The Model United Nations (MUN) team attended BruinMUN at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Nov. 6 and 7. Students represented countries such as Indonesia and Brazil to discuss global issues in specialized committees. They worked either individually or in teams of two.

Several club members earned awards for their performances at the conference. Jackson Tanner ’24 and Sophia Vourakis ’24 were named Best Delegate in the Food and Agriculture Organization committee, and MUN club President Cory Porter ’22 and Jack Moreland ’23 each received an Honorable Mention.

Zoe Kramar ’24 said unlike last year’s virtual BruinMUN, the classroom setting increased participation and interaction.

“This was my first in-person conference, so it was much better in comparison to the ones that I did last year [over Zoom],” Kramar said. “It was way more engaging and educational.”

MUN secretary CC Mesa ’22 said she also felt more comfortable speaking during committee meetings while engaging an in-person environment.

“It was great to be in the room in the action, without any distractions from the outside,” Mesa said. “I had a great time working with my partner.”

Mesa participated in a crisis committee, which makes decisions about historical emergencies while under time pressure. She said this opportunity was an exciting way to kick off the MUN season.

“We pretended to be the ancient Greek city-states during the second Persian invasion in 500 B.C., so there was a lot of imagination going on,” Mesa said. “The most fun part was that we could incorporate Greek gods into it, which you couldn’t do in a normal committee.”

In preparation for the conference, delegates wrote various position papers outlining their assigned country’s stances and proposing solutions. Leo Craig ’24 said students from other schools were equally prepared, so he was able to take away a lot from their different perspectives.

“I met a lot of interesting, smart people, and it was a good learning experience for me to know how to do MUN in the future,” Craig said. “Every delegate was really well-prepared and very knowledgeable about each of their topics.”