Since the beginning of the school year, Marymount’s Model United Nations Program (MUN) has been working hard every Tuesday and Thursday during period 9 in preparation for its first conference at Santa Margarita High School on September 26, 2015.

Hopes for success at this conference ran especially high this year, seeing as 48 students competed – the largest delegation Marymount has ever taken. They competed in three categories: novice, non-freshman novice, and advanced delegates. 10 freshmen joined the program, in addition to several new sophomores and juniors, so the first few meetings were spent watching informative slideshows on MUN procedures and research. From there, delegates spent their time writing position papers as they represented a wide array of countries including Ethiopia, China, Oman, Israel, India, Ireland, Mexico, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Syria, and Turkey.

At 6:30 on the morning of the conference, Dr. Menard, the program’s moderator, and Marymount’s 48 delegates boarded a charter bus to Santa Margarita in Orange County. Junior Hannah Robinson commented that she was “a little nervous competing for the first time, but excited to see what committee was like and to give MUN a try.”

Upon arrival at the conference, the Marymount delegation had a few minutes to review their research and prepare before entering the gym for the opening ceremony. Flags of UN member states lined the ceiling as the committees were called out and delegates proceeded to their classrooms to begin the debate. They participated in the General Assembly, UNICEF, ECOSOC, Security Council, among other UN committees as they debated issues such as UN Reform, Climate Change, Tuberculosis, and Drug Control. Committee lasted from 9:30 am to 3:15 pm as delegates fervently negotiated to solve the issues plaguing today’s world. They gave speeches, voiced their ideas during caucus, and presented resolutions with the hope of getting their solutions passed during voting bloc.

The closing ceremony was exceptionally rewarding: Marymount took home a total of 18 awards, nearly 40% of our delegation! Three students won Outstanding Delegate awards, while 15 received Commendations. As freshman Jenna Rotheram exited the bus back at Marymount, she exclaimed, “that was so much fun!”

Marymount MUN has now begun preparation for its conference at Tustin High School on November 21^st-22^nd and for the prestigious, regional RHSMUN Conference in San Francisco this December. Of the two years that Marymount has competed in San Francisco, Marymount’s team has won esteemed delegation awards both times and strives to do it again this year!

MUN meets every Tuesday and Thursday during period 9, and everyone is welcome to come join!