by Megan Haymond

On Friday, November 15, Bellbrook High School Model United Nations members competed in their fall conference at the University of Dayton. There were nine possible committees students were placed in with their assigned countries. Betty Hociota, Elizabeth Odunsi, and Anna Starkey all received awards for their position papers.

Model United Nations is a club that promotes public speaking skills while giving students a taste of how the real United Nations works. Members of the club are highly passionate about debating public policy. The University of Dayton’s Model United Nations team hosts the conference acting as the chairmen assuring decorum is held and procedural rules are followed. The Model United Nations team typically attends two conferences a year: one at the University of Dayton and the other at Miami University. The University of Dayton conference is a little larger and only lasts a day, forcing delegates to be efficient in passing resolutions.

This year the committees focused on children. It was also interesting this year in the security council because participants were able to discuss recent world news with the struggles in Syria. The committees were as follows: 

General Assembly 1: Addressing the Impact of Small Arms and Light Weapons on Child Security

General Assembly 2: Effects of Climate Change on Indigenous Peoples of Central Africa

Security Council 1: Syrian Relief Effort with special regard for children and marginalized people

Security Council 2: Achieving Peace and Stability in Somalia

Historic Security Council: Rwanda 1994

ECOSOC: Addressing Gender Equality in Relation to Poverty Reduction

UN Development Programme: Access to Sustainable and Renewable Energy for the Poor

UN Human Settlements Programme: Increasing sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation methods

UNICEF: Promoting Human Rights to Eradicate Child Labor