By Dr. Jonathan S. Miner
Associate Professor of Political Science

Twenty-one students from UNG brought energy and enthusiasm to the Southern Regional Model UN Conference (SRMUN) in Atlanta on November 19‑21. Portraying representatives from three nations‑‑Australia, Japan and Turkey‑‑the UNG contingent negotiated international issues in the guise of their assigned national delegation over a three-day live simulation. A major conference, SRMUN brings together more than 500 undergraduates from three dozen schools to compete in an international-diplomacy simulation based upon the real-world issues addressed by United Nations committees.

In this, the second consecutive year of participation at SRMUN, the UNG team earned six awards: two top position paper awards for the Australian and Turkish delegations and four separate committee awards for each of the two-member teams from the Japanese delegation. Position paper awards are given to the top 10 percent of national delegations, based upon their evaluation by the dais (directors) of the committees on which they serve, and committee awards are given to outstanding performances of individual teams at the conference. The UNG team was spectacular in its accomplishments!

 

Pictured (L to R): Professor Larry Morton, Courtney Graff, Rachael Williams, Clay Carlton, Oreva Zaudu Aki, Rob Young, David Coviello, Mitchell Fariss, Jordan Thrun, Benjamin Harkins, Sarah Hanson, Seth Bailey, Grace Boatright, John Jackson, Leslie Hebert, Chris Powell, Ben Perkins, Joe Tapia, Garrison Bone, Dr. Jon Miner, and Colin Marney. (Not pictured: Tristan Raub, Marlena Schmidt.)

The SRMUN conference is a unique opportunity for UNG students to engage in experiential learning and to apply the concepts and their understanding of the international system to real-life issues. The Model United Nations course, POLS 3505, is open to all UNG students and will again be offered in the fall semester of 2016. Please contact Dr. Jon Miner or Professor Larry Morton if interested.