Spring Model UN at The Meeting School

"In Model UN, students step into the shoes of ambassadors from UN member states to debate current issues on the organization's agenda. Students make speeches, prepare draft resolutions, negotiate with allies and adversaries, resolve conflicts, and navigate the conference rules of procedure - all in the interest of mobilizing 'international cooperation' to resolve problems that affect countries all over the world." - from the website of United Nations Association of the United States of America

On April 1 - 3, three students from The Meeting School participated in Dartmouth College Model UN Conference. Led by faculty member Frederick Martin, it was the second year in a row that the School has taken part in DartMUN.

Each of the three TMS students who attended DartMUN represented a different country. Simbi, a sophomore, earned the Honorable Mention (3rd place) for her committee at DartMUN representing Yemen. Saro, also a sophomore, represented the Czech Republic. Both were in the UN Development Program, in which one of the topices discussed was HIV/AIDS. By good fortune, their overnight host was Peter Wright (husband of board member Penny Wright), who is a Dartmouth Medical School professor and doctor who works for HIV/AIDS prevention efforts in Haiti. Saro and Simbi learned a lot by talking with him.

Layla, a junior, represented Lithuania in a historical simulation of the League of Nations; she gamely jumped in with excellent research.

TMS also took part in the High Mowing School Model UN in March. Students had the honor of representing the United States in the General Assembly; however, it was a challenge because one topic was the International Criminal Court, which the US has still not signed on to.

Students have received an invitation to the by-invitation-only Bentley University Model UN, but won't be able to attend because it falls during graduation weekend.

Thanks to Frederick Martin for his significant contribution to this entry.