The Model UN in action. (Courtesy photo)
Bromfield School was once again among the schools participating in the Harvard Model United Nations (HMUN), sending its largest delegation ever—29 students—to attend the 60th session of conference that ran from Thursday, Jan. 31 to Sunday, Feb. 3 at the Boston Sheraton Hotel.
According to the conference website, HMUN is “the oldest, largest, and most prestigious United Nations simulation for high school students held in the United States.” In fact, technically speaking, the conference is older than the UN itself, having once been known as the Harvard Model League of Nations.
With over 3,000 delegates and 400 faculty members from 38 countries, HMUN hosts a cross-section of the international community packed into 29 different committees, that range from the UN Human Rights Council to the Coca-Cola Board of Directors.
Although Bromfield has participated in HMUN for several years now, there were some significant changes to its participations this year.
“We received more spots from HMUN than we have ever received before,” said Bromfield Model UN club advisor and global studies teacher, Bryce Mattie. “Harvard assigned us 26 spots, and three students applied and were accepted to the Specialized Agencies this year. We only sent 21 students last year.”
This was the first year in which Bromfield students participated in the Specialized Agencies program at HMUN. These agencies are typically smaller committees that deal with crisis situations. Essentially, instead of simply passing a resolution based on the committee’s topic, delegates are expected to adjust and shift their resolutions and negotiations based on various crises that occur in real time. In order to maximize the realism of the crises, delegates in Specialized Agencies are sometimes awakened in the middle of the night to solve an impending crisis.
A gorilla warlord
Bromfield senior and HMUN head delegate Elizabeth Wilkey participated in a Specialized Agency with an interesting twist. The committee was named “El Frente Revolucionario para las Liberacion de las Americas.” It not only represented a guerrilla warlord as opposed to a country, but also was conducted in Spanish.
“I have learned Spanish from school and spent a month in Mexico, so at first it was a bit intimidating to be surrounded by native speakers,” said Wilkey. “By the second day I was excited and eager to participate. I was one of two Americans in my committee, the rest being from Latin American countries such as Peru, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Brazil, the Dominican Republic,and Costa Rica. It was a fantastic cultural and learning experience!”
Even in the traditional General Assembly (GA) and Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) committees, there was a big change for the Bromfield delegation. The two countries that Bromfield represented this year were South Africa in the GA and the United States of America in ECOSOC. As the largest economy in Africa, South Africa is one of the most opportune nations to represent. The United States is the jackpot when it comes to country selections, as our nation is hugely involved in almost every aspect of international policy. These incredible country selections upped the pressure for Bromfield, as better country selections typically translate to higher expectations from the HMUN committee chairs.
Bromfield, performed well, with strong efforts from every delegate. “Everyone who went from Bromfield had very personal triumphs,” said Mattie. “[Bromfield sophomore] Madeline Beckman was nervous about speaking publically, but HMUN helped her overcome her fear.”
This year was sophomore Rose Leikina’s first experience at a Model UN conference. “I thought it was a really great experience because I got to meet so many people from around the world and compare what they were going through versus what we are going through. Even though they were from different parts of the world, our problems are still very similar,” Leikona said.
“Even though I was really nervous at the start, once I started talking to the other delegates, it became easier to interact with my committee,” she added.
In a recent article, published Feb. 4, Best Delegate, an education company that focuses its attention on improving the Model UN experience, listed Bromfield as a “domestic school that performed well” at HMUN (See http://bestdelegate.com/harvard-model-united-nations-hmun-2013-the-sixtieth-session/).
Said Mattie, “This year, a lot of our veteran members went to a conference in Chicago, leaving an interesting mix of newbies and veteran MUNers at HMUN. I was very pleased to see the newbies step up and do a fantastic job.”
Bromfield received two awards, including an honorable mention for Bromfield senior Vee Rasania who represented South Africa in the High Level Meeting committee.
Profound effects for participants
Yet the profound effects of Model UN can never be measured by the number of gavels or honorable mentions awarded. “HMUN has provided me so many learning opportunities that I will never forget,” said Bromfield senior Lucas Hickok. “It has allowed me to become adept in the skills of debate and global knowledge of social, economic and political issues… If I had not pursued Model UN as an extracurricular, I would never be the public speaker I am now.”
Although this HMUN conference was the last high school Model UN conference for any student in the Bromfield Class of 2013, some seniors plan to continue Model UN in college.
“I definitely plan on doing MUN in college,” said Wilkey. “MUN has really enriched and impacted my life; it would be way too hard to give it up. I will be attending Bucknell University next year and they have a MUN club that I will be joining right away!”
“I owe a lot to Model UN and the idea of leaving it behind in high school is a scary one,” said Hickok. “I have already contacted the club leaders at Colby College and I am looking forward to the transition.”
