Baylor earns Outstanding Delegation award at Model United Nations conference

Published on | Leave a response

By Rebecca J. Flavin, lecturer in political science and Model UN advisor

I’m proud to be able to share good news about the Baylor University students who were part of a team named an Outstanding Delegation at the 3rd annual Texas Model United Nations Conference. On Jan. 13-15, 2017, 14 Baylor students attended TexMUN, which was hosted by the Osgood Center for International Studies and held at the Center for International Business Education at the University of Texas at Austin. Our students represented five nations at the conference:

  • Angola
  • China (Security Council only)
  • Germany
  • Russian Federation
  • Vietnam

Along with our Baylor University delegates, 120 students from East Texas Baptist University, Lee College, Lubbock High School, Odessa College, the Osgood Center (Washington, D.C.), Texas A&M, Texas Tech University, the University of Texas at Austin, UT-CIBER and the University of Texas at Dallas participated in the conference simulating four committees: General Assembly First Committee (Security and Disarmament), the United Nations Scientific, Educational, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Security Council. One Baylor alumnus, Eric Vining (2016 journalism and political science) also served on conference staff as a committee chair for the General Assembly First Committee.

The topics the students researched and discussed at the conference included:

  • Climate Change and the Maintenance of International Security (Security Council);
  • Regulation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (GA 1);
  • Empowering Youth through Access to Information and Communication Technology and Media (UNESCO);
  • Improving Border Security to Combat Terrorism and Security Threats (GA 1);
  • Investment (APEC);
  • Strengthening Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies in Order to Protect UNESCO World Heritage Sites (UNESCO);
  • Energy (APEC);
  • The Exploitation of Natural Resources and its Effect on the Outbreak, Escalation, or Continuation of Armed Conflict (Security Council); and
  • A Crisis Simulation Involving Cyberterrorism (Security Council)

Our students performed admirably at the conference, learning both about the United Nations and how to be an effective diplomat. While I wish to emphasize that awards are not the point of these invaluable educational experiences and should never be the metric by wish we judge how much our students are learning, when our students are recognized for their participation, we should be doubly proud of their efforts.

Looking ahead, the National Collegiate Conference Association, the organization that sponsors both TexMUN and NMUN-NY, will put on an international conference that 14 Baylor students will attend on April 9-13, 2017, representing the country of Myanmar.

—————————————–

PHOTO INFORMATION

In the group photo above, I have highlighted the Baylor students who received individual awards in addition to the overall Outstanding Delegation team honor.

Bottom Row

  • Wyatt Fraga, senior, political science
  • Grecia Sarda, junior, political science (Outstanding Position Paper – UNESCO/Angola)
  • Cat Haseman, sophomore, University Scholar
  • Carolina Gutierrez, junior, international studies
  • Jessica Chapa, senior, political science
  • Kim Andrade, junior, political science (Outstanding Delegate – APEC/Russian Federation)
  • Caroline Caywood, senior, international studies and French (Outstanding Delegate – Security Council/Russian Federation)

Top Row

  • Matt Walker, sophomore, University Scholar (Outstanding Position Paper – GA 1/Viet Nam; Outstanding Delegate – GA 1/Vietnam)
  • Brian Ordonez, senior, political science
  • Ben Hunt, freshman, University Scholar
  • Megan Rollag, senior, international studies and Spanish
  • Kate Farley, senior, University Scholar (Outstanding Delegate – Security Council/Russian Federation)
  • Andrew Juwono, junior, marketing and management information systems
  • Luis Andres Torres, sophomore, pre-neuroscience

    ————————————-

    TexMUN 2017 –- Full List of Winners

    Outstanding Position Papers (Staff awards)

    • APEC: Australia (University of Texas), Canada (Osgood Center)
    • Security Council: United Kingdom (Texas A&M), Venezuela (UT Dallas)
    • GA 1st: United States of America (UT Dallas), Viet Nam (Baylor University – Matt Walker)
    • UNESCO: Angola (Baylor University – Grecia Sarda)

    Best Delegates in Committee (Peer awards)

    • APEC: Russian Federation (Baylor University – Kim Andrade)
    • Security Council: United States of America (UT Dallas), Ukraine (UT Dallas), Russian Federation (Baylor University – Caroline Caywood & Kate Farley)
    • GA 1st: Iran (Lone Star High School), Viet Nam (Baylor University – Matt Walker)
    • UNESCO: Republic of Korea (Texas A & M), South Africa (Texas A & M)

    Delegation Awards (Staff awards)

  • Honorable Mention: University of Texas, Texas Tech, Osgood Center
  • Distinguished Delegation: Lone Star High School, Texas A & M
  • Outstanding Delegation: Baylor University, UT Dallas

    • Leave a Reply