This article was written by Yasmeen Altaji, class of 2019.
This weekend marked the beginning of a new tradition for students in Model United Nations: AHPMUN. The two-day conference took place on campus, and was the first one ever hosted by our Model United Nations (MUN) team.
One of many novices at the conference, junior Zachary Perotta of Cooper City High School and the rest of his team attended AHPMUN despite not having the guidance of their advisors.
“I absolutely loved the tournament,” he said. “The organization was really good, and the chairs and leaders were very good at directing people.”
Committees at the tournament included the usual United Nations Security Council; Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Issues; Paris Climate Change Conference; and the European Union Military Committee. Crises committees were King Henry VIII’s royal court and France’s undercover organization, “La Piscine.” AHPMUN staff were adamant about maintaining adequate levels of competition. “It was pretty competitive; there were a ton of great arguments that we had to figure out, but everyone guided me through the MUN procedure and was super helpful,” said junior Max Zintsmaster, a novice to Model UN, said.
While legitimacy of competition and productivity were priorities of the staff, fun was not too far down the list of requirements either. Near the end of the tournament, everyone had the chance to participate in a “fun-MUN,” at which point awards had already been decided by the chairs, and chambers were free to conduct their own proceedings. Junior Chase Freeman, who is in his third year on the Model United Nations team, described the activity as “when the chamber basically goes into no-rules mode.” Freeman said, “My chamber killed me a second time and then revived me as the queen again, using a witch and special potions.”
Dance-offs and passage of unusual political resolutions were just two activities that took place during the informal event. “Fun-MUN was definitely a fine component to alleviate the stress of the tournament,” said Perotta.
Delegations and legislation were not the only things concerning competitors and chairs last weekend. With the help of competitors, chairs and, of course, a visit from Sebastian Estevez himself, AHPMUN was able to raise over $3,000 for Project Alive. Chairs passed out donation envelopes in each chamber and set donation incentives for the people in their rooms, which included many of the activities that took place later on during fun-MUN.
The Model UN team plans to continue and improve upon this conference next year.
