Hopkins Brings Delegation to Brown Model UN

Eleanor Doolittle ’20 Editor-in-Chief Juan Lopez ’22 Assistant News Editor

On November 8, Hopkins students traveled to Brown University for Model United Nations (MUN).

History teacher and MUN adviser David DeNaples said, “We brought our usual amount, 20 students. We always go to Brown. It is a smaller, shorter, and close conference.”

Arin Shrivastava ’22 elaborated on the different committees: “In each conference, there are a few types of committees. General Assembly, or GA committees, are large committees that discuss larger issues and write resolutions to solve them. Specialized historical committees are more or less GAs applied to historical scenarios. Finally, crisis committees are devoted to actively solving specific issues (such as revolutions, wars, etc), and as such have events known as crises (say, someone invades someone else) to keep things more fluid and interesting.”

At Brown Model UN there are several committees that are not present at other Model UN conferences. Charles Wang ’22 explained, “My favorite aspect of Brown is the way they run and organize crisis and specialized committees. Every year they have very interesting topics, and the specialized/crisis committees are all less than 25 people.” Finnbar Kiely ’22 noted, “A common misconception is that Model UN conferences only involve simulations of actual UN committees and organizations, whereas actually, there are a wide array of topic options that extend beyond the traditional purview of the UN.” Kiely said, “At Brown, I represented a counselor on the Providence City Council after the election of a corrupt mayor.”

At Brown, Shrivastava was involved in the crisis committee Accelerando 2030, explaining “[Accelerando 2030] specifically discusses how humans should tackle space exploration.” Before students attend Brown, they must first write position papers which should explain their stances on the subjects they are arguing at the conference. Kiely said, “To prepare for the conference, we write position papers, an approximately two-page synopsis summarizing the importance of an issue, the opinion held by the party we represent, and potential solutions to the issue.”

When writing their position papers, students take into consideration the person whom they were assigned to represent. Wang explained, “You need to research a lot on your committee, as well as the person (or country) that you are representing and that person’s position. Then, you combine your ideas and research into a position paper and submit it to the chair prior to the conference. [For the Brown Model UN conference] I represented Ignacio Bonillas, ambassador to the US. The main topics in our committee were forming a new constitution for Mexico, addressing the presence of foreign monopolies in Mexico, redressing the political, social and economic inequalities in Mexico through land reform and working with the United States in trade and war.”

DeNaples explained, “[At a Model UN conference such as Brown] each of our students is a ‘delegate’ and they all will join different committees. The committees address a variety of issues, like the World Health Organization, the High Commission on Refugees, and UNICEF. The goal is to establish a block of like-minded delegates and pass a resolution that addresses the issues.” Repeat attendees gain valuable experiences which they build on in subsequent years. Wang, who attended Brown in 2018 as his first Model UN conference, explained “Last year at BUSUN, I was a part of the Icelandic Althing of 1262

committee. This committee was a specialized/historical committee of around 25 delegates, and not designed for new people. Doing research for Icelandic Althing was also very challenging due to the obscure time when it occurred and the lack of primary sources on that topic. That committee ended up being so wonderful and as interesting as it was fun and stimulating. Although I was not prepared for what was to come, I learned very quickly and became a key delegate in that committee”.

The Brown conference allows participants to improve upon their Model UN delegate skills; Wang stated, “[The Brown] Model UN [conference] has taught me to speak out and speak up about my concerns and wishes in society. Model UN tests my ability to work with others to improve the situation and achieve peace. Model UN also gives me the opportunity to replicate history once again and to become experts in a topic that I never would have studied in school.”

Kiely agreed, saying, “I developed my debate and problem-solving skills [at Brown MUN], and have learned how to cooperate with people who hold dramatically different views.”

Another attendee of the conference, Evie Doolittle ’23, explained “Brown UN was something I had never done before, but everyone there was super friendly and welcoming. My favorite part was getting to meet the student activists from different charities.”

Students who go to the Brown Model UN conference are given free time in between meetings for their committees. Kiely said, “Outside of the committee sessions, which are usually about 3-4 hours each, we have the option to take tours of Brown, hang out with friends, or just catch up on homework and missed assignments.”

DeNaples encourages students to attend Model UN conferences, especially Brown: “[Brown is] a perfect way to ease into the MUN season, especially for new delegates. Jessica Dunn, the other Model UN faculty advisor, added, “I encourage students to join MUN because it’s fun! They get to simulate real-time diplomacy, learn about international issues or historical events, and improve public speaking skills.”

Back

online edition

The Student Newspaper of Hopkins School

Hopkins Brings Delegation to Brown Model UN