First ever Spring Cardinal Model UN Conference sees Delegates in Crisis

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Posted 4/29/21

On Saturday, April 17, the St. Michael High School Model United Nations team hosted its first ever Spring Cardinal Model UN (MUN) Conference, enabling participants to experience being a delegate in …

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First ever Spring Cardinal Model UN Conference sees Delegates in Crisis

Posted

On Saturday, April 17, the St. Michael High School Model United Nations team hosted its first ever Spring Cardinal Model UN (MUN) Conference, enabling participants to experience being a delegate in the middle of a global crisis.

Having hosted the annual Cardinal Model UN Conference the past two Octobers, the St. Michael Model UN team decided to host a spring conference for the first time, welcoming 139 students from Baldwin County Virtual Secondary School, Bayshore Christian School, Bayside Academy, Christ the King School, Fairhope High School, McGill Toolen High School, Robertsdale High School, Saint Benedict School, Saint Michael, Saint Patrick School, and Spanish Fort Middle School, Thompson High School, and one home-schooled student.

“Colleges and high schools across the country have been canceling in person Model UN conferences this year and last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic or have been switching to virtual conferences,” stated St Michael Model UN Advisor Paul Saboe. “A virtual conference just does not capture the true experience of a Model UN simulation, so we held a conference in October embracing safety protocols such as temperature checks, a mask requirement, and using our gym and cafeteria to space out the delegates and promote proper social distancing. It was such a big success, the St Michael students decided to host this one in the Spring to enable more students in the community to experience Model UN.”

After a short welcome address, the students role-played countries in two simulations. Led by St. Michael Co-Chairs Marguerite Cowles and Mimi Smith, the delegates in the Special Political Committee (SPECPOL) addressed the issue of the conquest of Mars. Led by St. Michael Co-Chairs Isaac McBane and Tradd McDaniel, the delegates in the World Health Organization (WHO) addressed the issue of bioterrorism. Cardinal MUN taught the participating students how the real United Nations (UN) works by guiding them through the rigors of speaking under the rules of parliamentary procedure and the process of resolution writing and advocacy. In addition, each committee had a crisis that the delegates had to address with the SPECPOL delegates dealing with a Chinese attempt to conquer Mars and the WHO delegates addressing a bioterrorism attack on the bus system in Bogota, Colombia by a new terrorist group.

During the Closing Ceremony, many of the students were recognized for their conference preparation and participation. Best Position Paper Awards for students completing research and optional position papers for their countries were presented to St. Michael students Phoebe Cisneros and Maeghan Reilly. Baldwin Country Virtual School student Ana Kangsumrith, Bayshore Christian School student Ella Barnes, Bayside Academy student Isabelle Rutland, Fairhope student Ryder Burk, St. Michael students Emma Flowers, Katy Ford, Connor Heller, Guilian Holbrook, Max Kleban, Lexi Kruse, Christina Leavitt, Juliet Petruzelli, and Minna Sellers, and Thompson High School student Zoe Grodsky received Best Position Paper Honorable Mention Awards.

Best Delegate Awards were selected by the Committee Chairs for those students who best represented and advocated for their country and were presented to Thompson High School student Maddie Machovic and Fairhope High School student Ryder Burk. St. Michael students Davis Billips, Andrew Corbett, Connor Heller, Gary Ickes, and Max Kleban, Fairhope student Charles Hawkins, McGill Toolen students Damien Brack, Janie Dunwell, and Isabela Flores,

Robertsdale High School student Julia Fagan, and Thompson High School students JaKaiya Bryant, Anderson Lee, Carter Mandy, Ethan Miniard, Sophie Trosper, and Andrew Wilson received Best Delegate Honorable Mention Awards.

Finally, Delegate Choice Awards were voted on by the student participants and presented to Robertsdale High School student Julia Fagan and St. Michael student Andrew Corbett.

St. Michael students Megan Williams and Max Wilson, Fairhope student Ryder Burk, McGill Toolen student Isabela Flores, and Thompson High School students Maddie Machovec and Andrew Wilson received Honorable Mention Delegate Choice Awards.

Area middle school and high school students can experience the debating and diplomacy of Model UN this summer at St. Michael’s first ever Model UN Clinic. The Model UN Clinic will run Monday, June 21st to Friday, June 25th, noon to 3:00 pm, on the St. Michael campus in Fairhope, AL, and will teach participants parliamentary procedure and debating, resolution writing and sponsorship, and conflict-resolution and consensus-building through different committee simulations. This promises to be a great way to those new to Model UN to learn the basics and for more experienced delegates to take their skills to the next level. The camp will be taught by St. Michael Model UN Advisor Paul Saboe, who was recognized by BestDelegate.com as a Model UN Educator of the Year. Parents can obtain more information and a registration form by emailing Mr. Saboe at psaboe@stmichaelchs.org.