Model U.N. team heads to regional competition

Georgia State University’s Model United Nations team will attend the Southern Regional competition this Thursday, Nov. 19 though Sunday, Nov. 22 at the Atlanta Airport Hilton. The Model UN, sponsored by the Political Science department, recently hosted a conference for high school students. There were over 450 in attendance.

The Model UN team is a serious group. They have come first in state competition the past six years, and received top delegations for Nationals four times while consistently beating schools like UGA, Emory and UCLA. The national competition is held at the UN headquarters in New York and lasts for seven days. Nationals will be held the first week of April in 2010 this season.

At a Model UN conference, schools are assigned a specific country and take on the roles of that country as if they were a part of the United Nations -Georgia State’s team was assigned China last year in New York in Nationals competition. Students are then designated to specific committees, such as sustainability, and the schools interact as if they were participating in an actual UN conference.

“It isn’t a conference where you sit down and listen, and then have lunch,” said James Dutton, President of the GSU Model UN Association. “It’s almost more of a sporting event than a political science debate.”

Participants give speeches and act on behalf of their assigned country. Participants also conduct caucuses and try to gain support for resolutions that the country is trying to pass. The team is then judged on how well they know the rules of the U.N., and how well they sway the votes. Ultimately, the Chair of the U.N. judges the contestants on these and other categories. Dutton said it is hard work and the team stays up late most nights.

“It’s worth it at the end of the day. It’s worth it when we can get the award and take it home for Georgia State,” he said.

Going to the national conference is basically an invitation-only event, according to Dutton. GSU has been invited many years to compete against schools from all over the world, including English, Dutch, and German universities amongst many others. Dutton said there is a 65 percent presence of foreign colleges at nationals. The GSU team has also been invited to the world competition, held in Hague, Netherlands. Teams that compete here include Yale, Harvard and Stanford. Our team has yet to make an appearance in Hague due to funding.

“We won top delegation at Nationals for four years, and we hope to make it this year,” Dutton said.

Last year GSU had two teams attend the national conference. Our teams were chosen to represent Kuwait and Djibouti. Both earned awards. The Kuwait team earned Outstanding Delegation Award, and the Djibouti team garnered the Distinguished Delegation Award.
Students who participate with this team actually receive class credit. Although it requires a year-long commitment, students earn a three hour credit each semester. This class is repeatable, enabling students to participate for more than one year. Dr. Once a student is in the class, they must meet the team, who ultimately decides who will become team members.

The Model UN team also teams with the Georgia State Model Arab League. This team participates in a similar conference in March. For more information on both the Model UN and Model Arab teams, visit the tth floor of General Classroom Building in the Political Science department.
 

“It is the only real, interactive political science learning tool out there,” Dutton said. “It’s probably the only thing I’ve done that is fun and has made a difference.”