For the Model UN Conference at the University of Pennsylvania in November 2009, IC's team will represent Croatia and St. Lucia. We will also have a representative on the crisis committee Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.
Some resources on Croatia:
The Politics Department sponsors the Ithaca College Model UN, which competes every year in the fall at the University of Pennsylvania, and in the spring at Harvard. Faculty advisors Marty Brownstein and Juan Arroyo work with students to prepare for these two conferences.
The college-level Model UN system is a simulation of the United Nations, first held at Harvard in 1955. The IC team was created in 1985. Each college is assigned a country to represent at the MUN. Last Fall, the IC team played Saudi Arabia at the Univ. of Pennsylvania MUN conference. The delegates may participate in simulations of the General Assembly, but also many smaller committees on dozens of possible issues.
Before the conferences, the team meets twice a week and sometimes on weekends. The delegates share information on our member state, rehearse the introduction of position papers, practice writing draft resolutions, simulate committee meetings, and take votes.
The conference topics can include all kinds of things: UN reform, maritime piracy, birth control education, deforestation, responses to internal conflict, and much more. Our delegates do their own research to become familiar with the topics. More importantly, they have to learn how our assigned country is affected by that issue, and the position of that government in response.
Students take advantage of UN library materials, the collections of the IC and Cornell libraries, numerous on-line data-bases, and the press and foreign ministry of each country. They find treaties, resolutions and protocols that have already been supported by our country, and use this information to play their roles more effectively. The IC team looks for specialists or natives to provide some background on our country. In recent semesters we have heard from a Dane, a Thai and two Belgians.
At the conference itself, our students have to convince the delegates from other nations to support a resolution that is consistent with our positions, or block those that do not serve our interests. The debate is held in committee, moderated by the chairs. The process also includes un- moderated caucuses, during which smaller groups of delegates meet, bargain, argue, cajole and compromise (maybe) in order to get a satisfactory resolution.
MUN delegates may be recognized for their performance, and Ithaca College students often get awards. This past Fall Ann Strucke (ctr. in photo) and Ranu Nath (rt. in photo) were recognized by the Penn Conference for their distinguished work in the Disarmament and Security Committee.
We also try to immerse ourselves a little bit in the culture of our country, primarily through food! Last Spring a guest treated us to genuine Belgian waffles. This past Fall in Philadelphia, our kinesthetic appreciation of Middle Eastern culture took place through the Marrakech restaurant. The food, the music and decor contributed to an experience we won’t forget for a long time.
Yes, the MUN process is all about simulation and role-playing, but the learning, team-building and resulting friendships are very real.
by Juan Arroyo
