As Feb. 9 approaches, members of Model U.N get more excited for their weekend of high-intensity debating. Members of Model United Nations Club will be attending the annual John Hopkins (JHU) conference in Baltimore, Maryland Feb. 9-12. Students from high schools all over the U.S. will be meeting at the university to act as ambassadors from U.N. member nations to discuss and debate current world matters.
Model U.N./Foreign Affairs Club, which is often called the school’s debate club, gives students the opportunity to learn and debate about current events and issues. During the year, the club attends several conferences held at universities. At conferences, students prepare resolutions, give speeches and negotiate with enemy and allied nations, in order to simulate the actions of the actual United Nations.
“We meet after school usually once a month and talk about committees/conferences that are coming up and issues that are happening around the globe,” sophomore Hayat Yusuf said.
The trip to John Hopkins is run entirely by students at JHU. The conference at JHU will include 25 committee options, which address issues that vary from the environment, to communism, to the parliament of Great Britain.
“I’m looking forward to actually go to the college, and being able to check out the school in person,” junior Jeffrey Haber said.
The weekend also includes great opportunities to visit the campus, and tour the city of Baltimore.
“Beginning Thursday evening, we will have a guest speaker, usually from the U.N.,” sponsor Jonathan York said. “Before that there’s a training session for new people, and then the committee sessions start Thursday night.”
The Keynote Speaker for this conference will be representative Will Davis. Davis is currently the director of the UN Development Program’s Washington Representation Office and has an impressive record working for the UN.
This conference only includes single delegations, which means the students must represent nations by themselves and prepare and deliver speeches for their country alone.
“I am excited to go to JHU because we get to meet new people that are also involved in Model U.N. and it’s a good chance to make new friends,” Yusuf Said. ”But, I am nervous about working alone and prefer double delegation instead of the single delegation
AHS’s Model United Nations has lost many seniors since last year so they are looking to recruit underclassmen for the club. The club is a great opportunity to gain many skills necessary for college and future careers.
“The students involved definitely improve their public speaking skills along with their research skills and they gain a more world rounded view,” York said. “You really do meet lifelong friends there, besides that it goes into the inter-personal skills, you have to work with people that you don’t know and people you may not like to reach a common resolution.”
