Howard Payne University’s Model United Nations (MUN) team competed during the fall semester at a conference at the University of Santa Barbara, California. The event served as a valuable experience for the team as it prepares for future competitions.

 MUN is a simulation in which students from various schools participate as delegates of assigned countries. They then advocate for their country’s perspective on an issue. The goal is for students to experience how countries with different viewpoints would attempt to reach peaceful solutions to international issues.

 “We’re proud of how the students adapted to changes and excited to see how they’ll use this experience at the spring conference in Amsterdam,” shared Dr. David Claborn, team coach and professor of government at HPU. “Top-ten MUN teams in the country congratulated us for being tough competition and great representatives of our countries. In MUN it’s the quality that counts, not just the size of the program or school.”

 Members of the HPU team are freshman Joshua Daugeault of Monohans; junior Michael Eckert of Temple; junior Alec Hughes of Brownwood; junior Hannah Parnell of Idalou; senior Madison Tuck of Edgewood, New Mexico; and junior Sadie Willie of Florence.

 First-time competitors Eckert and Daugeault were assigned Canada in the mock UN committee on space, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs. They were quick to select two questions for the committee to address – a coordination of refuse in space, as well as tempering the militarization of space. There were approximately 30 other delegates in that committee.

 “It was great to see Michael address the whole committee several times and to make several unexpected adaptations,” added Dr. Claborn. “He and Joshua had their fingerprints all over the final resolution.”

 Parnell was assigned the Netherlands in the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee, addressing the civil war in Yemen. Despite the conference being her first, she played a significant role in the resolution that her committee passed.

 Veteran team member Hughes chose to be on a light-hearted committee modeling the resolution to a conflict based on “Star Wars.”

 Willie, also a veteran member of the team, landed on the highest-ranked committee with MUN competitors who had previously chaired and hosted MUN conferences. 

 “When I saw her speak, she had the clearest points and ideas of a very high-caliber room,” said Dr. Claborn.

 Tuck, the senior member of the team, was given the role of head delegate conferee, staffing all the delegates in committee and advocating for their suggested changes in a Head Delegate Committee each night.

 The team’s next competition is scheduled for April 19-21 in Amsterdam, Holland.