From November 13 to 15, 2016, members of DMAE’s Model United Nations (M.U.N.) attended a conference at the University of Connecticut (UConn). They competed against other schools to debate on real world geo-political and environmental issues.

“The trip was definitely a blast,” said sophomore Kyle Castillo. “I enjoyed the debate, of course, but I also enjoyed the campus itself. We had a lot of freedom to get ready for the debate, which  came in handy.”

Since 2012, DMAE’s Model UN has been sending delegates to UConn. While there were several new members, club veterans, such as senior Victor Morell, said the trip was almost instinctive.

“I knew what to expect. I was mainly concerned that the younger Model UN members were not going to have a good time and learn what to do,” explained Victor thoughtfully .

The conference began on Friday with a guest speaker presentation followed by a short debate. On Saturday and Sunday, debating commenced for hours. The delegates were responsible for their committee’s topic and their respective country’s views.

“During committee you spend time debating two topics that are part of your committee’s responsibilities and real life counterpart’s issues,” Victor explained. “Using a process called Parliamentary procedure, you discuss the topic formally from the point of view of your country and try to create a resolution on each topic.”

DMAE delegates received seven awards and commendations, including Victor, who won honorable mention from the Special Political and Decolonization committee. While it is considered second place, he was grateful and hopes to do better at the next conference. Advisor Mindy Rochman was especially  proud about the hard work put in by both underclassmen and upperclassmen.

“While it is always nice to bring home multiple awards, that is not the reason the students in Model UN are participating,” Ms. Rochman said. “Having said that, I was quite happy with the awards we did win.”

Model UN’s next trip will be to the conference at the University of Delaware (UDel). It is the more popular trip of the two and where more of the newer members are persuaded to go to.

“We are looking for a successful experience,” Ms Rochman said. “We are taking a few new members, and the goal is to get them acclimated to a conference environment. I look forward to seeing how everybody performs.”