Oakland University’s Model United Nations (MUN) team attended the American Model United Nations (AMUN) international intercollegiate competition in Chicago, Illinois from Nov. 18-21. With over 1,000 student participants, AMUN is one of the largest Model UN competitions in the U.S. Despite this daunting fact, the members of the OU team earned an array of accolades for their performance at the event.
Model United Nations is designed to simulate the functioning of the real-world United Nations. Before the competition, student delegates are assigned a country. Then, each student must conduct research on a variety of issue areas from the perspective of their assigned country.
MUN delegates are not only expected to learn factual information about their country, but students must also learn to embody their nation’s international presence and “diplomatic personality” in debate.
At AMUN, delegates were invited to take part in an array of committees and simulations, including the General Assembly Plenary, the Committee on Disarmament and Security, the Economic and Financial Committee, the Commission on Population and Development, the Committee on Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Issues and the International Court of Justice.
In each committee, student delegates are tasked with utilizing the skills of diplomacy and parliamentary procedure to resolve global issues. In doing so, delegates utilize the research they conducted to accurately portray their country in debate and negotiation.
Six students — Eien VanRiper, Larissa Giacomin, Christopher Aranda, Patrick Henkel, Emily Lockwood and Aaeshah Siddiqui — received “Exceptional Representation” awards, the highest individual award at AMUN for their work as diplomats for the nations of Qatar and Viet Nam.
Aranda and Henkel represented Viet Nam in the General Assembly, the largest forum at AMUN. VanRiper and Giacomin represented the nation of Viet Nam in the Committee on Disarmament and International Security. Lockwood and Siddiqui represented Qatar in the Commission on Population and Development.
Landon Julius, the president of OU’s Model United Nations team, participated in the International Court of Justice as a representative of Qatar. Julius successfully litigated a case concerning nuclear weapons threats.
“The International Court of Justice was the highlight of my AMUN experience,” Julius said.
With six years of Model UN experience, Julius was excited to serve as a litigator in the International Court of Justice. Julius spent months studying international law to prepare for his role.
At the conference, Julius was tasked with arguing whether it is legal for countries to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons on behalf of the nation of Qatar.
“I spent time researching past precedents. Then, I presented an oral argument before the justices,” Julius said.
Julius’s work paid off, as he ultimately won the argument with a nearly unanimous vote from the justices.
“Model United Nations has been the basis of my academic and career aspirations,” Julius said. “After graduation, I plan to go to law school. The International Court of Justice simulation was a great experience and has made me consider pursuing international law as a field of study in law school.”
Ethan Lehman-Pace received praise for his performance on the Security Council as a member of the International Press Delegation. This simulation required Lehman-Pace and other delegates to spend hours resolving a midnight crisis.
Seven OU students collaborated to write a document that articulated Viet Nam’s foreign policy positions. The piece received the award for “Best Position Paper” at the conference, ranking as best among the submissions of over 60 other universities.
With such an impressive showing at AMUN, one would be surprised to hear that OU’s Model United Nations team hit multiple roadblocks in preparation for their fall semester competition.
The team had originally planned to attend the Lake Erie International Model United Nations (LEIMUN) conference. Unfortunately, the competition was canceled three weeks into the team’s preparation.
“There was an initial sense of panic when LEIMUN got canceled,” Julius said. “We had already spent some time preparing for LEIMUN, so we had to shift gears and find another competition to go to.”
Despite the cancellation, the team was able to register for AMUN, thanks to the support of OU’s Student Activities Funding Board (SAFB).
“I am incredibly thankful to SAFB for working with us [OU MUN] to sort out the registration fee payment for AMUN,” Cody Eldredge, the advisor for the OU Model United Nations team, said.
Julius was especially grateful for the support Gio Liotti, the chairperson of SAFB, provided the team in securing funds for the conference registration.
Many may not know the OU Model United Nations team functions as a class-club hybrid. This means students may choose to earn academic credit for their participation, or they may simply choose to compete as an extracurricular activity.
Model United Nations members will compete in one out-of-state competition per semester. Each spring, the OU MUN team organizes and hosts “OMUN,” a high school Model United Nations competition.
“I encourage anyone who has an interest in international relations, policy, or debate to get involved with Model UN,” Julius said. “The club allows members to develop their public speaking skills while also making connections with other students from around the world.”
For students interested in joining OU’s Model United Nations team, they may contact Professor Eldredge via email at [email protected].
