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Baylor students sweep contest, learn diplomacy

Nov. 10, 2009

By Jenna Thompson
Reporter

Baylor's Model Organization of American States team won 10 out of 14 possible awards this weekend at a contest in San Antonio, beating 19 other universities from around the United States and Mexico. Among others, awards included Outstanding Ambassador Award and Best Committee Chair.

The Baylor team represented the countries of Venezuela and Suriname in the mock session and participated in debates and policy-making sessions. Two hundred students attended, representing 24 countries.

"Organization of American States is basically a cooperative body that represents countries from the Western Hemisphere to find ways to improve conditions in the Americas," said Houston senior Daisy Marchena, one of Baylor's two head delegates at the conference.

Model Organization of American States is a mock session of the real Organization of American States, a regional organization for the Western Hemisphere. Often compared to the United Nations, this organization meets yearly delegates from 35 member nations attend. Members work together to forge resolutions that deal with issues ranging from drug trafficking to trade and tourism.

Students research and represent various countries from the Americas and present their ideas and solutions for problems at the conference, in the same manner that real delegates do in the Organization of American States.

San Antonio senior Manny Munoz is a member of the Baylor team and was elected President of the San Antonio Model out of the team members from 19 schools.

"It is important for us as college students to expand our knowledge and broaden our horizons to see the experiences of countries close to us," Munoz said. "Not everything is how we see it in the U.S."

Students were addressed by retired U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Alfred A. Valenzuela during a luncheon Friday, and Ambassador Eugene Scassa was also in attendance.

Awards were given to students based on performance during the mock sessions. Participants were split up into committees addressing various topics. Judges circulated throughout the sessions over the course of three days.

"This year it was different because I had the opportunity to sit on the General Committee and I was representing Suriname, a small county in South America," Marchena said. "It was a challenge to represent a smaller unknown country, but it was just as rewarding in the end."

Team members find that the experience of representing various countries and learning their policies has changed their view of the world.

"It's made me have a better perspective of the world, outside of the U.S.'s perspective," said The Woodlands junior Hilary Andrews. "Being aware of what's going on and how that affects us, we have the opportunity to do something about it, and that's exciting."

At the end of the conference on Saturday, Munoz presented an emergency scenario and the teams representing each country had a limited amount of time to work together to form a solution.

"When the crisis situation was presented, people listened to what I said and all the delegates came together to put together a document. That to me was very neat," Munoz said. "It is important for us as college students to expand our knowledge and broaden our horizons to see the experiences of countries close to us. Not everything is how we see it in the U.S."

Team member Michael Lyssy, a sophomore from Falls City was elected as the president of the 2010 Model Organization of American States in San Antonio.

"I think it's been a defining part of my Baylor experience," Lyssy said. "It's applicable to real life: you learn people skills, speaking skills, and networking skills. You can see real-life examples of how countries interact with each other."

Students on the Baylor team have been meeting at least twice a week in the evenings throughout the semester to discuss their resolution ideas and practice parliamentary procedure. This procedure requires the members know special terms and etiquette they must use while in committee.

The team won an unprecedented 10 awards this weekend, a new record for Baylor, which has been participating in Model Organization of American States for the past 13 years.

The Organization of American States headquarters is located in Washington, D.C., where universities will send teams to compete once again at a second conference in the spring semester.

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