Exploring Model UN’s impact on the Acalanes community
By Kylie Kaplan, Phoebe Enriquez, and Jana Kabadaya, Online Editor and Staff Writers
Delegates dressed in sleek power suits stride to the center of the room, the clacking of their heels being heard from miles away, ready to present their resolution to the committee.
The Acalanes High School Model United Nations (MUN) team researches international issues and represents countries in simulated debates throughout the school year. Each delegate represents an assigned country and argues its position on global issues.
MUN gives high school students across the country a chance to imitate global leaders and address international issues through simulated United Nations (UN) debate.
“The (UN) is the international governing body established post-World War II to maintain peace and help with all of the world's problems,” MUN Social Media Manager and junior Kelsey Gunderson said. “[In] MUN, we basically mock or act out what the UN would be.”
Before entering committee debates, MUN delegates conduct research to accurately represent their assigned nations' foreign policies and interests.
“You write a paper about that country's history, their stance, the topic itself, come up with potential solutions, and then you go into the committee, and you are not who you are; you are that country,” Gunderson said. “You give speeches and debate and really try and argue for whatever your country would support.”
Every Wednesday during lunch, delegates meet in advisor Kristen Anderson's room discussing a variety of international concerns, working in mentor-led groups, curating position papers for debate, and researching historical and contemporary issues.
“It's a space where you can debate political issues that are both relevant right now [and were] relevant 50 years ago, ... then figuring out how they connect with modern-day... and then finding resolutions to those issues,” MUN captain and senior Persephone Quine said. “And it's a lot of debate, it's a lot of public speaking. It is a lot of writing. [Model UN] really helps your own research skills as well, and there is lots of academic collaboration.”
Best Delegate, a training program, hosted a virtual conference on Oct. 18. Best Delegate members met with MUN delegates, teaching them how to best prepare for conferences through speaking, researching, and collaborating. Through this program, MUN leadership aims to support and foster newer members.
“This year, I'm hoping to build a culture where everybody feels comfortable sharing, preparing, and going to the conferences at their own levels,” MUN member and junior Lujain Youssef said.
Strong leadership through the election of student mentors has contributed to MUN’s success, with returning members selected from an application process. The mentors collaborate with delegates at the end of meetings and check in with one another on position papers and the status of preparation for upcoming conferences.
“We have to support the new students ... so what I decided to do 3 years ago in an effort to make that process more efficient, and to make sure that ninth graders feel supported, or any new member, is we have a leadership team that serves as mentors,” Anderson said. “You have to show real growth and leadership, and so I have six mentors, and each one has a cohort of members. It's still very much a student-led team with student-led support, and I'm just here to facilitate that.”
The hosts of the committees provide background guides with general information on each country and their problems to delegates. When beginning to research for position papers, the delegates are encouraged to utilize them.
“I think researching has become a lot easier, because there are so many new resources that I now can use, like the UN website,” MUN mentor and senior Jill Pierce said. “I can use those to research for other classes versus just going to the basic sources. It's a whole new world of research that I have access to.”
Some MUN members find that the program helps develop core interpersonal and professional skills.
“Model UN definitely teaches you how to network,” Gunderson said. “A lot of the conference is going around and talking with people and making those connections, and getting people to think about your resolution.”
In recent years, MUN has received an influx of new members, helping grow their team and build on past success.
“It's continuously growing,” Pierce said. “We've got way more people now than we did a couple years ago, so it's really awesome. All the new [members] are so passionate about it. I can't wait to see their passions continue to grow and [for] them to become better delegates.”
