Hamilton’s Model United Nations team participated in the Boston Area Model United Nations (BARMUN) conference from Oct. 4 to Oct. 7 in Boston, Mass. The team competed against other North American colleges and had the opportunity to meet other students with similar interests. The keynote speaker was Munira Khalif, the 2017-2018 United Nations Youth Observer.
Hamilton attendees were Connor Feldman ’22, Lindsey Foster ’20, James Goggins ’20, Mukund Jayaram ’22, AlMahdi Mahil ’20, Sam Ntim-Addae ’21, Saphire Ruiz ’22, and Emnet Sisay ’22. The students competed in specialized committees that addressed issues based on the first Italo-Ethiopian war, antibiotic resistance, and the Iran hostage crisis. While some students worked to solve one problem over the course of the weekend, other team members addressed a variety of issues, debating the framework in which they wanted to work.
The students likewise practiced writing speeches, debating, drafting policy plans, and creating resolutions. They tackled problems that addressed extending American ideals of freedom abroad, combating widespread epidemics, and fighting colonial powers. While in Boston, the group also explored famous landmarks and museums.
The MUN team also competed last week at Columbia University. In the past year, the team has participated in conferences at the University of Toronto, Harvard University, and the University of Pennsylvania, and they plan on attending a conference at Yale University later this fall. Hamilton’s MUN group ranked in Best Delegate’s top 50 North American MUN organizations for 2017.
