Baylor Model UN Team Honored with “Outstanding” Ranks at TexMUN Conference

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WACO, Texas (Feb. 14, 2018) – Baylor University’s Model United Nations was honored at the fourth annual Texas Collegiate Model United Nations (TexMUN) held at Baylor University. Approximately 100 students from across Texas gathered to discuss topics related to global peace and development, and Baylor MUN students received the rank of “Outstanding” – the highest award given – in nearly every category.

“The TexMUN conference was a great experience because we were able to work with other students from across Texas and practice diplomacy with those I didn't necessarily agree with all the time,” said Sahir Amlani, Baylor MUN’s assistant head delegate. “Having to work in a collaborative way with different people is great training for any career after Baylor.”

During the conference, facilitated by the Osgood Center for International Studies, Baylor University represented six member-states: Belgium, China, Iceland, Japan, Ukraine and Vietnam. Student delegates worked together to formulate proposals to be passed with a consensus vote. TexMUN awards are based both on staff and peer voting and are given to both individuals and teams in recognition of excellence in preparation and work.

“In Model UN conferences, delegates strive for consensus,” said Rebecca McCumbers Flavin, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the department of political science and faculty advisor of Baylor Model United Nations. “This means that in order to be successful at the conference, you must cooperate with others, strive for common ground and be open to compromise. These conferences remind us that politics doesn’t have to be acrimonious, polarized or characterized by brinksmanship.”

The event also features a variety of speakers, including several from Baylor University. Charles North, Ph.D., associate director of Baylor Business Fellows and department chair in economics, was an opening speaker at the ceremony.

Eric Vining, B.A. ’16, legislative director to State Rep. Mike Schofield, R–District 132 and former MUN member, served as the General Assembly First Committee Chair at the event, and Kaitlin Farley, B.A. ’17, current law student at University of Texas School of Law and former MUN member, served as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Chair.

“Model United Nations provides our students with a forum in which to apply research to finding solutions to some of the most pressing global crises,” Flavin said. “The problems that students explore in Model UN committees are inter-disciplinary. They’re wrestling with finding solutions to problems as diverse as preventing the spread of chemical and biological weapons to the rights of indigenous persons to mitigating the effects of famine and climate change.”

The Baylor University Model United Nations program originated in the early 1960s, when students participated in collegiate conferences around Texas. The team has traveled to national conferences every year since 1989 and has hosted an annual high school conference since 1994. Today, the Baylor Model UN team participates in at least three collegiate conferences each year – two national and one regional.

“Model UN affords our students with professional training that prepares them for their future careers,” Flavin said. “In addition to rigorous research completed in advance of conferences, they gain experience with participating in and conducting formal meetings, informal and formal networking, public speaking and technical writing.”

For more information about Baylor’s Model UN team, visit the Baylor University Model United Nations website.

by Brooke Battersby, student newswriter, (254) 710-6805

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY
Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked research institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 17,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 80 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions.

ABOUT BAYLOR COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES
The College of Arts & Sciences is Baylor University’s oldest and largest academic division, consisting of 25 academic departments and seven academic centers and institutes. The more than 5,000 courses taught in the College span topics from art and theatre to religion, philosophy, sociology and the natural sciences. Faculty conduct research around the world, and research on the undergraduate and graduate level is prevalent throughout all disciplines. Visit www.baylor.edu/artsandsciences.

ABOUT THE OSGOOD CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
The Osgood Center is a non-profit educational organization that offers short-term foreign policy programs and experiential learning to graduate, college and high school students from around the globe. Osgood Center programs are thought-provoking, experiential, and solution focused. Students come face-to-face with foreign policy and international leaders, including experts from the U.S. State Department, U.S. Defense Department, National Security Council at the White House, U.S. Congress and premier think tanks.