outstanding Delegate and Connor, junior KJ Pascal and senior Brett Gerardi wining Honorable Mentions. “I am really proud of the team, and the way we competed and conducted ourselves,” Connor said.
Senior co-captain Charlie Freyre represents the NCHS MUN as ambassador of Mauritius at THIMUN last weekend.
The Hague International MUN Conference (THIMUN), held in the Netherlands from Jan. 28-Feb. 1, was attended by ten students. Although it was mostly seniors who attended the Hague, several juniors were also selected to join them. Mr. Phillips saw the value in havings seniors and juniors work together. “We chose a couple of juniors to attend so that they can pass on their experience to the kids coming through,” he said.
As a European competition, THIMUN was a new experience for the team. The team was required to draft their resolutions before the conference, something that is strictly forbidden in American conferences. Upon arrival at The Hague, students worked with their committees to combine their resolutions. “The Hague is all about collaborating, not competing. So the kids that we took are very good at collaborating with other people,” Mr. Phillips said.
The non-competitive nature of THIMUN eliminates the cut-throat behavior of other conferences and allows students to focus on what they are really there for. “There are no awards at the Hague so it’s more of a collaborative base of working with other students who are just interested in dealing with international relations,” senior Molly James said.
Culturally, the team also faced a new environment. They were one of six American schools to attend the conference and the only American public school, placing the team in the minority. Before leaving for the conference, senior co-captain Charlie Freyre expressed his feelings on the subject. “I have no idea what being the minority at a competition feels like and that’s part of the reason why I’m so excited about going to the Hague,” Charlie said. “I’m looking forward to being the minority as an American for the first time in my life and getting to work with kids from around the world.”
At the end of the competition the members of each room voted on Best Delegate and junior Alejandra Zamora, senior Jack Ludke and senior Olivia Hompe were all chosen. Overall the new experience abroad was successful. “I’m definitely proud of how my team competed and I enjoyed the entire experience immensely,” Charlie said.
Although the team faced the challenge of spreading itself too thin with so many conferences, the club advisors were confident in all of the member’s abilities. Club advisor Ms. Macomber believed the passion and talent on the team would pull them through. “Seeing the kids and their enthusiasm for the club and global issues and their ability to compete on such an intellectual level is amazing to watch,” Ms. Macomber said.
Since last year, the team has maintained their ranking as the best team in New England and one of the top 25 in North America, giving the team both pressure and confidence as they competed in the three conferences. Before the conferences Connor explained the pressure. “During the conferences the chairs definitely take note of our team’s ranking so there is some added pressure. I think the kids in the Model UN club also hold themselves to a higher standard now that we are receiving national recognition,” Connor said.
Every conference can change this ranking and with these three significant conferences, the team has managed to maintain their current standing, despite being divided. “If we lose at a conference it’s disappointing because you feel like you have let the team down. At the same time, the reason we’ve been recognized is because we have worked hard to do so well, so it gives us a measure of confidence at every conference,” Molly said.
