Story by Lillian Syren, Culture Editor
Last November, Aquinas students had the opportunity to travel to Chicago for Model United Nations, a three-day event where students from all over the U.S. role-play as delegates from UN member countries and come together to have a series of conferences and debates. The fall semester Model UN, open to any student, regardless of their major, involves taking one class weekly until late November, when the conference is held. In the weeks leading up to the conference, students research the policies and positions of the country that they will represent and learn how to write UN resolutions with that knowledge. Students become well-versed in UN language and decorum, from voting on resolutions to the usage of proper language in interacting with other member countries during the conferences. Many modern-day lawyers, government officials, business leaders, and of course, UN representatives, took part in Model UN in their education! Model UN is an incredible opportunity to develop leadership and diplomatic skills that can be applied to any profession—not just a career in politics.
While Model UN in the fall is a college exclusive event, Aquinas hosts its own version of Model UN for high school students in the area in the spring semester. This event, known as AQMUN (ack-min), does not have the status of the long-standing tradition that Model UN has. In fact, Aquinas declined to host a high school Model UN simulation repeatedly until 2014, when Forest Hills Northern High School asked to help host and provide this incredibly informative experience for high school students. After agreeing to host, Aquinas had its Inaugural AQMUN Conference in March of 2015 which had an excellent turnout and ended up being a huge success. Since then, Aquinas has continued to host this event, as it provides excellent learning and skill development for high school students but also college students. Aquinas students take the lead in AQMUN and help demonstrate and guide the high school participants by spending time in a class together weekly, just like preparing for Model UN in the fall, in order to fully prepare for not only the countries but the students themselves. Collegiate Model UN is a fantastic leadership-building opportunity, and AQMUN really furthers that leadership development. To have up and coming college students under current college students’ wings in a professional but friendly environment preps the high schoolers for the bigger show of Collegiate Model UN, whether that be at Aquinas or a different school. This year’s AQMUN takes place on April 19th. Best of luck to you all!
The Saint 