One of the biggest Model United Nations (MUN) conferences took place over the weekend of November 13, where 40 students from Sandburg participated at Notre Dame’s Model United Nations Conference (NDMUNC II). The Sandburg community often hears post-conference updates, but doesn’t always know what goes on during the conference, so here is what a day in the life of a MUN conference looks like.
Model United Nations is an activity that enables high school students to simulate the discussions and address topics that the United Nations would typically address. Sophomore, Maddie Kasmer, says, “You learn about international relations and develop skills such as public speaking and leadership.”
Once students learn these skills, they can apply them at conferences like NDMUNC II. Usually, conferences are held at different high schools, but on occasion, universities and colleges like UC Berkeley and Notre Dame host them for high school students. If they can perform and prepare materials in their committee most efficiently, they would get a gavel, which is a symbol of the best delegate.
Kasmer discusses her day during the NDMUNC II conference: “Committee typically starts at like 10am, so you would wake up around 8 or 8:30, get ready, and then get breakfast before walking over to the committee, a group of people working on a certain problem.”
While getting ready, some students might wear their lucky patterned ties, or drink an energy drink, but for Kasmer, it involves a cream cheese bagel and a medium iced latte from Dunkin Donuts to get the job done.
For overnight competitions, once students enter their designated area, they have 6 6-hour sessions to solve their world problem. Trying to reflect how the UN would discuss, Kasmer says, “You start your prep a week or two before the conference, and you research a lot. Once you get to the conference, you are expected to represent the country you are assigned to with only your research and knowledge on the topic at hand,” Kasmer explained. Kasmer, for instance, represented Italy, and her group tackled infrastructure and labor systems from multinational corporations.
As she steps into her room, she meets a ton of new faces that represent different countries. Her duty is to be the most “influential” country and have solutions that are practical for the real world. After a lot of talking, negotiating, and reasoning, Kasmer and her colleagues have their lunch break, which is about 2 hours. During this time, students can also explore the campus and walk around, clearing their minds before their next session begins.
During the second meeting, the process repeats, and with new, refreshed ideas, the negotiations resume. By the end of the day, each group must come to a resolution on at least one topic. For Kasmer, that included expanding knowledge of infrastructure, creating more regulations on safety precautions, establishing consequences and penalties for violations, and preventing child labor in infrastructure plans. Kasmer explains that these resolution papers “are basically the end goal of the session, as they define all of the solutions that you want to implement to solve the issue.”
After the first day is done, everyone heads back into their rooms and rests. This time around, Sandburg held a karaoke night and celebrated birthdays! After a long day, the group heads to sleep for a good night’s rest, only to wake up and do it all again.
During their last day, the community gathers in a large space, and the hosts announced the best delegates, outstanding delegates, honorable delegates, and other awards. At the Notre Dame conference, Sandburg came home with 7 best delegates, 4 outstanding delegates, and 6 honorable delegates.
Way to go, Eagles! MUN at Sandburg has become more than just another extracurricular for students. It is a family, a tradition, and a legacy to be a part of. If you are interested in becoming a delegate and joining the group at events like this one, please contact Mr. Osmanski at [email protected].