MUN in a Stormy Situation
by Chris Pak
In February, the New Hyde Park Memorial High School Model United Nations Club went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a conference to debate about contemporary world issues. Such issues included the controversy of genetically modified foods and women in science.
After our group’s arrival to Cambridge, we were soon revealed to sudden news that the conference would be canceled due to the devastating snowstorm known as “Nemo”. “Nemo” caused 24.9 inches of snow and was labeled as the fifth largest snowstorm ever recorded in Boston. The conference that was initially supposed to have hundreds of delegates from all over the world was abruptly canceled. So after the disappointing news, we believed that the rest of the weekend was to be spent trapped in Boston due to the crazy amount of snow. At this point, we abandoned all thoughts that there might be a chance to show off the knowledge we got through our research. “I felt frustrated and disappointed that all my research and work had gone to waste. This was my last conference before I graduated and I wanted to let it be a good experience.” says senior Aakash Japi. However, during our second night there, we got the news from our advisors that the conference was back on.
We also found out that due to the fact that half of the delegates from other schools around the world would not be able to make it, groups that were supposed to debate on completely different topics were merged together which caused many in our group to debate on topics we’ve never researched before. Because of this, NHP put all their efforts into researching on these brand new topics the day before our shortened conference would start. “It was definitely stressful to study these things the day before we would debate about them but I believe that when we got together to help each other with our research, we overcame this obstacle.” says senior Natalie Bracco.
Finally the conference started and New Hyde Park started to work towards our goal which was to win. Committee sessions that would stretch on for three hours at a time would consist of knowledgeable students from all over the world including students from South Korea, San Francisco, India, and New York.
Our group certainly made an impact in these committee sessions when we led the debate and became leaders in making solutions to these current problems including the crisis in Syria. We definitely showed our strong will through our late-night research sessions, going through routes of snow and the underground tunnels of M.I.T. for Subway, and debating for a total of about twelve hours.
The efforts of all those in our group and our hard-working advisors were soon rewarded when New Hyde Park made their presence known as a result of winning the majority of the awards during the award ceremony. It was truly a conference worth remembering. It was a moment where we all truly felt like a family.
“This was not the conference that we expected, but I’m happy it worked out this way, and I can honestly say that of all my conferences, this was my favorite and a perfect way to end our MUN Career as seniors. I loved the city, I loved the intense debates, but more importantly I loved being in Boston to share the time with all of the delegates who attended. You’ve made me so proud and happy to call us all a team and I am never more proud of any of us !
In February, the New Hyde Park Memorial High School Model United Nations Club went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for a conference to debate about contemporary world issues. Such issues included the controversy of genetically modified foods and women in science.
After our group’s arrival to Cambridge, we were soon revealed to sudden news that the conference would be canceled due to the devastating snowstorm known as “Nemo”. “Nemo” caused 24.9 inches of snow and was labeled as the fifth largest snowstorm ever recorded in Boston. The conference that was initially supposed to have hundreds of delegates from all over the world was abruptly canceled. So after the disappointing news, we believed that the rest of the weekend was to be spent trapped in Boston due to the crazy amount of snow. At this point, we abandoned all thoughts that there might be a chance to show off the knowledge we got through our research. “I felt frustrated and disappointed that all my research and work had gone to waste. This was my last conference before I graduated and I wanted to let it be a good experience.” says senior Aakash Japi. However, during our second night there, we got the news from our advisors that the conference was back on.
We also found out that due to the fact that half of the delegates from other schools around the world would not be able to make it, groups that were supposed to debate on completely different topics were merged together which caused many in our group to debate on topics we’ve never researched before. Because of this, NHP put all their efforts into researching on these brand new topics the day before our shortened conference would start. “It was definitely stressful to study these things the day before we would debate about them but I believe that when we got together to help each other with our research, we overcame this obstacle.” says senior Natalie Bracco.
Finally the conference started and New Hyde Park started to work towards our goal which was to win. Committee sessions that would stretch on for three hours at a time would consist of knowledgeable students from all over the world including students from South Korea, San Francisco, India, and New York.
Our group certainly made an impact in these committee sessions when we led the debate and became leaders in making solutions to these current problems including the crisis in Syria. We definitely showed our strong will through our late-night research sessions, going through routes of snow and the underground tunnels of M.I.T. for Subway, and debating for a total of about twelve hours.
The efforts of all those in our group and our hard-working advisors were soon rewarded when New Hyde Park made their presence known as a result of winning the majority of the awards during the award ceremony. It was truly a conference worth remembering. It was a moment where we all truly felt like a family.
“This was not the conference that we expected, but I’m happy it worked out this way, and I can honestly say that of all my conferences, this was my favorite and a perfect way to end our MUN Career as seniors. I loved the city, I loved the intense debates, but more importantly I loved being in Boston to share the time with all of the delegates who attended. You’ve made me so proud and happy to call us all a team and I am never more proud of any of us !
