By Dr. Joan E. Supplee, The Ralph L. and Bessie Mae Lynn Professor of History (emeritus) and director of the Baylor Model Organization of American States Program

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From Nov. 4-7, 2021, the Baylor Model Organization of American States (MOAS) team traveled to St. Mary’s University in San Antonio to debate policies concerning the Western Hemisphere at the annual Eugene Scassa Mock Organization of American States (ESMOAS) competition. COVID restrictions meant that this conference was conducted both in person and online.

Baylor MOAS team members hailed from across the University: health sciences, history, international studies, medical humanities, neuroscience, political science, psychology, University Scholars and Hankamer Scholars. They were joined by teams from other universities from Texas, Louisiana and Mexico.

This competition marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Model, and included an academic conference, a moot court competition and a simulation of the Summit of the Americas. This year, teams at the competition represented 20 of the 35 members of the Organization of American States (OAS).

Baylor students have been preparing for this competition since the start of the Fall 2021 semester. In addition to their normal course work, they also attended a virtual parliamentary procedures workshop in September and burned the midnight oil on two successive class nights in October to polish their written work. The moot court teams faced two tough judging panels in October to hone their skills. By November, they were ready to face competition.

In the summit, Baylor students represented the countries of Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago. Head delegates on the General Committee had the challenging task of representing their actual heads of state making the job of the Venezuelan team, headed by Nicolás Maduro, particularly difficult.

Delegates wrote on and debated issues such as incorporation of the Pan-American Sports Organization (PASO) into the OAS, removal of sanctions from the hemisphere, revival of the tourist industry after the COVID-19 pandemic, and promotion of civil society education in the hemisphere. The student executive committee crafted a hypothetical crisis, released on Friday evening, involving an asteroid hitting the Western Hemisphere, destroying the island of Tobago and Venezuela’s oil reserves.

The keynote speaker was Rolando Salinas Jr., a graduate of St. Mary’s University who is now the current mayor of Eagle Pass, Texas. He spoke of his experiences as a border mayor and all the challenges that encompasses –– from infrastructure improvements, water management, budget issues and border security. Students came away from his speech with a new understanding of the burdens of public service.

Baylor student Camryn Lutes (senior, political science, The Woodlands) served as president of the Summit and chaired the General Committee along with her rapporteur, Kelly Wheeler (freshman, Hankamer Scholar, Coppell). Colin Keele (senior, political science/history, Waco) served as chair for the Secretariat for Multilateral Security along with rapporteur, Julia Mendes (freshman, medical humanities, Hudson, New Hampshire). Vanessa Cham (sophomore, neuroscience, Rockwall) was selected to serve on the 2021 Student Steering Committee.

Logan Butler (junior, University Scholar, Evansville, Indiana) won election as president of the 2022 Model. A faculty panel chose Miranda Martinez (junior, health sciences, Laredo) to serve as chair of the Executive Secretariat for Integral Development for the 2022 Model. Overall, Baylor students excelled in both written work and as effective committee delegates.

HONORS WON BY BAYLOR TEAMS INCLUDED:

Selected by a panel of external judges:

• Recognized White Paper for the Executive Secretariat of Integral Development: Miranda Martinez; Team Trinidad and Tobago
• Distinguished White Paper for Secretariat of Multilateral Security: Gabby Alonso (sophomore, psychology, Rockville, Maryland); Team Trinidad and Tobago
• Outstanding White Paper for General Committee: Mikaela Sweet (senior, history, Corpus Christi); Team Trinidad and Tobago
• Outstanding Ambassador for the Summit: Mikaela Sweet; head delegate, Team Trinidad and Tobago
  
  

  Outstanding Ambassador Mikaela Sweet

• Outstanding Crisis Speech for the Summit: Gabriela Fernández Castillo (senior, psychology, Tomball); head delegate, Team Venezuela
• Outstanding Position Paper for the Summit: Team Venezuela
• Outstanding Chair for the Summit: Colin Keele
• First place for completion of the Secret Mission: Team Trinidad and Tobago

Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) Moot Court (selected by a panel of practicing lawyers and other experts from ESMOAS alumni):

The teams of Joyce and Jordan, and LaVergne and Dagley, represented Baylor.

• Outstanding Moot Court Team: Sam Joyce (freshman, political science, McKinney) and Michael Jordan (sophomore, University Scholar, Harker Heights)
• Outstanding Memorial for the State: Michael Jordan
• Distinguished Memorial for the State: John Dagley (senior, political science, Houston)
• Outstanding Memorial for the Petitioner: Brittany LaVergne (senior, history, Richardson)

Selected by student committee members:

• Distinguished Delegate from the Heads of State: Gabriela Fernández Castillo; Venezuela Team
• Distinguished Delegate from the Secretariat of Multilateral Security: Mari Benavides (sophomore, history, Los Indios); Team Venezuela

Other important Baylor MOAS team members included: Sayaka Yoshino, Team Venezuela (exchange student, international studies, Tokyo, Japan) and David Escoto, Team Trinidad and Tobago (junior, international studies, El Paso).

Ry Hutchinson Sanchez (Baylor History B.A. 2020) coached the Moot Court Teams. Joshua Hyles (Baylor History M.A. 2010) served as executive director for the Model. Dr. Joan E. Supplee, Professor of History, Emeritus, coached the Baylor ESMOAS teams.

The Baylor MOAS team would also like to thank the College of Arts & Sciences, the Department of History, the Center for Global Engagement, and Emily Leavitt, Lynae Jordan and Bobby Leis for their help and support.

For more information, visit the Baylor Model Organization of American States webpage.