Vol. 18, No. 31	May 13, 1999

Students recognized for roles as U.N. delegates

Each year, almost 3,000 college students from four continents travel to Manhattan to become delegates to the United Nations for a week. This year, the University of Delaware's 10-student delegation received honorable mention for its representation of the Republic of Bolivia, placing the University in the top 11 percent of all participating schools.

The National Model United Nations (NMUN) is the largest and one of the oldest college-level model U.N. conferences in the country. The University has participated for more than 20 years.

As model U.N. delegates, political science and international relations students assume the policies of a specific country and represent that country on U.N. committees throughout a simulation of a United Nations session held at the U.N.

In order to attend a model U.N. session, UD students must enroll in POSC 365 where they learn how the model U.N. works and U.N. General Assembly procedures. They also research their adopted nation's policies and hone their debating skills. During the week while attending committee meetings, students work together to make decisions about how the U.N. should handle issues that will be discussed and vote on during the General Assembly session.

Awards are based on the position papers the students write during their class and their participation in committees, knowledge of the rules of debate and how well they remain in character. In order to receive honors for participation, students must excel in each category.

University of Delaware students honored for their participation in the 1999 NMUN include Kristopher A. Boone, Thomas R. Dodd, Andrea L. Edwards, Amanda N. Murphy, Andrew Zachary Naylor, Michael B. Pell, Sucheta Sachdev, Joshua M. Templet, Benjamin Ryan Ventresca and Alison E. Whelan.

The program is sponsored by the Department of Political Science and International Relations and is coordinated by James K. Oliver, Unidel Professor of Political Science and International Relations. Graduate student R. Hayden Hurst taught the course and accompanied the 10 students to New York.

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