A look into Samo’s award-winning Model UN
On Nov. 11 and 12, Samo’s Model United Nations club attended a conference at UCLA. With over 2,000 other delegates, Samo emerged with six awards. Club members are looking forward to upcoming conferences, including one in Surf City on Feb. 2 to 3 and one in Marymount on March 3.
At the Bruin conference, Model UN was happy to have many successes. Kara Best (’24) and Ryan Behzadi (’24) won Outstanding Delegate on UN Women representing Ecuador. Lara Paghubasan (’27) and Franklin Thomas (’27) were given a research award from the UN Development Programme representing India. Finally, Aurora Ahloo (’25) and Jane Robinson (’25) won Best Delegate at the World Health Organization representing Cambodia.
Conferences usually begin with an opening ceremony, then participants go to their respective committees. These are groups focusing on subjects such as Technology Issues and Regional Bodies. The chair will open for beginning speeches and students who want to will give one. After opening speeches, there is a moderated caucus, which covers specific topics within broader realms. Following that, an unmoderated caucus starts, allowing delegates to converse with peers and discuss the issues they’ve researched. Finally, there is a break, closing ceremony and awards. Vice President Sienna Shah (’24) gives insight into the processes of Model UN.
“In Model UN you get to pretend to be a country and speak on a myriad of issues as if you were a delegate of that country," Shah said. "It's about getting the message out there and raising awareness about problems: that's what we're trying to replicate with Model UN, and that's why I joined.”
Model UN has been around for a long time, but only truly started to flourish in recent years. Shah also mentioned that during COVID, Model UN struggled to fundraise and attend conferences. However, after Bibiana Peterson (’24) became president of the club and Samo History Teacher Heather Knight became the advisor, they changed the game. Model UN has a couple of upcoming conferences in months to come, including a Surf City and USC one. Peterson shares her feelings on being the club’s leader.
“I love it because I’ve gotten to spend time with some of the most funny and intelligent people on this campus," Peterson said. "It’s definitely fulfilling because we’re a group of people all working towards a common goal. To see all of them be so successful makes me really happy."
@model_un_samohi on Instagram / Contributor
From left to right: Kara Best (’24), Sienna Shah (s’24), Franklin Thomas (’24), Lara Paghubasan (’27), Bibiana Peterson (’24), Jane Robinson (’25), Aurora Ahloo (’25) and Ryan Behzadi (’24) at the Nov. 11 Bruin Model UN conference.