Ten Hamilton College students traveled to Boston to participate in the Harvard National Model United Nations (HNMUN) from Feb. 15 -18. The students are members of Model United Nations, an organization that orchestrates student-run Model U.N. conferences throughout the year. The purpose of the organization is to assist students in improving their public speaking and writing skills while learning about the official U.N. procedures and issues. As members, students assess the problems and possible solutions to regional problems throughout the world.
Participants in the conference were: Rachel Horowitz '09, Henok Alemayo '10, Kari Arneson '10, Matt Arnold '09, Mariam Ballout '10, Rachel Bigelow '10, Wesley Kirby '10, Oscar Lied '10, Priscilla Rouyer '10 and Meghan Stringer '07.
Hamilton represented the Republic of the Philippines at the conference. Students representing U.N. member countries served on committees such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Asian Regional Forum (ASEAN), and Disarmament and Security. These committees ranged in size from 20 to 200 countries. Students from more than 100 colleges and universities from throughout the world participated.
"It was a unique opportunity not only to engage in substantive debate about some of the most pressing and controversial issues of our time with well-informed students from around the world, but more importantly to find common ground and mutually-agreeable solutions. The extraordinary variety of perspectives voiced in one room was incredible," said Hamilton team member Ballout.
Students spent their time in committees attempting to write and pass resolutions on a variety of topics. These topics included Iran's nuclear program, the use of torture in the war on terror, rights of refugees, Third World debt, Iraq and democracy in Myanmar. They also heard from experts in the topics that they were discussing in their committees.
"Discussing the political future of Iraq was a really difficult task to achieve, as our own personal opinions were also involved, but the purpose was to represent our country's position. It was intellectually challenging and required sincere personal commitment," said Priscilla Rouyer, a French exchange student studying at Hamilton for the year.
Hamilton members of Model United Nations have previously attended conferences in Philadelphia, Montreal, and Washington D.C.
The conference was funded by Student Assembly, the Levitt Center and the offices of the president, dean of students, and dean of faculty funded this trip. Rachel Horowitz, president of the club, served as the primary organizer for the trip.
