Model United Nations Team Hopes to Rank First Among the Country

Roary at the UN in NYC. Photo courtesy of FIU via Creative Commons’ flickr.

Nicole Montero / Staff Writer

This semester, the Model United Nations Team ranked seventh in the country above Columbia University, Yale University and Stanford University.

“Every time we go compete, people say a lot of bad things about us. They say that, because we’re a public school, that we can’t win. But we still end up winning because we look at the odds and think that we will get over those hurdles,” said Antonio Ferguson, a sophomore majoring in economics and finance.

The Model UN Team, an organization that has been around campus for over 20 years, placed first in the “Best Small Delegation” category at the 41st annual National Security Collegiate Conference in Georgetown.

“The Model United Nations is a social game for people who enjoy international relations and want to delve in and learn how the international community functions,” said Mark Hodgson, director for the Model UN Team and senior majoring in international relations and political science.

The program is both a political science course that is offered during fall and spring semesters, and an extracurricular club. Every semester, students in the class travel to conferences throughout the country to compete against other universities. Their task is to mimic the process of the United Nations, a governmental organization with aims of promoting and facilitating different operations.The students must work in groups to act in the role of a specific state or country.

At the University of Pennsylvania conference on Nov. 14, the Model UN Team represented Japan. They discussed the topics given to them as if they were Japan’s delegates.

The team competed in a General Assembly, which resembles the style of the United Nations. There were different committees, one of which was the crisis committee. Here, the team is given a crisis going on in a certain country. The committee and their staff then threw new crises at the delegates and they come up with solutions.

“It’s an interactive problem-solving format, so it’s very interactive and can be very competitive and cutthroat,” said Hodgson.

The conferences are a mix of different things: debating, negotiating, public speaking, marketing and leadership.

In the past, the Model UN Team has won Outstanding Small Delegation at Columbia, came in fourth place at Harvard, and won in both the University of Pennsylvania and at the Regional Model UN Conference.

According to Hodgson, the team continues to achieve their goal of becoming number one in the country by reading the news everyday, researching topics, attending class and participating in simulations every Saturday.

The Saturday simulations are mock conferences and competitions, where the directors give the team a problem, crisis, or topic that they must debate and reach a solution interactively.

The team’s long legacy and awards history has attracted more students around the campus.

“We want to be the best and become the best. That’s why I love the Model UN Team. I want to be part of that legacy because it has already given me so much,” said Ferguson.

The University has also shown support for the team.

“We are not just an isolated club because we don’t do it on our own. We do it because all of FIU has come together to help,” said Hodgson.

The University takes part in promoting the team and funding its participation in different conferences.

For spring semester, the team hopes to expand both their club and their class programs by finding better applicants who are interested in international relations.

John Stack, advisor for the Model UN Team and dean of the School of International Public Affairs, will screen the applicant before admitting them into the program.

“It’s really hard work and it requires a lot of motivation and dedication, but it’s very rewarding. You get many abilities and you become professionals in so many different topics,” said Devondra Shaw, a freshman majoring in international relations and history.

Applications for the program can be found at modelun.fiu.edu/application.

“The program isn’t just about taking people that are good. It’s about taking people who aren’t good and making them better,” said Hodgson.

-news@fiusm.com

 

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