Northport Model United Nations: What’s Next?

Northport Model United Nations: What’s Next?

Kaia Beatty, Contributor

From March 1-3, through bitterly inclement weather, Northport High School students participated in the annual Hofstra University Model United Nations Conference (HUMUNC). Northport has regularly participated in HUMUNC, and this is my first year in the club. Each of the delegates worked hard and did an excellent job representing our school in this conference. Our own Isabella DeBrino, Kathryn Meadows, and Nick Bertos took home some awards for their outstanding performances. Despite the snow, Mr. Jensen, Mr. Krahel, and Mrs. Moore advised a successful and enjoyable three days!

The purpose of Model UN Conference is to simulate the environment of the actual United Nations and enable students to seek their own solutions to international issues. HUMUNC features six total committees; four are part of the General Assembly and they deal with humanitarian, economic, agricultural, and special political concerns; two are Crisis Committees, dealing with either historical or future crises. The committees are assigned one or two topics. This year, they tackled relevant issues such as the colonization of Mars and the treatment/placement of refugees. After months of persistent research on their assigned country and its unique point of view, students from local Long Island schools submit position papers and spend three fun and informative days debating.

In sharp contrast with other schools, Northport’s approach to MUN seems to focus solely on HUMUNC. In preparation for this Conference, we only met twice. Not to mention that our current Model UN team isn’t so much a team at all, since there are no meetings or events after HUMUNC, nor activities to build a sense of comradery among members. Everything is over so quickly, and for students that want more preparation for conferences, more guidance, and more of an actual club presence, Northport’s Model UN leaves a lot to be desired. For inspiration, we should look to high achieving schools like Manhasset Secondary School. The club has a larger presence in their school and they meet regularly.

Manhasset students think that their school has been very supportive of their Model UN efforts and agree that their whole team is very devoted to the club. Caroline Owen, a freshman at Manhasset High School and winner of an honorable mention award at HUMUNC for her performance as Myanmar in the Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Rights Committee, believes that on a scale from one to ten, (ten being the best) Manhasset’s MUN club would be rated a seven. Like in Northport, advisors are available during free periods to discuss position papers, but in addition to this, they meet every Thursday. These meetings seem to do more than prepare the students, as I observed at the closing HUMUNC ceremony, when the students hollered and clapped as their peers got up to receive their awards. While no one’s MUN team is perfect, Manhasset definitely seems to give its students an edge in conferences while also making the club more fun on a domestic level.

Considering that Manhasset Secondary School has won nine awards at this year’s Hofstra Model United Nations Conference, and that they have been recognized at the Columbia Model United Nations Conference, Northport ought to step up its game. It is understandable that packed schedules and midterms may prohibit some Northport delegates from participating in other conferences and MUN activities besides Hofstra, but some Northport students that can’t get enough of Model United Nations as an experience and hobby look to bring about change- to make the club more active, and to allow everyone at Northport to have access to an equally as exciting MUN experience within our school.

Northport Juniors Peter Joyce, Isabella DeBrino, Teddy Krantz, and myself have met and are working extensively to create our own unofficial historical crisis committee, hopefully beginning next year. We aim to hold mini-conferences, which will be a great way to prepare delegates for the Hofstra conference, and provide an opportunity to discuss historical crises in a scholarly and entertaining atmosphere within our high school. In addition, we would like to make the MUN experience available to everyone that couldn’t/was unable to attend HUMUNC. We want to “bring the joy of debating international issues to the student body,” says DeBrino, winner of the Outstanding Delegate award for her performance of Frederick Henry of Orange in the Historical Crisis Committee- because we think that it is something everyone would enjoy.

We hope to start out with the Chinese Civil War, and the era of Napoleon as the first crisis topics, and perhaps fundraise for placards and other resources for this club that have yet to be determined. Since the United Nations is less than fifty miles away, there is also the tempting possibility of a field trip to the UN. Highly achieving MUN teams like Manhasset already have these kinds of practice committees in place, and adding them to Northport’s MUN agenda could help us win more awards and have even more fun debating world issues.

Overall, MUN is something that I wish I had started doing freshman year. Something about gathering all this research about your country, and then using this wealth of knowledge you’ve accumulated to draft resolutions and collaborate with other delegates, is so incredible. I was in the SOCHUM Committee, and the way I felt about immigration directly opposed the strictly conservative view of my country: The Italian Republic. Although I wanted to speak my own mine, this assignment gave me the opportunity to see new perspectives and debate with others looking through the lens of Italy. I also made found allies in like minded countries, and friendships in the students behind them.

I want every student at Northport to experience this amazing opportunity. Even if you can’t attend the conference itself, for whatever reason, or if you are scared of public speaking, or even if you are afraid you don’t have enough experience, you should absolutely consider joining Model UN. I abstained from joining for two years for these reasons, and I can’t believe how much I was missing. Next year, we plan to offer Northport easily accessible and equally as amazing mini conferences, and we openly encourage new members. If you are interested in learning more about how the world works, understanding how international resolutions are reached, and having an amazing time debating with your peers,you’d be surprised at how much Model UN has to offer; there is something for everyone!