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Model United Nations at Jefferson High School Club advisor: Ms. Priya Raman, Social Studies Department

What Is Model UN? · How a Session Runs · Writing a Resolution · Fall 1999 Schedule · Country Research Checklist · First-Timer Tips

Welcome, delegates! This is the home page of the Model United Nations club at Jefferson High. I'm Ms. Raman, and I've been the club's advisor for four years now (and I was a delegate myself, a long time ago, representing a small country whose position I still remember better than most of my college coursework). I built this page over the summer so that students who are curious about the club can find out what we do, and so that our members have the procedure, the resolution format and the schedule in one place instead of on seven different handouts at the bottom of their backpacks. You do not need any experience to join. You do not need to be a debate star, a straight-A student, or the kind of person who raises their hand in class. Some of our best delegates last year had never spoken in front of a room before September. What you need is curiosity about the world and a willingness to stand up and try. We'll teach you the rest. We meet Tuesdays after school, 3:15 to 4:30, in Room 214. Come by any Tuesday. Bring a friend.

What Is Model UN? The real United Nations, headquartered in New York, is where the world's governments (188 member states as of this month, after Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga joined in September) meet to talk through problems that cross borders: peacekeeping, refugees, disease, the environment, disarmament, human rights, development. It works through committees, the biggest being the General Assembly, where every member has one vote, and the most powerful being the Security Council, with fifteen members of which five (the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France) are permanent and hold a veto. Model UN is a simulation of that. Each student is assigned a country and a committee. You research your country's actual positions on the committee's topics, and then, at a conference, you sit in a room with delegates from dozens of other schools, each representing some other country, and you debate, negotiate, form blocs, draft resolutions and vote, following the UN's rules of procedure (simplified a bit). You speak as your country, not as yourself. If you are Norway you argue like Norway; if you are assigned a country whose policies you personally find dreadful, you argue that country's position anyway, and you learn more about the world from doing that than from almost anything else in high school. It is part public speaking, part research paper, part chess, and part the most fun you can have in a school cafeteria wearing a blazer. Delegates are judged on how well they represent their country, how well they work with others, and how much of the final resolution has their fingerprints on it. Awards are nice. The point is what you learn.

How a Committee Session Runs Every conference has its own slightly different rules, and the chair will explain them, but nearly all of them follow this pattern. Learn this and you will not be lost. 1. Roll call. The chair reads the countries in alphabetical order. You answer "present" or "present and voting." The difference: a delegate who is "present and voting" may not abstain on resolutions. Most beginners should just say "present." 2. Setting the agenda. If the committee has two topics, delegates make a motion to decide which topic to discuss first, speak briefly for and against, and vote. Simple majority. 3. The speakers' list. This is the default state of the committee, called "formal debate." The chair opens a list; you raise your placard to be added to it. When your name comes up, you go to the front and give a speech (usually 60 to 90 seconds) stating your country's position on the topic. You must always speak in the third person: "The delegation of Ghana believes...", never "I think...". If you finish early you yield the remaining time to the chair, to questions, or to another delegate. 4. Moderated caucus. A delegate may motion for a moderated caucus on a narrower point, for a set total time and a set speaking time ("a ten-minute moderated caucus with thirty-second speaking time on the topic of funding"). If it passes, the chair calls on delegates who raise their placards, one after another, with no speakers' list. This is where the real back-and-forth happens and where quiet delegates can get their first word in without waiting for a list. 5. Unmoderated caucus. A motion to suspend the formal rules for a set time (usually 10 to 20 minutes). Everybody gets up, walks around the room and talks. This is where blocs form, where draft resolutions get written on legal pads, and where the work actually gets done. Do not stand in the corner during an unmoderated caucus. Go find the countries that agree with yours and introduce yourself. 6. Draft resolutions and amendments. Once a bloc has a draft with enough sponsors and signatories (the conference will say how many), it is submitted to the chair (the "dais"), given a number, and introduced. Other delegates propose amendments, which are debated and voted on. 7. Voting procedure. A motion to close debate and move into voting, which needs a two-thirds vote to pass. Then the doors are closed, nobody may enter or leave, and the committee votes on each draft resolution in turn. Simple majority passes most resolutions in most committees (the Security Council needs nine of fifteen with no permanent-member veto). Points, in case you need them: Point of personal privilege: you can't hear, it's too hot, you need to step out. The only point that can interrupt a speaker. Point of order: the chair or another delegate has made a mistake in procedure. Point of parliamentary inquiry: you have a question about the rules. Asking this is not embarrassing. Not asking and then doing the wrong thing is. Everything else is a motion: "Motion for a moderated caucus," "Motion to close debate," and so on. Motions need a second and a vote. The chair will say "is there a second?" Raise your placard.

