1:02 p.m., Dec. 15, 2009----The University of Delaware's Model United Nations Club is quickly distinguishing itself at conferences held at various university campuses.

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Formed in 2007 by Luke Warford, who is the president of the Model United Nations at the University of Delaware (MUNUD), Carys Golesworthy and Keith Feinberg, among others, the club has now grown to include more than 40 members and has received several awards at the Model United Nations conferences they have attended.

Warford is a junior Honors Program student majoring in international relation, Golesworth is a junior Honors Program student majoring in economics and international relations and Feinberg is a junior Honors Program student majoring in history and political science.

Last month, at the University of Pennsylvania Model United Nations Conference, the club sent a delegation of 26 students, the largest they had ever sent to a conference.

Many of the club's members were recognized with awards at the conference, including Max Kramer, a freshman Honors Program student majoring in political science.

Kramer won the Outstanding Delegate Award, the second highest award in his committee, for his part in a crisis committee that focused on Somalia. Kramer beat out delegates from universities such as Yale, Cornell and the University of California Berkeley.

Also recognized at the conference were Warford; senior Emily Manz, an Honors Program student majoring in economics and political science; and freshman Victoria Woodward, in University Studies, who all received verbal commendations at the closing ceremonies for their performances at the conference.

Says Warford, “Our organization's main goal is to provide a forum for the debate of international issues, both on campus and when we represent UD at Model UN competitions at other universities. During our weekly meetings, we either discuss relevant and current international issues or prepare for upcoming conferences. We also plan to have a Model UN conference on campus for local area high school students sometime in the future.”

Warford says that all top level universities have Model United Nations programs and that by going to conferences with teams from institutions such as Yale and Harvard, UD will raise its profile, which he believes “fits directly into President Harker's Path to Prominence.”

Gretchen Bauer, professor and chairperson of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, said the Model UN “is a terrific learning experience for our students at all levels -- in terms of understanding how the United Nations works, how countries are represented at and contribute to the UN, and in terms of oral and written communication and negotiation skills.”

The Model United Nations organization at the University of Delaware has already attended the 2008 and 2009 Harvard Model United Nations conferences, as well as the 2008 and 2009 conferences at UPenn.

In 2010, Warford said they plan to attend the Harvard conference and the Five Colleges conference in New England.

MUNUD meets every other Tuesday night at 8 p.m., usually in Room 320 of Gore Hall.

Article by Adam Thomas