Students have a Model United Nations meeting coming up. Model UN is an event where students act as delegates in a meeting to discuss a topic. Each student is assigned a country that they’ll research.
We interviewed sophomore and Model United Nations club member, Cate Reed, to ask what skills are required and what the best part of the process is. When asked how critical thinking is used in the process, she responded, “I have to use critical thinking to find the best questions to ask.” She said she also uses “perseverance, because it can take a lot of time to find all the information you need.”
The topic for the students’ upcoming Model United Nations meeting is “What responsibilities do nations have when a citizen’s life is at risk in extreme or remote environments?” For this topic, students will research how their countries have acted in dangerous situations. Using their findings, students will write a position paper stating their country’s opinions on the topic. Students will also recognize their country’s values and principles to determine what to say during the meeting and how to vote on resolutions.
Questions (Cate):
- How have you had to use critical thinking in these meetings? “I had to use critical thinking to find out what questions to ask.”
- What skills (SLOs) do you use in these meetings? “Perseverance, because it can take a lot of time to find the information you need.”
- What are your favorite things about MUN? “I really like being able to meet with people and talk about ideas and collaborate.”
- What is the hardest part of the process? “The hardest part is figuring out what you want your solutions to be and what you want to get out of it.”
Questions (Lex):
- How do you feel going into MUN? Anxious because I’m unsure of how I might do presenting.
- What are you excited about? Researching the country presented to me, so I can accurately represent what that country should do.
What are you least excited for? Not necessary, least excited for anything, just a little nervous that I won’t perform.