Honors College Model UN Team Wins Three Outstanding Paper Position Awards
Washington State University represented New Zealand at the 2014 National Model United Nations Program in New York City March 30-April 3.
A team of 11 Honors College students acted on behalf of New Zealand at the conference. They were responsible for writing position papers and debating topics of national and international importance in a real-world context.
“A lot of people dismiss the study of the United Nations as being purely politics,” says Bill Smith, who has led the team of WSU students for more than 10 years. “But the UN, because of its scope and scale, addresses almost any topic, and not just those in today’s world but also history, culture, science, agriculture, technology, business … almost any field you can think of is part of negotiations at the UN.”
And the WSU team, with students in nine different academic fields, was prepared to answer a variety of questions.
Of the six position papers the WSU team submitted, three were selected for top honors as Outstanding Position Papers.
Only the top 10 percent of all papers submitted are selected for the award, Smith says. He says that 50 percent is the highest percentage of papers WSU has ever had win.
Position papers are national stances that countries take on a variety of international issues, Smith says. In this case, WSU students had to work from the perspective of New Zealand to address General Assembly Committee, General Assembly Fourth Committee, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
About 3,000 students from nearly 200 schools participated in the 2014 conference, Smith says.
The WSU students come from a variety of educations backgrounds, which helps them answer more questions with a greater degree of accuracy, Smith says.
“Virtually all of the other students (from other schools) were studying international politics, political science or social sciences,” he says.
And not all of the WSU student plan to pursue politics or social sciences, but the trip is still a boon to their fields.
For Meredith Heinzmann, a senior majoring in music education, the experience aided her writing and research abilities, and says it will prepare her to be a better teacher.
Heinzmann was on the UN General Assembly Committee, and worked with her team to research and produce position papers.
Heinzmann says the ability to research and write effectively helped her succeed at the simulation.
“The trip — and the preparation leading up to it — has helped me to understand the UN system better,” she says. “Being informed about how the world works and about disciplines other than my own helps me to be more well-rounded, as a student and as a teacher. This will equip me to be a better teacher and better resource to my students in the future.”
That’s the goal, Smith says.
“The Honors College gives all of its majors interdisciplinary training through classes, but there’s not necessarily training in the field in interdisciplinary studies,” he says. “Past participants in the Model UN program have indicated how important the experience was when they were further in their training, either in graduate school or in their profession. They’re expected to learn how their field connects to other disciplines, and they already know because of this program.”
Smith’s program begins with Honors 370, “The UN and Global Diplomacy,” which he teaches in the fall semester. Interested students — mostly juniors and seniors — can continue into the spring semester, meeting with Smith and their classmates on Sunday nights at Smith’s home.
“This was a really fun group,” Smith says. “We connected and we had very interesting sessions.”
The students had assignments between meetings, and had to submit their position papers by the end of February.
Then, it was off to New York, where they met with representatives from New Zealand and took the floor as representatives for New Zealand in the actual simulation, which involved attending committee meetings, networking with other delegates, helping to write draft papers, garnering support for working papers, speaking in front of the committee, and voting on draft resolutions, Heinzmann says.
“The whole thing can be very daunting,” she says. “All of the preparation before the conference seems like a lot of work and the conference itself can be intimidating. But the experience was most definitely worth it, both for the participation in the simulation … and for the personal benefits of getting to visit New York.
“If you can make it work and you’re interested in going, then go. It was an unforgettable trip.”
It’s an experience the students will always remember, Smith says.
“It’s an up close and personal look at how diplomats engage with each other. It’s an effort to understand the promises and frustrations of international diplomacy,” he says.
The trip is also an opportunity for Honors College students to get outside the Palouse.
“We had time to explore New York, which was fantastic,” Henizmann says. She also says she enjoyed the opportunity to see ‘Wicked’ on Broadway. “The experience was exhausting, but definitely worth it.”
It’s an investment by the Honors College than enables the group to travel.
“This is only possible through the support of the donors to the Honors program,” Smith says. There is a cost-share between the Honors College and students, and the aid means they can all travel. “It’s a pretty reasonable cost for most students, but we couldn’t do it without the donors.”
MEDIA CONTACT: Amelia Veneziano, Communications Assistant, Honors College at WSU, 509-335-8070, aj.veneziano@gmail.com
Bill Smith, Director, Martin Institute, University of Idaho, bills@uidaho.edu
Linda Howell, Academic Coordinator, WSU Honors College, 509-335-7801, linda.howell@wsu.edu