By Michael Alberto
Freeform Editor
Model United Nations is a club centered around bringing international and global issues to the student population through simulated United Nations meetings. The club also focuses on open discussion of different worldly issues and why they are important to talk about.
Credit: Vincent Lattanzi
During the meetings, club members discuss and debate international affairs from the viewpoint of an assigned country. At the beginning of each year, club members draw a random country from a hat, and that is their country for the year. Members are then able to discuss issues presented at meetings through their chosen country. This allows for an increased awareness of international issues and perspectives from different nations.
KU’s club competes in the Ivy League circuits of Model United Nations competitions, and the club also hosts international travel for competitions with most expenses paid for travel.
At conferences, delegates have the opportunity to participate in committees that are grouped by time periods in history and locations throughout the world. At the conference, the club is attending at the University of Pennsylvania, committees range from issues in the Roman Empire to the Philippine Revolution to the World Food Programme to human Rights Abuse in the Middle East and North Africa and other issues. Delegates try to shape the outcome of their chosen committee, and the competitions measure who has the biggest impact.
Delegates additionally are able to win at conferences through their performance and impact during these committees.
Matthew Bandy currently serves as president. Through this role, he runs the club’s meetings and organizes the different conferences that the club will bring its members to throughout the 2021-2022 year.
Currently, the E-Board for the club has planned to take many of its members to conferences at the University of Pennsylvania and others in Montreal and Tokyo.
Meetings are held every Monday at 6:00 p.m. in room 103 of the Academic Forum.