BHSEC Model UN Triumphs Once Again

Evan Farley ‘20

December 2016

BHSEC’s Model United Nations Club continued their tradition of dominating BardMUNC, the Bard Model United Nations Conference, at Bard College on Saturday, November 12. With Chris Stauffer, Y1, and Maya Rubin, Y1, both winning Best Delegate for their committee, and 8 other members taking home awards, BHSEC won Best Large Delegation for the third year in a row. But what does any of this mean? And what does Model UN even do? 

Model UN simulates the actual United Nations, various subcommittees of the UN, and other international agencies. Participants, known as delegates, represent different countries, and must work with their fellow delegates to write and pass a resolution. However, it is not as simple as it sounds. Each delegate must work for their countries interests, and must keep true to situations as they happen in the real world, such as territorial disputes and economic issues. Delegates must understand many aspects of their country and be prepared for any topic that may come up in debate . 

At BardMUNC, there were five committees, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). In this committee, delegates discussed the Indigenous Control of Resources, and worked together to create a resolution that proposed (mostly) peaceful measures to help indigenous people in their respective countries work with governments and non-governmental organizations on issues surrounding control of natural resources. In the end, no resolution was passed because no majority voted for any of the three proposed resolutions. Despite this, few people were disappointed because in Model UN, discussions and debates create the environment that delegates come to conferences to enjoy, not necessarily the passing of a resolution.

After all of the committees finished, the delegates  assembled in Olin Hall, and awards were presented by the chairs of each committee. There are four different awards for each committee, including vocal commendations, which usually go to 3-4 people (this depends on the size of the committee), honorable mentions which usually go to 2-3 people, outstanding delegate, which goes to one person; and best delegate, which also goes to one person.

BHSEC won ten awards, crushing the competition. The next conference is the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference in January, where BHSEC is representing Afghanistan, and hope to take home another win.