One of Prairie Ridge’s newest clubs, Model UN, sponsored by Mrs. Hronick and Mr. Padjen, is starting the school year with six board members excited to get the club started. Open to all grades, skill level and knowledge, PR students are encouraged to come to meetings and learn more about the club!
What is Model UN?
“Model UN is an extracurricular where students simulate United Nations meetings by role-playing as delegates from different countries and discuss, persuade, and negotiate solutions to real-world global problems” says PR senior and club President Mia Rugala.
A delegate is someone who represents a group of people in a political assembly and votes on the behalf of whom they represent.
Model UN came to PR from Mia and Ava’s interest in the club. They both said they are very passionate about politics and government so this club was a no brainer to bring to PR. “I see it as a great way to develop the skills and knowledge that will help me pursue my goals” says Mia.
Board members work together to plan/promote meetings and work on fundraising for the club as well. The board consists of President Mia Rugala, Vice Presidents Ava Baker and Matthew Schenher, Communications Director Kylie Finefield, Forms Director Kiley Harmke and Commerce Member Emily Zawartha.
Matthew Schenher, Vice-President and current senior, said “Model UN is simulated politics and government. It is meant to show students how our government works and how they can work within it.”
What does the club do?
The students act as delegates and within the club, students branch off into groups and are given a country to represent to learn about how competitions will be run. At competitions, each school is given a different country.
“[Students] debate and negotiate to find solutions to global issues” expressed Vice-President and current senior Ava Baker.
As a club, simulations will run throughout the year to prepare students for competitions. Simulations are run after school or on weekends to accommodate students’ schedules. These simulations are optional but recommended to understand how real tournaments will feel.
Within the simulations, students are put into small groups and given a country and an overall topic. All students research the topic in respect to their country for an allotted amount of time and then pick questions to answer. They present their information and explain why their country’s perspective and actions are right. As time goes on students work together to try and come to an agreement and pass a “law.” Whichever “law” gets the most signatures at the end of the simulation wins.
These simulations are preparing students for small tournaments held throughout the winter. “We will both compete and cooperate with other schools to create policy that addresses these issues” says club sponsor, Mrs. Hronick.
These small tournaments are leading up to an annual conference in Chicago that is called the Model United Nations of the University of Chicago, MUNUC. “I am looking forward to MUNUC which is one of the most prestigious high school Model UN conferences in the country” says Mia.
Why join?
Overall the club is a great way to create connections while learning how the government works in low stake competitions. Debating and learning go hand in hand within this club and it also looks great on college applications. Come to a meeting, the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month in room s306 at 7:00 AM, or email Mrs. Hronick (ehronick @ d155.org) or Mia Rugala (mia.rugala26 @ d155.org) for more information!
