Model United Nations seems like a typical elective, however, there are many ways in which the class is probably one of the most unique a student can take. One has the opportunity to travel to new places, meet new people, and discuss and debate world issues. In Model U.N. students convene in various cities world wide to recreate situations that would be tackled in the actual United Nations conferences. For some conferences students are assigned a country, as Chatham Hall’s team was when they went to a conference in Montreal as representatives for Iceland. In other conferences students are assigned an individual to portray and are responsible for upholding that person’s political opinions even if they do not correspond with the student’s own views. Many committee challenges represent events which the U.N. has tackled in the past like the rise of the Qin or make-believe events like the Order of the Phoenix.

This year’s Model U.N. team, made up of Emily Hussey’14, Robin Emmons’14, Kendall Woodlief’14, Hannah Franks’14, Rocio Rodriguez’12, Jiachen Ji’12, Merjen Atayeva’14, and Rachel Tuite’14, set out to attend a Model U.N. conference in New York City hosted by Columbia University on January 5. Mr. Morley, Model U.N. and World Cultures teacher, and Mrs. Morley, Art teacher, chaperoned the trip. 

In this conference, the girls were assigned to various committees instead of countries. Some girls were faced with present day situations and were placed in groups with students all over the country to represent things like the African Union, Blackwater Company, and Haitian government. in these groups, they had to work with the other members of their groups to tackle issues of economy, scandal, and tragedy. Other groups dealt with issues of the past, representing members of the Frankfurt Assembly and the rise of the Qin Dynasty and discussing various solutions for the unification of German states and China under one ruler. Additionally, some students found themselves in committees responsible for fictionalized or mythical scenarios, such as members of the Order of Phoenix looking to defeat Lord Voldemort or Trojans and Acheans in the midst of the Trojan War.

The girls not only attended the committees, but they got to explore New York City. Hannah Franks and Rocio Rodriguez had the opportunity to see The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway and the famous Dylan’s Candy Shop while the other girls explored Chinatown. Emily Hussey said “I think it was a great opportunity and I loved that it was in New York City. I was really glad I went.”  Overall it was a very successful trip and the girls came away with a new perspective of the world, be it fictional, past, or present, armed with tactics of discussion and debate.