SEOMUN – The Cold Debate

MUN stands for Model United Nations and is an extra-curricular activity where students play as different countries around the world as delegates to stimulate United Nation Conferences. In MUN, each student is assigned a country and they try to solve real-world issues from that country’s point of view. On November 9, AISG students in MUN, along with Mr. Parker and Mr. Bauer, will head to Seoul in South Korea to have a conference with many other schools. Ishita A., a ninth grader, says, “This is my first time and I’m quite nervous but also excited for experiencing how MUN will be.”

MUN 2016 was quite different for student Gabriel K., a sophomore. At his first conference, he barely spoke and was shaking with nervousness, but this time, he spoke with more confidence. He added, “I really look forward to the next meeting because it will be better as I gain confidence.” Mr. Parker, the coordinator of MUN, said, “This year, we have a mix of experienced and inexperienced delegates. The location was also much better.”

Freshman Emily A.’s favorite moment from the conference was when the delegates showed teamwork. She said, “[…] instead of arguing and debating, the delegates worked together and actually made something happen.” Mr. Parker said, “I enjoyed watching students speak and participate in different parts of the conference. Watching them grow and develop through the years and gain the confidence of public speaking is rewarding.”

Emily also liked what happened after the conference ended. She said, “[…] When all the delegates from my committee got together and started talking to each other like peers and friends, instead of formal delegates, it was great. It was refreshing to get to know them personally, as opposed to arguing with them without even knowing them, like we did in the conference.” Gabriel’s favorite moment from SEOMUN was on the last day of the trip when they played a game of superlatives. He said, “It was really informal. […] You got to choose a superlative for each person in the community. For example, the hottest delegate or most likely to be the future Trump.” “It was good to see the AISG alumni, and we got to meet Jiwon and Stella from the class of 2017,” commented Mr. Parker.

Emily added, “Although MUN does definitely help with my college transcripts, the reason I did MUN was because it gives me an experience that I would never have any other way. It also teaches me about issues that I might never stop to consider the importance of outside the conference, which expands my understanding of the world.” Gabriel said, “MUN adds on to the professionalism and I did not join to add it to my college transcript. I think it’s great to meet people from other schools, and I learn terms used in actual United Nation meetings, so it boosts my knowledge of the world and global diplomacy.”

All the students enjoyed SEOMUN 2017 thoroughly and are looking forward to the next meeting. Great job!