The Model United Nations Pleasantville team participated in the Southern Regional Model United Nations Conference held in Atlanta the weekend of Fri. Nov. 22 to Sun. Nov. 24.
The Southern Regional Mod- el United Nations (SRMUN) Conference’s theme for this year was “Beyond 2015: Reshaping the Millennium Development
Goals for an Empowered Future.” This theme covered a wide range of topics including the advancement and implementation of HIV/AIDS prevention treatment strategies, securing free, equal and cooperative access to freshwater resources, and examining the impact of terrorism on the economic growth of developing nations.
The Pleasantville Model United Nations (MUN) team represented the Kingdom of Spain and the Kingdom of Jordan. While over a thousand other
colleges attended the conference, the Pleasantville MUN team was involved in the three daylong de- bate offered at the conference.
Students that participate on the team most commonly are part of the MUN course. The United Nations class is a three- credit course, which prepares the students for debates and international issues. Many of the students involved in the conferences, as well as the club, have taken the course. The MUN club allows students that have previously taken the course to
participate in the club in order to continue in the program, and also serves as an opportunity for students that plan on taking the course in the future.
“Because of the nature of the class many of the students are already aware of international issues. That being said it is not imperative to success in this class,” said Professor Paul M. Londrigan, the advisor for the Pleasantville MUN team. “After all, this is university class and as such is designed to educate students, essentially as long as the
student has a desire to learn and succeed anyone can participate.” Throughout the class, students are prepared for the conference through mock debates, learning the rules and procedures of the conference, researching and writing on the team’s as- signed country and the position that it holds on national issues, practicing negotiating tactics through role playing, as well as making practice speeches.
Pace Pleasantville received an Honorable Delegation for the Kingdom of Jordan and a Distinguished Delegation for the Kingdom of Spain. The awards received show excellence in representing the assigned countries in debate, leadership, com- promise, and problem solving throughout the conference. Both of the delegations of the Kingdoms represented also were awarded
“The amount of growth that students experience at these conferences cannot be quantified,” Londrigan said. “So many new ideas, so many new things learned about oneself and others.”
Pace New York City (NYC) attended a similar conference in Washington DC in October. The team from NYC is run very similarly to the Pleasantville team in that MUN is a course that students are able to take.
The course allows students on both campuses to become engaged in the international world through learning about the issues of today.
“Participation in Model United Nations provides a student with knowledge about the world, research and writing skills, public speaking confidence and policymaking savvy,” NYC MUN advisor Professor Matthew Bolton said. “These skills are transferable to many professions, whether in public service, the private sector, or advocacy and activism.”
Bolton lead his students in the conference receiving some of the highest awards for their delegations. The teams represented the Argentine Republic, the Kingdom of Denmark, and the Republic of Kenya. Some of the topics discussed at the Washington DC conference included supporting entrepreneurship, promoting maternal health in developing countries, prevention of an arms race in outer space, achieving sustainable energy for all, and enhancing international cooperation on the implementation of counter terrorism.
The importance of knowing about the issues of the world as well as how they affect people shows the impact of programs like the MUN.
“Some of the most pressing threats to our lives and livelihoods are global in scope- climate change, transnational terrorism and organized crime, economic inequality,” Bolton said. “They affect us whether we understand them or not. But if we can grapple with their causes and meaning we can engage in
actively seeking solutions, rather than be passive and be buffeted by change.”
Bolton and the students that participated for the NYC team described how important they felt it was to be involved in such a program as the MUN one here at Pace.
“We have students from all majors and schools taking MUN. MUN is great for everyone be- cause it teaches you to think and be concise,” one of the team leaders for the NYC team Kelsey Rebecca Mcghee said. “It teaches you research skills, public speaking skills, teamwork skills, and most importantly it teaches you a lot about how you work as a person. It has taught me that I am a team player, who doesn’t necessarily enjoy being in front of a crowd but works great one on one.”
The importance of reading the news and educating oneself about the issues of today is one
of the greatest reasons for the MUN course and conferences that are held.
“It is important to educate yourself about what is going on in the world from another perspective because it will help you develop an understanding of how others think, behave, and act,” said Jacqueline Keller, one of the team leaders for the NYC team. “Educating yourself everyday could be as easy as opening the New York Times international section or briefing yourself on the news from foreign news sources.”
Students that are interested in becoming part of the MUN and discovering more about the world through a course that will lead one to expressing ideas and issues of many countries around the world can contact either Professor Paul Londringan for the Pleasantville campus or Professor Matthew Bolton for the NYC campus.