HS students excel at Model UN conference

Mackey Luffman
by Mackey Luffman, High School history teacher & Model UN faculty sponsor
 
This past weekend, 51 USN students traveled to Murfreesboro, Tenn. to participate in the YMCA of Middle Tennessee’s Model United Nations Conference, sponsored by the Center for Civic Engagement. USN has been making an annual pilgrimage to this conference for decades. Its reputation as a hands-on conference that requires students to research international issues and address them from the perspective of specific governments makes it popular among politically-active students, novice debaters, and students with a flair for the dramatic. The storage boxes of many USN alumni are crammed full of awards of all sorts earned at this conference, and this year would see the next iteration of diplomats maintain USN’s tradition of excellence.

Leading the way were four juniors representing the Netherlands. Henry Standard, Cooper Standard, Jackson Joffe, and Shivam Hingorani won an Outstanding Resolution Award with their resolution that called for a new convention to update the Law of the Sea in light of the issues raised by rising sea levels and their effect on maritime borders and territorial waters. The debate on their resolution delved into the intricacies of international law, responses to climate change, and the role of developed countries in the world today.

“Some delegates were surprised at how much of the Netherlands was actually below sea level,” noted Joffe, “but it gave us a chance to show off our leadership in drainage infrastructure.”

Cooper Standard nodded in agreement and said, "Things aren't better down where it's wetter."

The resolution was ranked second in its committee by the other delegates, and narrowly missed making the docket for the final plenary session. It passed the General Assembly with flying colors. For his participation in debate on that and other resolutions, Henry Standard earned an Outstanding Statesman Award.

Four upperclass students representing Sudan were also recognized for their resolution. Grace Rieniets ’19, Ella Steinhilber ’19, Caroline Sigmund ’19, and Alexander Dykens-Hodapp ’17 were ranked second coming out of their committee and were nominated for an Outstanding Resolution Award. Their resolution passed the General Assembly after vigorous debate, and this delegation got an additional chance to discuss their resolution with the Security Council, since their resolution called for a framework for the peaceful settlement of conflicts with migrant tribal groups whose migrations crossed international borders.

Dykens-Hodapp, in his trademark laconic style, simply remarked, “Yeah, it was cool.”

Four rising ninth graders representing Singapore got into the act with an excellent resolution. Tatiana Barbic, Yoshi D’Souza, Ariel Hong, and Olivia Rhee’s resolution promoted hydroponic farming as part of the solution to fresh water supply crises around the world. Their resolution was ranked third in their committee and passed the General Assembly by an overwhelming margin.

Juniors Ben Maloy, Leigh Fox, Alex Freedman, and Moses Hummon represented Bahrain, and presented a resolution to promote cooperation among member nations in fighting recruitment by the Islamic State group. Their resolution was ranked third in their committee and passed the General Assembly after some intense words over combating terrorism and protecting privacy in social media.

"There were some harsh words in debate, but we showed them the world: shining, shimmering, splendid. The delegates let their hearts decide,” noted Maloy.

Another group of juniors represented Armenia. Deviyani Bajpai, Alya Zouaoui, William “Gilly” Gilliland, and William Bradshaw presented a resolution to reinvigorate the peace talks for the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region in the Caucasus Mountains, and the General Assembly passed it by a 3-1 ratio.

"All we were saying," concluded Gilly, "was give peace a chance."

A group of sophomores were right on their tail. Class of 2019 President Jake Wolfson, Daniel Jacobs, Evan Rork, and Christopher Corkum represented Botswana and successfully defended a complex resolution to strengthen restrictions on diamond smuggling and traffic in “blood diamonds.” Their spirited presentation won them a fan club of their own.

Not to be left out of the fun, another delegation of ninth graders at their first Model UN conference wrote the last of the USN resolutions that rose out of committee to be presented to the General Assembly. Malta’s resolution, represented by Pelham Bergesen, Lewis Walker, and Trevor Zou, promoted economic development in Africa. By staying in character to represent their country, these delegates got voted down when they admitted their motive was to reduce the number of migrants and refugees fleeing Africa to seek refuge in European Union countries. Thus they learned that diplomacy is often defined as saying the worst things in the nicest possible way.

Also representing USN at the conference were juniors Talia Barton and Katie Watke, who served as members of the UN Secretariat. They and their fellow component members worked to identify and support General Assembly resolutions that supported their policies. They also participated in the midnight crisis with the Security Council, and in the lag time between the crisis developments, expanded their knowledge of root vegetables.

Overall, a pleasant time was had by all. Special thanks goes to Dawn Matthies, High School science teacher, for helping with chaperoning duties.

Students who are interested in participating in the Youth in Government conference, a simulation of Tennessee state government in the spring semester, should contact Luffman as soon as possible.
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