At the Model United Nations (MUN) Conference at UCLA on Nov. 6 and Nov. 7, Arcadia High School (AHS) had 28 delegates participating in the BruinMUN. The AHS delegates were in committees, including DISEC, UNHabitat, GA Plenary, OAS, and a crisis committee (Manhattan Project). 

For reference, MUN is an internationally recognized debate and negotiation program in which students learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the United Nations. It is formatted through educational simulations and academic competitions. At MUN conferences, students role play as United Nations delegates, and assume the position of UN committees. 

This was AHS’ Model UN’s first conference of the 2021-2022 academic year and was one of the first conferences ever for most of the delegates. The officer team conducted a simulation in the CTE Gym on Oct. 28 in preparation for the BruinMUN. The officer team was responsible for giving lesson presentations each week on the different aspects of the conference, and was responsible for proofreading all position papers. 

The committee said, “We wanted to really give our delegates more guidance for the first conference.” 

Before the Model UN team attended the conference, each delegate thoroughly researched their assigned country and topic. All delegates wrote two position papers, which are about three pages long, and submitted their writings to their committee chairs. 

Junior Emily Banuelos said, “I prepared with my partner in the library because this was a dual delegation, and we worked on our opening speech and papers. All research was done based on the background guide UCLA provided, and we also used online resources. I honestly read a lot about policies for my country, which was Lebanon.”

The MUN committee also noted that they raised funds through fundraisers to help with the costs for the conference, in addition to communicating with the BruinMUN directors to ensure that the plans were solidified. 

The conference was held at UCLA, which is located in Westwood. Many of the delegates had the opportunity to visit the various restaurants and cafes in the city. The Model UN team reports that the delegates thought that the UCLA campus was absolutely beautiful. The committees were mainly held in lecture halls on campus or in classrooms. The chairs at the conference were either current UCLA students or alumni of the school. 

Some AHS’ Model UN delegates won awards for having the best position papers, which means they were the most well researched in their committee. 

In the DISEC committee, sophomores Chloe Wong and Palak Tandon represented Kazakhstan and won best research paper. 

Others who also won best research paper include freshmen Evelyn Tsoi and Elizabeth Gladson-Pang, who represented the United States in the UNHabitat committee and freshmen William Pan and Ashley Lim while representing the Bahamas. 

AHS’ MUN committee states that “many of the delegates [felt] very satisfied by the experience. It tested their public speaking skills, communication skills, and research skills.” 

Banuelos commented, “I think that the team performed very well for it being our very first in-person conference. This was an incredibly valuable experience because we all got to learn about a new country, and about policies that are affecting the country’s population.” 

Great work to AHS’ Model UN team!

Photos courtesy of AHS MUN Team