Model UN is a team of about 21 students who meet twice a week. They debate topics and explore international issues. Typically students are assigned one general topic and a country to represent. They then research those countries’ policies surrounding the topics and debate with other countries.
“Model UN is basically where you as a person get assigned a country and a topic. The topic is gonna be a problem in the world or in the past. You have to research as this county, the viewpoint on this topic. Then you go to a conference and you debate based on your viewpoint,” Senior Amelia Lawens said.
Model UN explores modern and historical topics, which teach students debating, public speaking and more valuable skills. The skills learned translate to many different workplaces.
“I’ve learned a lot about international relations. [Model UN] Also teaches negotiation and public speaking skills. People think you have to be good at public speaking to be in [Model UN.] When really there are different jobs for everyone, you can just sit down and write the whole time. I think [model UN] teaches kids really important life skills that can translate to the workplace,” Sophomore Evi Burtt said.
One of the more difficult parts of Model UN is the research involved with it. Once students get their countries and topics assigned they have to research thoroughly if they want to accurately represent the countries policies.
“[With the] research, you have to be so specific what you search for, because it’s all about your country, but also about a specific topic. A couple years ago we had a cold war [topic, which we were more familiar with.] Last year we had a situation in Rwanda, which was all about genocide, which none of us really knew about. So it varies in [our prior knowledge,]” Lawens said.
Most recently Model UN had a conference at the University of Michigan which lasted four days and was a great opportunity for the Model UN team to learn and bond.
“We went down to the University of Michigan two weeks ago for a model UN competition. It was a really tough competition, we knew we would be up against some difficult competitors though we were pretty successful, we came away with one award so were happy,” Model UN teacher Aimee Cole said.
In addition, Model UN looks great on college applications and resumes. Students in Model UN are usually well versed in many valuable and applicable skills that colleges look for. Not only that, but colleges all across the country offer a wide variety of scholarships and opportunities for students involved.
“A lot of colleges offer scholarships based on model UN. [Not to mention] the problems they deal with are the type of thing they’re gonna deal with for the rest of their lives. It helps them learn about countries, it helps them learn about perspective. They can also learn to understand different cultures and how they see things from their point of view,” Cole said.