A Beginner's Guide to Writing a Resolution A UN resolution is the committee's decision, written as one very long sentence. That is not a joke: the whole thing, from the committee's name to the final period, is grammatically a single sentence, which is why the clauses end in commas and semicolons and why only the last one gets a period. Once you see that, the strange format makes sense. The heading. At the top: the committee, the topic, the sponsors (the countries who wrote it) and the signatories (countries who want it debated, whether or not they agree with it). Then the name of the committee as the subject of the sentence: The General Assembly, Preambular clauses come next. They explain why: the history, the previous UN actions, the facts, the principles. Each begins with an italicized (or underlined) participle or adjective phrase, and each ends with a comma. Good preambular openers: Recalling, Reaffirming, Noting with concern, Bearing in mind, Deeply concerned, Guided by, Recognizing, Having considered, Alarmed by, Welcoming, Emphasizing, Fully aware, Taking note of Operative clauses come last. They say what the committee does. They are numbered, each begins with an underlined verb, and each ends with a semicolon, except the last, which ends with a period. Good operative openers: Calls upon, Urges, Requests, Recommends, Encourages, Decides, Endorses, Invites, Further invites, Supports, Expresses its hope, Condemns, Establishes, Reminds A word of caution: the General Assembly cannot order anybody to do anything (its resolutions are recommendations), so in most committees you urge and call upon; you do not demand. Only the Security Council can make binding decisions, use the word decides freely, and authorize force. If you write "Demands" in a General Assembly committee, an experienced delegate will amend it out of your resolution in front of everyone. A short practice resolution I wrote for the October workshop: Committee: General Assembly Topic: Access to clean drinking water in rural areas Sponsors: Ghana, Norway, Peru Signatories: Bangladesh, Canada, Egypt, Jordan, Philippines The General Assembly, Recalling its previous resolutions on the right to development, Deeply concerned that more than one billion people lack access to safe drinking water, Recognizing that waterborne disease falls most heavily on children under five, 1. Calls upon member states to make rural water supply a priority in their national development plans; 2. Urges donor countries to increase funding for low-cost well and filtration projects through existing UN agencies; 3. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly within two years on progress made; 4. Decides to remain seized of the matter. ("Decides to remain seized of the matter" is a traditional final clause meaning the committee will keep the topic on its agenda. Every delegate learns it in their first conference and then can't stop saying it.) Advice: keep operative clauses specific. "Urges countries to do better" is not a clause; "Urges member states to report annually on rural water access" is. Numbered sub-clauses (a, b, c) are fine for detail. And remember that somebody has to pay for what you propose; a resolution with a funding clause is stronger than one without.

Fall 1999 Schedule All meetings Tuesdays, 3:15-4:30, Room 214, unless noted. Conference dates are firm; the rest may shift by a week if the school schedule bumps us, and I'll update here. Date What Sept. 14 First meeting. What Model UN is, how the year works, sign-up. (Done. Twenty-three of you came. Wonderful.) Sept. 21 Rules of procedure walk-through. Practice roll call, speakers' list and motions with a silly topic (this year: whether the cafeteria should serve breakfast for lunch). Sept. 28 Country assignments for the November conference handed out. Research checklist (below). Library orientation with Mrs. Ito on periodicals and the CD-ROM encyclopedias. Oct. 5 Resolution writing workshop. Bring the example above and a pen. Oct. 12 Position papers: what they are and how to write one. Draft due Oct. 26. Oct. 19 Public speaking practice. Everyone gives a one-minute speech. Everyone. Yes, everyone. Oct. 26 Position papers due. Peer review in pairs. Nov. 2 Full practice session, both topics, real rules. Veterans chair. Nov. 9 Second practice session. Permission slips, dress code and bus information go home. Nov. 16 Final prep. Bring your research binder. Nervous questions answered. Fri.-Sat. Nov. 19-20 Fall conference at the state university, about an hour's bus ride. Opening ceremony Friday at 4:00, committee sessions Friday evening and all day Saturday, closing and awards Saturday at 5:00. Jefferson is sending two delegations of ten. Dress: business attire (a jacket or blazer, no jeans, no sneakers). Nov. 30 Conference debrief and pizza. What worked, what didn't. Planning for the spring conference (March). Dec. 7 & 14 Spring conference committee preferences; last meetings before winter break. Cost for the November conference is the registration fee plus the bus, and no student will be kept from going over money; come talk to me privately if that's a concern. The club is doing a car wash October 9 to help.

