July 2017
7 Baylor University students participated in the Vienna International Model United Nations Conference (ViMUN), which was held at the Vienna International Centre United Nations Headquarters.
Baylor University students received the top award of "Outstanding Delegate" in 3 of the 5 committees simulated at the conference:
In addition, three other Baylor students were named "Honorable Mention" in their committees, the second highest award. These students are: UNODC-CCPJ: Bailey Craig representing Guatemala (Junior, Psychology and Spanish) Human Rights Council :
While at the conference, the students also had the privilege to meet with representatives of the United States Mission to the UN in Vienna. The US-UN Mission interviewed our students and posted clips on their social media. This was the first conference that Baylor Model UN has attended outside the United States, and the team is very grateful to the College of Arts & Sciences and the Department of Political Science for the financial support that made this trip possible.
(Left to right): Bailey Craig, Grecia Sarda, Ben Hunt, David Deulofeu, Luis Torres, Sahir Amlani, Matt Walker
November 2017
15 Baylor undergraduates traveled to Chicago, IL to participate in the 28th annual American Model United Nations Conference (www.amun.org) held on November 18-21. Leading up to the conference, the students spent three months researching as well as honing their technical writing, public speaking, and negotiation skills to prepare for their role representing Belgium in nine different contemporary and historical committees. At the meeting, Baylor students worked alongside more than 1,500 delegates representing more than 150 Member States in simulated committee sessions. In these committees students took on the role of diplomats, striving to reach broad consensus on solutions to contemporary international problems including:
“A world against violence and violent extremism” (General Assembly Plenary)
“Women, disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control” (General Assembly First Committee)
“Sustainable development – disaster risk reduction” (General Assembly Second Committee)
“Improving the coordination of efforts against trafficking in persons” (General Assembly Third Committee)
“Bridging digital divides” (World Summit on the Information Society +10)
“Assistance and protection against chemical weapons” (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons).
In addition to work on these contemporary topics, Baylor students also participated in select historical and special committees, exploring themes including:
United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (Commission of Inquiry of 1948)
The situations in Palestine, Egypt, Algeria, and China (Historical Security Council of 1956)
“Maritime Delimination in the Indian Ocean” (Somalia v. Republic of Kenya, International Court of Justice).
While the primary purpose of these conferences is educational, and the tone is intended to be collaborative rather than competitive, it is customary for conferences to confer “Outstanding Delegation” awards on individuals and teams in recognition of excellence in preparation and work at conference. At the American Model United Nations Conference, this recognition is made based upon peer voting. In four of the seven committees in which Baylor students participated where individual recognition was given, students were named Outstanding Delegations by their peers. The students receiving individual recognition at the conference were:
Codi Nguyen (Sophomore, Political Science) and Youshay Rizvi (Senior, International Studies) for their work in General Assembly Plenary
Joseph De Mond (Senior, Political Science) and Sam Howell (Junior, Medical Humanities) for their work in General Assembly First
Luis Torres (Junior, Neuroscience) and Matthew Walker (Junior, University Scholar) for their work in Historical Security Council 1958
Cat Haseman (Junior, University Scholar) for her work in OPCW
In addition to this individual peer recognition, Baylor’s two student leaders participated in select committees, in which individual awards were not conferred. Rather, the committees chose to honor the work of the entire body in keeping with the educational mission of the simulation. Those students working in the select committees were:
Sahir Amlani, Assistant Head Delegate (Senior, Political Science & History) – International Court of Justice
Bailey Craig, Head Delegate (Junior, Psychology & Spanish) – Commission on Inquiry of 1948
While we celebrate awards and are honored when our students’ hard work is recognized by the peers and staff of the conferences we attend, the educational value of these simulations is the foremost reward and benefit of Model United Nations. Grace Bregard, senior Political Science Major, who represented Baylor in WSIS +10, wrote, “The AMUN Chicago Conference was such a great experience for me because it made everything I’ve been studying in undergrad and put it into real world application. Researching an interesting topic in depth and looking into how other nations would solve a common issue was fascinating, and collaborating with others at conference was a great way to learn about how the UN actually functions as a body.”
The Baylor Model United Nations program wouldn’t be successful without the support of the Political Science Department and the College of Arts and Sciences.
Front row (left to right): Jared DeVries (Senior, Political Science); Codi Nguyen (Sophomore, Political Science); Matthew Walker (Junior, University Scholar); Cat Haseman (Junior, University Scholar); Sam Howell (Junior, Medical Humanities); David Deulofeu (Senior, Political Science); Grace Bregard (Senior, Political Science); Carolina Gutierrez (Senior, International Studies); Dalilah Negrete (Senior, Political Science); Sahir Amlani, Assistant Head Delegate (Senior, Political Science & History); Back row (left to right): Joseph De Mond (Senior, Political Science); Bailey Craig, Head Delegate (Junior, Psychology & Spanish; Zane Zovak (Junior, International Studies); Luis Torres (Junior, Neuroscience); Youshay Rizvi (Senior, International Studies)
February 2018
Baylor MUN hosted the 4th Annual Texas Model United Nations Conference. The Osgood Center for International Studies facilitated the conference, which brought together approximately 100 students from around Texas and Mexico to discuss topics related to global peace and development. At the conference, Baylor University represented six Member States: Belgium, China, Iceland, Japan, Ukraine, and Viet Nam. The topics our students researched in advance and debated at the conference included:
At these conferences, delegates work together to formulate proposals that can be passed with a consensus vote; thus, the tone and spirit of Model UN conferences is one of collaboration rather than cutthroat competition. Conferences confer awards on individuals and teams in recognition of excellence in preparation and work at conference, and at TexMUN awards are based both on staff and peer voting.
