Model UN seeks more student participation

As senior Manit Sripadam surveyed the room at the first Model United Nations (MUN) club meeting on Sept. 28, only a handful of newcomers — five freshmen and one sophomore — had arrived at history teacher and adviser Faith Daly’s room to see to the club’s introductory presentation.

As president of the club, Sripadam was slightly discouraged by the poor turnout, especially since more students had signed up at Club Fair. Nonetheless, Model UN has still had a increase in club members compared to the past couple of years, as last year’s club only had eight members.

Model UN is a competitive, internationally recognized activity where students participate in competitions that simulate United Nations discussions. Sripadam said  the club helps students learn about diplomacy and geopolitics.

The club won  six awards last year from Model UN conferences hosted by other schools. Sripadam has personally won two honorable mention awards, a multiple repertoire award and a multiple speech award in his MUN career.

Junior Prisha Samdarashi, now the club’s secretary, joined MUN freshman year.

“I wanted to do something that would help me understand global issues better,” said Samdarshi. “People recommended Model UN as a starting place.”

The club hosts meetings every Friday in Room 604. In the first few meetings of the year, the club officers plan on outlining their goals for the year, presenting upcoming events and explaining how the UN works to new members. The first conference will be in November, while the second will be in January.

With the main goal of attracting more members, the club plans to have outreach events and at least five fundraisers. The club has other goals, such as being able to host small conferences this year.

Additionally, since Model UN is less of a time commitment than other clubs, Sripadam considers it more “stress-free,” calling it a “win-win” for students.“An extracurricular should help students benefit their lives and not take it up,” Sripadamn said. “Model UN gives the best to both their personal lives and their academic life and on a more global scale.”