[dr3upmushroom]

Some colleges are involved in this thing where each school represents a country in a mock United Nations. I actually don't know too much about it but the impression I get is that each school spends a majority of the semester researching their country, and then they all meet somewhere and carry out mock UN meetings where they try to form alliances and get aid and whatever else countries use the UN for.

Here's the website for it if anyone is interested.

I've been chosen to be a member of my school's class next semester and I was wondering if anyone on GAF has ever been involved with it. I don't know much about it because it's primarily for students majoring in PoliSci or Government and stuff like that. I'm an Economics major, and there's relatively few spots available for us, and it seems like the program isn't discussed among students outside the PoliSci/ Gov departments.

[GK86]

[Lionel Mandrake]

The moon shall join your coalition.

[Gamer @ Heart]

Try to join the moon delegation.

Also, it looks good on applications.

EDIT: DAM YOU LIONEL

[dr3upmushroom]

The moon shall join your coalition.

Try to join the moon delegation. Also, it looks good on applications. EDIT: DAM YOU LIONEL

This is from Community, right? Nearly every person I've told I got accepted brought this up.

[buy teh haloz]

This is from Community, right? Nearly every person I've told I got accepted brought this up.

I think it's from Parks and Recreation.

[Loofy]

New a girl with 3 kids, from 3 different guys all of different races.

We called her the UN.

[JCX]

I did it once in high school. Was a lot of fun, especially if you're a politics/international relations nerd.

[TheWiicast]

I think it's from Parks and Recreation.

yup



Edit: ALSO



Double Edit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7fzUGR8ZH4

Wow, it's a popular subject.

[SouthernDragon]

I participated in a trial run for my school, helping out the neophytes.

It was intense. We practiced for a full weekend, 10 AM - 8 PM... and it was just a practice run for people trying out for the team.

If you take it seriously, it should be a great experience and an opportunity for growth. Or it can just be a long weekend away.

My school is one of the top in the country at Model UN; top 7 world, top 5 nationally if I'm not mistaken.

[apana]

For a second there I thought you were actually talking about mocking the UN, that's how sad our politics is these days.

[Quick]

Crisis alert!

[Zoc]

If you take it seriously, it should be a great experience and an opportunity for growth. Or it can just be a long weekend away.

Yeah, I did this once in Montreal, and nobody was serious about it. It really felt like a waste of time. Lots of smart people, but they really didn't care.

[windowlurker]

Crisis alert!

And there it is folks, more Community garbage to stink up threads.

[SouthernDragon]

Yeah, I did this once in Montreal, and nobody was serious about it. It really felt like a waste of time. Lots of smart people, but they really didn't care.

That sucks. From what I understand the big ones are in NYC and Boston.

I also hear that out of a hundred teams, maybe 10 take it seriously.

[Mudkips]

Order! Order! Do you kids wanna be like the real U.N., or do you just wanna squabble and waste time?

[Fantastical]

I remember there's a Mary Kate and Ashley movie where they do this (they represent America in some international competition) and some of the people get fake kinapped and then either Mary Kate or Ashley takes them back and they're all like AMURICA BITCHES. Oh also they fall in love with boys somewhere in there as well.

What a great movie. If mock UN is anything like that I say do it.

[CorvoSol]

We did this this semester in International Politics. I was Morocco. I mostly just said "We'll have to consult with the king." because, well, finding out what Morocco's position on the LRA is wasn't a very easy thing to do after a week's procrastination. I'd really been banking on us discussing another issue.

[BladeoftheImmortal]

We did it back in my old elementary school and first y ears of middle school. it was fun but no one ever listened to my input so i was always pissed.

[Brawndo Addict]

I remember doing this back in high school, wasn't really that engaging. I could see it being even more professional and boring at the university level, either because it is by the book or because of general apathy from students.

The only really fun moment came about because I was Iran and my friend was Israel. When he got up to do a speech I started pounding on my table yelling about how they had no right to exist, how this was a Jewish plot, same sort of nonsense Iran actually spouts off. I had cleared it with him and a teacher beforehand, but the reaction from everyone else was priceless. Some people were just like "What the f*** are you doing?!" He had a great comeback prepared too so it came off great all around.

[WAWAZA]

[ThoseDeafMutes]

No, I can write ineffectual letters, pass laws that nobody is going to enforce and judge people from the comfort of my home.

