GPCS Students at Model U.N. Conference 12th Year

Ten GPCS students participated in the Maine Model United Nations Conference (MeMUNC) held this May on the University of Southern Maine Gorham Campus. Approximately 600 middle and high school students from 31 public and private schools around Maine, Vermont and New York participated in the 3-day conference. GPCS has been attending MeMUNC for 12 years and represented Costa Rica, Ecuador, Liechtenstein and Yugoslavia at this year’s conference.

Representing Costa Rica were Josh Murray (sophomore), Gabe Cutter (7^th grade), Alex Bolland (7^th grade) and Jesse Hendrickson (8^th grade). Representing Ecuador were Cathy Meijas (6^th grade), Christian Viekman (7^th grade), Kaden Patterson (7^th grade) and Seth Mishkin (6^th grade).  Representing Liechtenstein was Caleb Murray (7^th grade) and representing Yugoslavia (1948) was Issac Steward (8^th grade).

Model United Nations is an academic competition where students role-play as diplomats operating in a simulated international organization. Student delegates prepare by researching a country and developing an understanding of what that country’s policy would be on one or more international topics. At the competition delegates are judged on their ability to stay in character, resolve conflicts, negotiate and write resolutions, speak publicly and exhibit knowledge of procedures.

During their committee sessions student delegates debated and negotiated current issues from the agendas of various international organizations. Students in a simulation of the United Nations General Assembly considered how to deal with the Managing Earth’s Waste and the Kurdish Self-Determination, while the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) debated resolutions concerning Sustainable Seafood.  The Organization of American States considered what to do about Disaster Preparedness and Relief and Offshore Tax Havens and a historical 1948 meeting of the United Nations General Assembly tried to deal with the Independence of Korea and the Drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.