Leslie Ovalle/ Contributing Writer
The University’s Model United Nations Team was chosen to participate in the upcoming Harvard National Model UN Conference.
The Conference will bring together different universities across the United States, as well as hundreds of college students with common goals of furthering international awareness and building consensus.
Danney Salvatierra, a senior majoring in political science, is a new delegate and one of the members chosen to participate in the upcoming competition amongst team members.
The competition’s title? “The Olympics of Model UN.”
“It’s a lot of work,” she said. “But it brings out the best in you.”
The team has had much recognition in the past, including seventh in the country, later moving to fifth in the nation and, last semester, fifth in North America by bestdelegate.com, an organization in charge of calculating MUN ranks based on universities’ performances.
In addition to the ranks, the team placed among prestigious national universities, including the University of Chicago, Harvard, Georgetown, New York University and Yale.
The MUN program is offered as a political science course. It is designed to build students’ public speaking, analytical writing, negotiations, critical analysis and research skills.
For this, extensive practice and time is required.
“It makes you a leader and gives you confidence,” said Salvatierra. “For me, no other class has done that.”
To be part of the team, students are required to go through a long process, which entails a detailed application and two interviews, in which the student is tested and screened.
For Gabriela Guadalupe, a senior majoring in political science and minoring in journalism, it’s all about the diversity and context of the program.
“I’m excited for the Harvard competition because it’s the most international and substance-driven conference,” she said. “We see people from all over the world.”
MUN puts forth a wide range of scenarios that stimulate students’ critical thinking and knowledge of various topics.
According to Ethan Roberts, the University’s MUN program director, these topics can range from creating an international anti-piracy regime to rewriting the constitution of Thailand.
Some of Roberts’ most memorable topics have been the 1982 Berlin Conference and the 1996 UN Security Council, where they dealt with the fall of Mobutu Sese Seko in Zaire, which is now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
But from the endless variety of topics, Roberts find Africa to be especially interesting.
“I find the systematic disadvantages imposed on many of the people there proof of man’s evil,” he said. “But the growth and change in Africa, despite this history, is proof of man’s resilience and ability to change and create hope.”
This year, the team hopes to travel as a large delegation and to continue receiving awards and recognition for their performance. They also hope to place first at the Harvard conference on Feb. 12.
“We have really been trying to travel as a large delegation,” said Roberts. “Our goal is to repeat our performance from last year’s Harvard National Model UN Conference and win a Large Delegation Award.”
The team is currently accepting applications to the program. Those interested in applying may visit modelun.fiu.edu.
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