Model UN has not changed a bit

Model UN’s traditional headquarters, Mr. Tryon’s room in Wilson Hall – Thomas Hall ’21

“Speaking publicly and thinking critically” said Co-President and Sixth Former Kieran Dias-Lalcaca.

In March of 2020, many things changed, including our clubs and clubs period. Model UN faced significant challenges, but has persevered. Co-President and Sixth former Ryan Ngo said, “By the time we reached March, we got all of our conferences out of the way in January and February.” 

Model UN went virtual, and, according to Co-President Kieran Dias-Lalcaca, the club’s future is bright.

Sixth former Matt Wang said, “As a member, we finished the conferences and it was delightful. And then the club kind of died down a little bit.”

  What used to take place in Mr. Tryon’s room every Friday during clubs period now takes place online.

The effects of the Coronavirus are now becoming a reality.

The United Nations logo – Wikimedia Commons

“Model UN is all based on meeting people. We can’t meet people in person, so it makes it hard. We had to change and focus more on international relations and policy decisions and then also meeting people virtually” Kieran Dias-Lalcaca said. The two Co-Presidents worked even harder. 

The club is focused on scheduling new conferences. “Right now we are doing virtual meetings and we’re preparing for a virtual conference through Princeton,” said Wang. “We had all the guys write position papers and email them to us so that we can review them and select them. It is like a tryout.” 

As many know, this club requires much work outside of the normal Friday clubs period. With an all-virtual Model UN, some find it difficult to stay motivated, “Obviously it’s different this year since it’s going to be a virtual conference. I’ll be honest, I am not quite sure if I will participate in the conference,’’ one student said. 

The Co-Presidents and Committee members understand the virtual hardships of the club, “I think the conferences are the main motivation for all the students. The fact that it’s online is a little bit demoralizing,” Wang said.

Although the club does not take place in person, the popularity remains strong, “The club’s size has remained actually the same,” Ngo said.

Both Co-Presidents want to make sure their common goal is understood, “What we want people to know about Model UN is that it really hasn’t changed. The fundamental aspect of Model UN is teaching kids to speak in public and give them that confidence to do that. That’s our main goal, and that’s still here.”