This year’s Model United Nations (MUN) debate team went on a trip to Paris from March 16 to 18. After researching and debating worldwide conflicts at school, they brought it to another country where they presented specific topics in front of crowds.
The students who went on the trip were eighth graders Hannah Thier, Rudi Stern, Henry Blakemore, Ily Brigui, Alice Agostinelli, Neel Mehta, and seventh graders Dexter James, Ysabel Rasetta Moini, Ruhan Bhasin, William Patmore, Darren Morris, Nico Di Lullo, Marco Parisse, Daniel De Beer, Joseph Khoury, Gabriel Romualdo and Grace Hamilton.
MUN began in September, and each member quickly was assigned a country, and they worked throughout the season to research it for unbiased information. Throughout learning about their particular assignment, they formed clauses (solutions) to the issues that might have arisen in their findings. With their new information, they also wrote opening speeches that they presented the night they arrived in Paris on March 16. The following days, they had unmoderated caucus, which is where students with different country designations joined together to share their clauses. Then, as a group, they submitted their joint solutions.
To join, students have to be in either sixth, seventh or eighth grade. In order to become a member of MUN, you have to attend the lunch club consistently, but to be selected for the trip you need to complete an application. Although MUN is over for the year, it will be available as an extracurricular option next fall when students can join for next year.
Mr. David Jorgensen is a sixth grade teacher and works with the ASL MUN team, and when asked what he was most proud of watching the students debate he answered, “When students are trying to make a difference. So in their committees, there is an issue, and when students bring up the level of debate and they reach out to other countries to find a resolution that works for a lot of different countries, that makes me really happy.”
During the trip to Paris, students were placed into ten different committees, therefore separating most of the group. However, according to Mr. Jorgensen, after they returned to London and had their final meeting, the students became closer in discussing the details of the trip and reflecting over what went well and what didn’t.
MUN member seventh grader Marco Parisse, who enjoyed the Paris trip, said, “The highlight of the trip to Paris was giving a speech in front of many people because it makes you become very confident in yourself.”