[Syph Medwes]

I participated in Vancouver Model United Nations (VMUN) last year. (I was in grade 12 at the time, not post-secondary) It was a cool experience, best part was probably the midnight crisis, where we were basically summoned at midnight with some huge problem to solve. No one was allowed to leave or go to sleep until a resolution was passed fixing the problem.

[tallkid123]

I'm from Australia and I've done a fair few of the national ones here.

On a more relevant note, I was at the HarvardMUN run last year in Singapore. Harvard run a big international MUN with a local university in that country, so National University of Singapore were the local partners last year. It's university-based admission only so you have to go as part of a college delegation, and not as an individual.

Can't say I liked it much though. It's quite competitive and the existence of awards really pushes for everyone to just talk so that they can be considered for the award and not necessarily whatever point they're trying to push across the floor. I also found the international delegations didnt necessarily mix that much (unless you intended to sleep around) and stuck to themselves.

MUNs need a bit of preparation though before you get in there. Otherwise you'd get bored. I started doing it in 2007 and while last year was my last time, I found more enjoyment being a director (leading discussion) than being a delegate.

[speculawyer]

Conservatives have been mocking the UN for decades. That doesn't seem helpful though.

[Llyranor]

Did it in high school. We were the US and annexed Canada when our demands weren't met.

(I'm Canadian)

[fastford58]

No, I can write ineffectual letters, pass laws that nobody is going to enforce and judge people from the comfort of my home.

Pretty much. The UN is already a huge mockery...so these school things are a mockery of a mockery.

[Silphonica]

Our school went as Iran and we opened our speech with nothing but every racist slur we could find, followed by "This is racist".

One of the dudes also smacked the mic with a sheet of paper as he was turning the page, covered under the podium, came up to announce "sorry about that, thought the americans were shooting at us again".

We were in high school, it was a piss-take.

[Cindres]

I never really get the idea of these at all, I mean is there a point when you "win" or do you just sorta see how it all works out?

Surely people can just do whatever the fuck they want? I mean if you want to "win" you would all just agree with each other and align so why would anyone playing serious try to fuck it up?

[Hellcrow]

My school went to THIMUN. Got drafted as Myanmar (Burma) under the human rights counsil. Fun times.

[Mr. Sam]

Yes. Once. I was Afghanistan. It was difficult.

[Gameboy415]

We did a Model U.N. at my High School back in the day.

Every pair of students had to represent a country and wear a costume on the day of the Model U.N. event.

My partner and I chose to represent Romania.

....and we dressed like Vampires. *facepalm*

[Scullibundo]

U.N meetings in Iron Sky were hilarious.

[dr3upmushroom]

We did it back in my old elementary school and first y ears of middle school. it was fun but no one ever listened to my input so i was always pissed.

I'm kind of worried about this being an Econ major, there will be one other person sharing my topic of research and if they turn out to be majoring in one of the subjects that the whole thing is more geared toward they might be dismissive. Like "Who are you to say what's best, you know nothing of politics!"

Hopefully that won't happen though. And I'm not worried at all about people not taking it seriously, my has earned some sort of "Outstanding" award a few times and the professor and the few people I've met who have done it before seemed like they took it very seriously.

[SMT]

English class, law class, art class, those were the days.
I'd always pick Japan.

[Mrs. Manky]

I was in Model U.N. in high school and once in college. My first time in high school our group was Antigua and Barbuda, so we were really low on the totem pole. But overall it can be fun if you're into international politics and world cultures, as well as debates. Just don't take it seriously. :)

Fun moments:

Standing up and giving a speech.
Running around putting together an impromptu resolution with other countries.
Watching kids from Puerto Rico have snow fights after Washington D.C. gets /two/ inches of snow. I couldn't really call it a snow ball fight, it was just powder.
Just socializing with people from other parts of the country that you may never meet again.

Oh, and freaking out my school when I made a morning announcement about the Terrorism Committee meeting at a certain time. But it was the late 80s, so there wasn't a true freakout.

[Salvor.Hardin]

I did quite a bit in school and at university. Attended a few of the major ones like Harvard's World MUN, the Oxford MUN, and the European MUN. They're great if you can get a sponsor to fund your trips because 80% of it is getting drunk every night and having sex with fiesty european ladies. The other 20% is making unrealistic deals and negotiations with overly ambitious kids. And if you're interested in international politics, then you get to form a very solid network with other likeminded students, some of whom pursue careers in diplomacy and foreign relations.

Good times.

[Silphonica]

English class, law class, art class, those were the days. I'd always pick Japan.

Of course you did.