Baylor Team Excels at MOAS Conference

Continuing its tradition of excellence, the Baylor University Model Organization of American States (MOAS) team enjoyed success at the recent Washington Model Organization of American States conference held April 8-12 at the Organization of American States (OAS) headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The general assembly elected Baylor's co-head delegate Seth Reed, a junior political science major from Cassville, Mo., as president for 2009. This marks the fourth time in eight years that a Baylor student has been elected president of the model.

At this model, Cassidy Ford, a junior University Scholar from Phoenix, chaired the third committee, which focused on summits, civil society and the Inter-American Council for Integral Development. Manny Muñoz, a junior neuroscience major from San Antonio, chaired the fourth committee on administrative and budgetary affairs. Joshua Hyles, a senior archeology and history major from Corsicana, coordinated and introduced the joint declaration that faculty coordinators selected for debate in the Hall of the Americas. Hyles's committee also elected him chair of the fourth committee for next year.

Other team members included: Megan McNerney, a junior international studies major from Troy, Ohio, and co-head delegate; Renee Sanchez, a sophomore Spanish major from Brownsville; Krystal Dau, a junior international studies major from Las Vegas; Tezita Getachew, a senior international studies major from Dallas; and J.C. Cortez, a senior international studies major from Mount Pleasant.

Eva Silkwood, a graduate student in international relations from The Woodlands, served as graduate assistant to the team's director, Dr. Joan E. Supplee, associate professor of history at Baylor.

Universities participating in the model included 19 U.S. schools and 10 foreign universities from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico and the Bahamas. Baylor students represented the country of Guatemala and met with Guatemalan Chargé d'Affaires Otto Pérez and his staff.

OAS Secretary General José Miguel Insulza addressed the inaugural session of the meeting in the Hall of the Americas. His speech emphasized work done by the OAS in strengthening democracy and preserving peace in the Americas and also highlighted the role foreign ministers played in working toward a diplomatic solution in the recent Ecuador-Colombia dispute. Ambassador Héctor Morales, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the OAS, gave the closing speech in which he explained the OAS role in hemispheric development.

The purpose of the MOAS is to strengthen and accelerate the diffusion of knowledge about the OAS and its functions among the public. It has drawn student participation from a wide array of North American, Central American and South American universities. By participating in MOAS, students develop international public policies on issues affecting the Americas and apply theories learned in the classroom. They learn parliamentary procedures for debate, caucusing, how to function in working groups of countries that share common interests and the operation of the committees that report to the General Assembly. They also learn how the Organization of American States (OAS) operates and the key economic, social, educational, political and security issues facing the Americas.

For more information, contact Supplee at Joan Supplee@baylor.edu or (254) 710-6294.