Students participating in the UNA Model United Nations organization won an award for the “Outstanding Position Paper for Food and Agriculture Organization Council” at the 2013 National Model United Nations D.C. Conference, during the last week of October. The group received the award while representing the country of Tunisia at the conference.

“Once a semester, UNA Model UN goes to a convention or conference to represent a country,” said Leah Graham,  Model UN campus adviser. “There students can debate issues like education, gun rights, war, water and human rights.”

The purpose of Model UN is to inspire learning about politics in the world and teach students skills in diplomacy, leadership and political agency, according to their webpage.

Model UN encourages students to become mock delegates of a country by participating in a UN committee, Graham said.

 “At conferences, students push their interests for the country they’re representing and try to find a happy medium for the rest of the world,” Graham said. “At these conventions, members realize why it is so hard to get the world to be concerned about these issues.”

Model UN students take a lot of time to prepare for their upcoming conventions and conferences, Graham said.

“Before every convention delegates write a policy paper explaining their country’s stance on the issues being discussed,” said Sarah Schiavone, Model UN member. “Then before meeting with other delegates you begin writing working papers that eventually become draft resolutions.”

Once a member finishes their draft resolution it is then voted on to become a resolution using diplomacy and effective debating, Schiavone said.

“Any student can join Model UN, (and) we encourage students from all different majors to join because we can usually incorporate their major or interests into the research,” Graham said. “We also offer an optional Model UN Political Science class that students can get academic credit for.”

Schiavone sees the conventions and participation in this organization as great professional development tools, she said.

“I joined Model UN on a whim but after just a few meeting I realized that it was a great organization that really focused on development, both academically and professionally,” Schiavone said. “Not only was I learning about international affairs, but I was having a fun time doing it.”

Model UN meets every Thursday at 2 p.m. in Wesleyan Hall’s room 222. Any student interested in joining Model UN can attend a meeting.