For the annual Model UN convention, junior Margaux Bartzen was assigned two weeks in advance to discuss how Morocco would handle the situation of human trafficking. She had to stand up in front of 60 people and discuss Morocco’s point-of-view rather than her own.
“It was really hard getting in front of that many people, but it helped me with my public speaking,” Margaux said. “It’s really difficult for the UN, because it’s impossible to make everyone happy. They have to be civil and good at negotiating, because the end result is a compromise.”
Along with 18 other schools in the North Texas area on Nov. 1-3, 19 Model UN members, along with sponsor Eric Wilson, traveled to the University of Texas at Austin to attend a Model UN convention, the first of the year.
“It was really cool to see their perspective at UT and to see how Model UN can really help with my public speaking and being informed about world news,” Linda said. “The Model UN people were so interesting and smart.”
After debating the best solution to the crisis of a hacker shutting down the ability to access MasterCard accounts nationwide, the Model UN club came down to a decision. The solution would be to shut down the Internet forever so problems like this wouldn’t occur again. The purpose of Model UN is to recreate situations the United Nations has faced in the past with the goal of teaching members how to deal with real world issues and team building.
“The US had to assure the Americans it would be solved and other countries would give support,” senior Linda Dorigo said. “It was tough, but it had to be done.”
Seniors Roshni Patel and Hannah Moltz are co-presidents for Model UN. During Roshni’s junior year, the president asked her halfway through the year to take his place as president.
“There are definitely a lot of responsibilities,” Roshni said. “I have to make sure the kids are excited and have a positive attitude as well as making sure they understand what’s going on in the world.”
One of the jobs that the co-presidents are responsible for is keeping up to date with current events happening in the world.
“I listen to NPR a lot and have way too many news apps,” Hannah said. “I follow a lot of news anchors on twitter who are always telling me about new events.”
From sex trafficking to advocating human rights, the Model UN club has a wide range of topics that are discussed.
“I learned a lot about how to help the world,” Roshni said. “Not just America but like Uganda. I also learned a lot about what I can get done for women’s rights in the world.”
Model UN plans on attending another convention in the spring.
by Lauren Anderson
