This past weekend, many of us were surprised to find our dining halls swamped with exceptionally well dressed high schoolers clogging the lines and gossiping about international politics. Virginia Model United Nations (VAMUN) XXXIV, the University's 34th high school-oriented Model UN (MUN) conference, attracted over a thousand delegates this year from across the nation, with some high schoolers coming from as far as Chicago and Miami to attend. Toting bright orange VAMUN bags, delegates attended simulated United Nations committee sessions throughout the weekend, starting early in the morning and discussing the world’s pressing conflicts late into the night.
Model UN has traditionally provided college and high school students with the opportunity to discuss and debate global issues in a professional setting. If you talk to most delegates, they will immediately list off the virtues of MUN — the excitement of debate, the heat of diplomacy and the sheer fun of traveling to conferences in far-off places. MUN obviously allows students to refine their speaking and diplomacy skills, which is why it remains an integral and popular part of the University’s International Relations Organization, an umbrella group which helps foster discussion on international issues.
However, many have boldly suggested Model UN is a useless — if not outright damaging — activity. Critics say Model UN breeds “pointless leadership” which results in no real pragmatic solutions. Many MUN conferences, especially in college, are more about networking, winning and travelling than about substantive debate. Some conferences even host fictional committees, like this VAMUN’s Chen Village (which simulated a fictitious village in 20th century China), while other committees focus on simulating war councils that favor rash military decisions over real life diplomacy. Personally, I have heard many delegates decry the competitive attitudes of “gavel-hunters,” competitors who are more concerned with winning top positions than constructing feasible solutions to the presented crises. And just like the real United Nations, directives and solution that “pass” through the MUN voting procedure do just that — they pass in name only. Delegates rarely receive feedback on the realistic potential of their plans’ implementability, which leads many competitors to simply pump out solution after solution without analyzing their practicality. The entire system of MUN, detractors argue, is broken.
Others note that the core of the problem is not so much “Model” UN as the UN itself; they criticize the organization as a useless body that functions only for the sake of banal international politeness. And to a certain extent, these criticisms are true. The United Nations and its MUN counterpart have, to some degree, turned pointless squabbling into a celebrated art form. From the Rwandan genocide to the conflicts in Darfur, the UN has failed time and time again to foster real action against international emergencies. For 25 years, a civil war raged in Sri Lanka displacing over 500,000 people, eliciting Ban Ki Moon to be “appalled” — and nothing else. Meanwhile, the century-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict rages on, with no end in sight.
All these issues beg the question: is it worth a student’s time to participate in MUN? This year, I promised myself that VAMUN XXXIV would be my last year doing model UN. Over the weekend, I spent hours vice-chairing the deeply engaging Operation Pillar Defense Crisis committee, a simulation of the Israeli Knesset during the days of Operation Pillar of Defense (an Israeli military operation in Gaza). Let me first clarify — I have been pro-Palestinian my whole life. Initially, I signed up to chair for Operation Pillar of Defense naively assuming the committee would include elements of both the Palestinian and Israeli ruling bodies. When I found out the simulation was solely based on the Israeli Knesset, I had a bit of a crisis. How could I chair a committee so opposed to my values?
I decided to stick with the position. I immersed myself in researching the Knesset and all the Israeli politicians, parties and policies I had never bothered examining. I was playing the ultimate devil’s advocate, researching ideologies I didn't believe in and viewing issues with different lenses, all while repressing the incessant thought that somehow I was being untrue to myself.
But then it dawned on me: this perspective-changing research was exactly what MUN was about. To throw oneself into a completely foreign role, to explore the other side, to walk in another man’s shoes — this is the real virtue of Model UN. Sure, MUN committees are sometimes childish. And yes, sometimes it seems as if the UN is just a weak facade made to ensure a fake semblance of peaceful friendship between our world’s nations. Yet despite all these flaws, Model UN provides a worthwhile experience that forces delegates to adapt to uncomfortable situations which may conflict with their opinions. When I finished chairing my committee, not only was I more knowledgeable about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but I had also gained new insights on the greater complexities of it.
Conferences like VAMUN inherit all the problems of the MUN system, but with improvement they can become a powerful way for University students to learn about pressing international issues while exploring controversial stances. Students should pursue MUN not to compete, but to expand their knowledge and perspectives on topical modern issues.
Hasan Khan is an Opinion Columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at h.khan@cavalierdaily.com.
Read More
PARTING SHOT: No man is an island
By Ava MacBlane | 2 days agoRetirement, as you can tell, has been treating me well. When people ask me now if I miss it, I laugh and tell them some things I definitely don't miss. But I don't always get to tell them about the things I really do miss.
PARTING SHOT: You never know unless you try
By Lexi Baker | 3 days agoMy time at the University was shaped by the people who showed me grace and kindness and by those who had confidence in me, even when I struggled to have it in myself.
PARTING SHOT: A love letter to Cav Daily and Connection
By Ava Proehl | 3 days agoMy time here taught me to look for the genuine, human connection in every moment.
