NC Model United Nations team takes ‘Bama
NC Model UN stands proud at the Ferguson Student Center in the University of Alabama. Holding their awards, NC MUN impressed the chairs for their first time at the conference. “It was a great experience, and North Cobb brought their A-game,” Senior Zac Mullinax said.
February 9, 2017
The NC Model United Nations team (MUN, or MUN-ers) set off to the University of Alabama on Friday, February 3 to compete with other students and schools in the southeast.
Disappointed with last years travel conference at the University of Georgia due to “too much nepotism,” as Faculty Advisor Glenn Panell said, they decided to attend the conference at the University of Alabama as a trial run.
“I had the best chair I’ve ever had,” senior Alison Adams said. “He was very experienced and able to follow procedure, and you don’t know how difficult that can be for some [chairs].”
The ALMUN conference’s structure followed typical MUN guidelines, with five general committees and three crisis committees. In general committees, MUN-ers represent a UN member-state and make connections, broker deals, and write resolutions relating to the topic of the committee. NC represented China and dealt with topics from climate change to the refugee crisis.
In crisis committees, on the other hand, MUN-ers represent a specific person (whether real, historical, or fictional), and must use both their public influence and private powers to achieve their objectives. ALMUN also boasted the United Socialist States of America (USSA) committee, where socialist revolutionaries overthrew the American government with MUN-ers stepping in after the revolution as the governing body of the new USSA. NC students represented the socialist party with candidate Victor L. Berger.
According to NC MUN-ers, the ALMUN conference ranked better than the University of Georgia’s in terms of leadership and parliamentary procedure, but fell victim to the same problem that plagues all high school MUN conferences: competitors.
“The only problem [she] had [with the conference] was that [the organizers] weren’t really making sure people followed the policy of their country. North Korea was working with New Zealand and the U.K,” Adams said.
In little more than a month, the MUN team will head out once again for their final conference of the year at Kennesaw State University. NC normally sweeps the KSU conference, due to the low difficulty and close location, but after the ALMUN conference, KSU must work hard to approach NC MUN-ers’ new standard of excellence.
