Model UN delegates Rebecca Billette and Shiloh Smith showing off their “Best Delegate” award after this year's fall Model UN conference at Appalachian State. Photo Cred: Kourtney Rabinowitz, WHS Model UN Advisor
Lillian Anderson, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn
Since the formation of the United Nations in 1945, its purpose has remained the same: to promote international peace, security and cooperation. Unfortunately, the general public is rarely offered a say in these proceedings. However, there is an opportunity available in our community that allows students a chance to get involved: Model UN. Model UN provides students with a window into what global politics can look like, and although students aren’t passing resolutions or monitoring global situations directly, they gain the skills they need to eventually change the world.
Model UN is a simulation of the real-life United Nations. Students attend conferences and compete against other schools while representing countries and discussing current global issues. Model UN guidelines require students to follow parliamentary procedures, which are the rules delegates must follow. This provides students with the opportunity to practice their professional skills.
“At conferences, it can get pretty heated between people,” explained Kourtney Rabinowitz, sponsor for Model UN. “I think it’s a good thing for students to learn how to address people they disagree with in a respectful way. It’s also just about looking nice, being organized, being prepared and doing research before you have to argue your point. Those are all good skills for any job.”
The skills gained from Model UN are not the only potential benefits of joining the club; members also get the chance to become a part of a tight knit, intelligent community.
“I wanted to be able to help make MUN into the great community it is today because people can really make or break a club,” said Brecken Sauthoff, club president. “It seems like everyone in the club just really enjoys being there, at the conferences and the meetings. Overall it's a really positive environment filled with like-minded people who just want to learn more about the world.”
Becoming part of the Model UN community also comes with several opportunities to get involved and show off your talents as a delegate.
“We have mock conferences, which are just like practice conferences for the real thing,” said Lila Page, head delegate. “Then we go in the fall and the spring to compete against schools from North and South Carolina, and sometimes Tennessee. We just get to meet lots of people and learn about a lot of different perspectives.”
WHS Model UN recently attended a conference at App State, where they received several awards, including Best Delegate, the highest honor one can receive after participating in a committee session. These awards offer students a way to show for their hard work as delegates and incentivize them to put their best foot forward.
“With the opportunity to win awards, you can really see which students care about the outcome of the conferences,” said Rabinowitz. “These awards can also help out on college applications, so the conferences are a really good opportunity to get involved”
By attending these conferences and winning awards, students learn about global issues and explore the perspectives of other countries.
“If you only see the world from one perspective, you will learn to see the world only one way,” said Sauthoff. “When you research from other countries' point of view, you really learn about so many different views on specific world issues and how other nations are handling the specific issue. I just think that it’s really important to know what is going on in the world around you because if you stay stuck in one place, then you will never be able to have the opportunities or chances to make an impact that really matters.”
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