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Sugar Bowl Academy students steeped in United Nations model

Special to the Sun
Submitted to aedgett@sierrasun.comSugar Bowl Academy students, Grace Hutton, second from left, and Taylor Elicegui, third from left, concentrate on global issues during a model United Nations event.
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SODA SPRINGS, Calif. and#8212; Solving complex global issues might seem relatively manageable from the comfort of the classroom during normal waking hours.

But being awakened at 2 a.m. to react in concert with other countries to an emerging global crisis can be quite another matter.

Eighteen Sugar Bowl Academy student-athletes who recently returned from the International Model United Nations Conference in San Francisco learned how unreachable consensus might seem when all the worldand#8217;s stakeholders and#8212; each with its own competing interests and political agendas and#8212;-gather to weigh matters that potentially impact all of the planetand#8217;s inhabitants.



and#8220;I learned a lot about what politicians go through, particularly in solving international crises,and#8221; said SBA student-athlete Taylor Elicegui. and#8220;Being woken up at 2 a.m. to solve a hostage crisis in the Philippines provided me with great insight to real international affairs.and#8221;

Hosted by the Parc 55 at San Franciscoand#8217;s Union Square, the Regional High School Model United Nations conference ran Dec. 1-3.



According to International Model United Nations Associationand#8217;s Web site (imuna.org), the goal of such RHSMUN conferences is simple: and#8220;Education through Simulation.and#8221;

For SBA students, simulation took a variety of forms, even pre-conference. In preparation, students were required to write position papers regarding the issues central to their respective committees. In SBA Model U.N. Club Founder Conner Evansand#8217; case, 7 pages long.

and#8220;Through research, discussions and lecture with the SBA History Department faculty and group meetings, Model U.N. members worked to understand complex global issues ranging from human rights of displaced persons to threats of bioterrorism,and#8221; said Andy Knox, SBA Social Studies Department Chair. He was one of three SBA faculty members, including Corbin Prychun and Kelly Farrell, to travel to the event.

During conference proceedings, SBA students represented the South African and Ugandan delegation in one of seven United Nations committees.

Said Knox: and#8220;Students worked in committee to discuss and debate their assigned world issues. The simulation had students using the same language and terminology of the U.N. while additionally following the same protocols as the actual United Nations of moderated debate, drafting resolutions and making amendments to resolutions.

and#8220;The Model U.N. experience attempts to simulate real world international discussions. Students must understand and play the role of their assigned country/delegation, form diplomatic alliances with like-minded nations as well as work under real time constraints.

and#8220;One of the more extreme, but very real, examples was when two of the seven committees were awakened at 2 a.m. Friday morning and asked to dress and report to a conference room to be briefed on an evolving world crisis situation.

and#8220;The committees then proceeded to work until 6:30 a.m. until they had successfully dealt with the issues at hand.

Overwhelmingly the feedback from SBA students was that this was a positive and fun new learning experience. The Model UN Club at SBA is already beginning to think about the next conference to attend.and#8221;

and#8212; Submitted to aedgett@sierrasun.com


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