Below we provide the entire list of conference award winners, highlighting Baylor students’ achievements. In addition, we are proud to recognize two Baylor alumni who served as chairs at the conference in GA 1 (Eric Vining ’16) and UNESCO (Kate Farley ’17) and Professor Charles North of the Economics Department, who gave the opening keynote address.
TexMUN 2018 Awards
Delegation Awards – Staff Awards
Outstanding
China — Baylor University
Japan — Baylor University
United Kingdom – UT Dallas
Distinguished
Philippines – UT Arlington
Russian Federation – Texas A & M
Ukraine – Baylor University
Viet Nam – Baylor University
Honorable Mention
Bolivia – New Tech, Laredo
Ethiopia – UT Matamoros
Germany – Texas A & M
Italy – New Tech, Odessa
United States of America – Lee College
Outstanding Delegate in Committee – Peer Awards
APEC
China – Baylor University
GA 1
Germany – Texas A & M
Security Council (tie)
China – Baylor University
Ukraine – Baylor University
UNESCO (tie)
Japan – Baylor University
United Kingdom – UT Dallas
Outstanding Position Papers – Staff Awards
APEC
Japan – Baylor University
Viet Nam – Baylor University
GA 1
Japan – Baylor University
United Kingdom – UT Dallas
Viet Nam – Baylor University
Security Council
China – Baylor University
Japan – Baylor University
Ukraine – Baylor University
UNESCO
China – Baylor University
Japan – Baylor University
United Kingdom – UT Dallas
March 2018
16 Baylor University undergraduates traveled to New York to attend the National Model United Nations Conference. Nearly 3,000 students from approximately 100 nations participated in the week-long conference, where students simulate the work of a diplomat in the United Nations. This was the second week-long simulation facilitated by the National Model United Nations organization in New York, which hosts four collegiate conferences each year, two in New York, one in Washington, D.C., and one outside of the U.S. At NMUN-NY (Week B) Baylor’s team represented Iceland in 8 committee, serving as delegates in simulated sessions of the United Nations General Assembly Committees (GA), the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA), the Commission for Social Development (CSocD), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
At the 2018 conference, Baylor MUN broke a team record for the most awards received in the 10 years we have attended this conference. The team was named an “Outstanding Delegation” by the conference staff; this is the highest team award given at the conference. In addition, Baylor University students were named Outstanding Delegation in Committee by their peers in 5 of the 8 committees in which they participated; this is the highest individual award and marks the most individual awards the team has ever received at a national conference. Two of the delegations also received Outstanding Position Paper Awards for the researched policy memo they submitted approximately one month in advance of the conference. Those students who received individual recognition in committee or for their research on the position paper are listed below along with a full team roster. We are also proud of our fellow Big 12 schools for their accomplishments at the conference. West Virginia University was named a Distinguished Delegation for their representation of Japan and Malawi, and Texas Christian University (Iran) and Texas Tech (Thailand) were both named Honorable Mention Delegations.
While the team is delighted to have received recognition from both the conference staff as well as their peer delegates, the educational experience is the true reward of any experiential learning conference. It is also important to note that the environment at MUN conferences is, above all, collaborative, rewarding delegates who cooperate in the interest of writing resolutions that can be adopted “by acclamation,” with the unanimous support of the body. Zane Zovak (Junior, International Studies; co-Outstanding Delegate in OPCW) captures the spirit of the event well, noting: “The universal applause and congratulations that follow passed resolutions personifies the collaborative spirit of NMUN and serve as a symbol of how individuals from a multitude of backgrounds can work together to achieve change in the world.” Codi Nguyen (Junior, Political Science; co-Outstanding Delegate in GA 3) adds,
Baylor’s Model UN Team is grateful for the support that the faculty and administration provide to the team and for the financial support provided by the Department of Political Science and College of Arts and Sciences, in particular. In November 2018 the team travels to Chicago, representing South Africa at the American Model United Nations.
Outstanding Delegations in Committee
GA 1st: Ben Hunt (Sophomore, University Scholars) & Clay Parham (Junior, International Studies)
GA 3rd Codi Nguyen (Junior, Political Science) & Grecia Sarda (Senior, Political Science)
CSocD: Kim Andrade (Senior, Political Science) & Dalilah Negrete (Senior, Political Science)
IOM : Bailey Craig, Head Delegate (Junior, Psychology & Spanish) & Sam Howell (Junior, Medical Humanities)
OPCW: Sahir Amlani, Assistant Head Delegate (Senior, Political Science & History) & Zane Zovak (Junior, International Studies)
Outstanding Position Paper Awards
GA 1st: Ben Hunt (Sophomore, University Scholars) & Clay Parham (Junior, International Studies)In addition to the students who represented Baylor at conference, other team members in the class and club also provided assistance on the paper for GA 1:
In addition to the students who represented Baylor at conference, other team members in the class and club provided assistance on the paper for CSocD:
Outstanding Delegation