Model United Nations (MUN) delegates from GU, under the guidance of Dr. Stacy Taninchev, a sixth year Assistant Professor in the Political Science Department and MUN Faculty Advisor, made great strides in February’s MUN Conference in Portland, Oregon.
MUN is an academic organization in the Politial Science Department and also a course taught in the spring. This year the organization welcomed 13 new members, making for 18 total delegates in GU’s MUN.
In the fall, the application process for Portland’s conference began. As Taninchev explains, the students wrote an essay on an international relations topic along with a leader of intent. Interviews with applicants were held, and delegates were selected as representatives of assigned UN countries.
Although all selected delegates are required to attend the conference in New York, this year, all delegates were given the option of also participating in the Northwest MUN conference in Portland. All 18 of the delegates chose to go, and for 12 of the students, it was their first time attending a conference.
Before embarking on their trip, each student was assigned to a committee and researched two to three topics that could be addressed at the conference. The delegates also prepared a paper presenting their assigned country’s position on their topics, preceded by tremendous amounts of research.
In the fast-paced and professional environment of the conference, Taninchev was very impressed with the GU delegates. Although the conference can be overwhelming, Taninchev says, the students engaged in discussion with other university delegates about global issues.
Rachel Gantz and Amy Jamsa, both seniors, also impressed Taninchev with their performance and knowledge about Israel after being asked to come before the Security Council and respond to questions regarding the situation in Israel and Palestine.
Eleanor Lyon, Head Delegate and Russia’s representative, earned an award for Outstanding Delegate in the General Assembly due to her leadership skills.
Although the awards validate the students’ hard work, Taninchev says, “Our goal is to represent our country in the most accurate way possible to the best of our ability and to work in a diplomatic and cooperative spirit to solve global issues.”
She appreciated the hard work and commitment shown by all of the delegates including the main student leader and Secretary General, Sophia Henager, a senior.
Henager says MUN teaches students how to work as a team and how to be truly diplomatic.
She says, “There is a fine line between accomplishments and assertiveness, and acceptance and diplomacy. [MUN] teaches students strong speaking skills; they have to be able to speak about policy issues in front of a large conference room. MUN also teaches them research skills.”
After writing a position paper, participating in UN committee simulations, practicing negotiations, and finally puttng their skill to the test, Gonzaga’s MUN earned third place in Portland’s conference and the Honorable Mention Award.