IUS Times

Students stay local while gaining global experience

IU Southeast again sponsors the Model United Nations Security Council Conference for area high school students.

International savvy--culturally, socially, and politically--has never been more important for tomorrow's leaders. Cliff Staten, dean of the School of Social Sciences, knows this. That's why he feels so strongly about bringing international understanding to high school students through a unique program known as the Model United Nations Security Council.

The Model United Nations (Model U.N.) program is not new. Nationally, it has existed for more than 50 years. But on the local level, the Model U.N. was first introduced in 1990, largely through the efforts of Staten. It has been hosted at IU Southeast every year since then. The most recent Model U.N. was held at IU Southeast last November 17 and 18. Approximately 200 high school students participated.

The purpose of the Model U.N. is multi-faceted. The Model U.N. seeks to teach its participants history, politics, foreign policy, parliamentary procedure, and diplomacy while also challenging them to polish their skills in public speaking and writing.

Here's how it works; at the beginning of the program, students are appointed as delegates to represent a country. Each country in the Model U.N. has two delegates. The delegates must become knowledgeable about certain international issues and prepare to represent their country at the Model U.N. conference.

During the actual conference, delegates are expected to clearly present their position on an issue and be prepared to debate the issue, if necessary. Ultimately, the student-delegates hope to pass resolutions that are in tandem with the political and security interests of their country.

The issues for the November 2005 Model U.N. program were, appropriately, politically volatile, creating excellent opportunities for lively debate among the delegates. Some of the issues discussed were:

Nuclear weapons and Iran
Issues concerning the future state of Palestine in the wake of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza
African issues: crisis in Sudan's Darfur Region, civil war in the Cote d'Ivoire, and border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea

"Our goal is to create lifelong learners," said Staten. "The Model U.N. is a perfect teaching tool because after the students have gained new knowledge, they must apply what they've learned almost immediately.

"It's one thing to pass a written test, but the Model U.N. challenges students to think on their feet," Staten explains.

Area high schools participating in the 2005 event included Arsenal Technical High School, Crawford County High School, Crawfordsville High School, Crothersville High School, Floyd Central High School, Jeffersonville High School, Scottsburg High School, Shawe Memorial High School, and Silver Creek High School.

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