Recently, students had the opportunity to attend Yale Model United Nations Conference from January 18th to January 21st for their 50th anniversary. Yale Model United Nations, or YMUN, has held this 4-day event since 1974. Over 2,000 students from over 45 different countries were represented at YMUN’s event. At Morgan, the YMUN club is advised by French Teacher Lisa Finnegan. There are 11 members including me who attended this year’s conference.
Mrs. Finnegan, the club advisor, said “I think it was a really valuable experience for students because the conference was run as a simulation of what it would be like at the UN. So, people get experience in public speaking. They get experience in learning about issues, and even hearing both sides. They learn about negotiation, and they learn about writing. So, there are so many skills that people can acquire and use during their experience.”
Junior Mason Jakober, who is a member of the club, said, “My experience at YMUN was probably one of the greatest experiences of my life. I got to meet people from across the world, and truly challenge myself in a stressful and politically engaged environment, which isn’t an opportunity most people have.” He also stated that he enjoyed the freedom that he had walking around New Haven and setting up meetings with his fellow delegates.
YMUN is a good way for students to experience diversity and demonstrate their
academic prowess through debate with other delegates. There were people from many socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. This helped enrich the perspective that students have about the world. YMUN also helps students discuss world problems in a professional and intelligent setting. Students are able to articulate their country’s views and discuss them during unmoderated caucuses. Sophomore Camryn Mazzarella said, “It was like nothing I’ve ever really done before because I’m not like a scholar.” She said it was also something that she would not typically do. “Typically I don’t do extracurricular things that involve work.” Despite this, she found it interesting: “I actually researched my topic. I made motions. I made speeches, and it was actually really fun. My committee was pretty cool. I liked a lot of the people that I met, and my committee was on narcotic drugs.”
There were some difficulties encountered by the group. Students did not arrive back to the meeting point, Hotel Omni, until at least 11:00 pm each night. Students had to wait at least an hour for the shuttle back to their hotel. When the students arrived back, they would have to order food with money out of their own pocket. Many students did not go to sleep until after 2 in the morning.
My experience at YMUN was invigorating. I had a similar experience to that of Mason. I enjoyed the freedom of walking around and going out to eat where I wanted during breaks in the committee sessions. If the temperature outside was not below zero, the experience would have been more enjoyable. I would have liked to have meetings earlier in the day so that I could go to bed and eat dinner at a reasonable time. Regardless, it was a fun experience for me. I was able to meet people from Columbia, Romania, South Korea, Sweden, and other countries.YMUN was a great experience, and many hope that the program will be available again next year. Any Morgan student can join the Model UN club. The Model Un club is great for students who are interested in international relations and current events in the world. Students can view the Model UN website here: Yale Model UN.
