What is Model UN?

By Cindy Torres (’25), Student Contributor

This was my second year attending the Model United Nations (Model UN) conference in Murfreesboro, and it has been one of the best things that has happened to me! It is one of my favorite experiences here at SAA, I would like to tell you about it.

When I first heard about Model UN, I thought it sounded interesting and signed up with no clue of what all it involved. I found a friend who shared similar interests and convinced her to sign up for our first conference as a team. Little did we know just what we were signing up for.

For starters, Model UN is various students from different schools all over Tennessee coming together to learn about United Nations jobs. As a student, you represent a country and present a resolution to an issue you'd like to solve. You then argue and defend your resolution to other teams in order to get it passed in committee. I have witnessed a variety of arguments, ranging from “why rock and roll music leads to drugs” to seeing a guy eat lettuce as an example of why pesticides are bad.

The top 30 resolutions get to an assigned color General Assembly. After that, the top bills from each color General Assembly get presented in front of everyone in the conference. Then a couple more bills get presented that were created by other roles.

The process of preparing for the conference is different for everyone. Depending on your role, you may have to do more or less preparation than others. Delegates must research and be prepared to defend their resolution while representing their country. If their resolution is good, it will pass each round until it reaches the final round.

“Press” does most of their work at the conference, taking pictures and keeping everyone up to date on the social media page. There are so many more positions, such as ICJ, Secretariat, Security Council, and Lawyer. They all do different jobs to make this conference run smoothly.

What's my favorite part of the conference? I truly enjoy the experience of being there and meeting new people. I also like researching and defending my position on specific issues. You get to network with other students from around Tennessee. I have even met some of my closest friends from other schools through this program.

Whether it's your first or sixth conference, you'll always be welcomed by all. Everyone is supportive and remembers their first experience. No one judges you if you slip up and your opinions are always respected. The atmosphere that surrounds the conferences is nothing but good energy! I would encourage students who think they might be interested to sign up for Model UN!