Country Research Checklist You will get your country on September 28. Between then and the conference, build a binder with the following. The library has the World Almanac, the reference encyclopedias on CD-ROM, and back issues of the newsweeklies; the reference desk at the public library downtown has the State Department's country background notes and more. Write down where each fact came from. About your country: Official name, capital, region, neighbors (draw the map from memory once; you'll be surprised) Type of government and who the head of state and head of government are right now Population, main languages, main religions The economy: what it makes, what it sells, roughly how rich or poor it is per person Year it joined the UN (a handful of members joined this decade; know if yours is one) Recent history: anything big in the last ten years (a war, an election, a famine, a peace agreement) About your country in the world: Its friends and allies; its rivals; any regional groups it belongs to (the European Union, the Organization of African Unity, the Arab League, ASEAN, the Organization of American States, the Non-Aligned Movement, and so on) Whether it gives or receives foreign aid, and from whom Whether it has ever served on the Security Council About your country and the committee's topics (the most important part): How the topic affects your country directly. Does it have this problem? Is it causing it? Is it paying to fix it? Any UN resolutions on the topic and how your country voted, if you can find out Any treaties on the topic and whether your country has signed them Statements by your country's leaders or its UN ambassador on the topic Which other countries in your committee will probably agree with you (your future bloc) and which won't What your country would actually want a resolution to say. Write that down in two or three sentences. That's the seed of your position paper and of the speech you'll give first.

Tips for First-Timers Get on the speakers' list in the first five minutes. Raise your placard at the very first chance. Your first speech is the hardest; the sooner it's over, the sooner you'll enjoy yourself. You can say something simple: what your country's position is and what it hopes the committee will do. Sixty seconds. Done. Third person, always. "The delegation of Peru," "Peru believes," "my country." Never "I." Practice at dinner; your family will find it very funny. Write notes. Committees allow passing notes (folded paper, delivered by a page) to other delegates. "Norway: Ghana would like to work with you on funding during the next caucus. -Ghana." It is the single easiest way to get into a bloc. During unmoderated caucus, stand up and go. Find a group, ask what they're working on, offer to write a clause. The delegate holding the pen has a lot of influence. Know two facts cold that nobody else in the room will know. Use them in your speeches. Nothing makes a chair sit up like a specific number with a source. It is fine to ask the chair a question. That's what points of parliamentary inquiry are for. The chairs were first-timers once, and most of them are kind. Stay in character, but stay kind. You are representing a country, not fighting with the person across the table. The delegate you argue with in committee is the one you'll eat lunch with. Eat breakfast. Bring water. Wear shoes you can stand in. Saturday is a long day. You will not win an award at your first conference, most likely. Almost nobody does. Set a different goal: give three speeches, get your name on one draft resolution, learn the name of every delegate in your bloc. That's a great first conference. Have fun. I mean it. This is the most alive a classroom ever gets.

Elsewhere on Capitol Hill Mrs. Fowler's Civics Corner - an 8th grade civics teacher's page. If you liked her class, you'll like this club. Vote 2000: A Citizen's Guide - the American side of the coin: how to register and vote next year. Letters to the Editor: A Citizen's Notebook - a gentleman who has spent twenty years writing 250-word letters about local matters. His advice on making one point clearly is good advice for a speech, too. The Study Skills Page - for your research binder and, frankly, for everything else. Back to the Capitol Hill neighborhood

Delegates who have visited this page: Questions from students, parents, or advisors at other schools: [email protected] (Students: please also just come to Room 214 on Tuesday. I am much faster in person.) Last updated: September 22, 1999 © 1999 P. Raman. This is a club page maintained by the advisor, not an official school page. Student names are not posted here; please don't ask me to.