The annual Hofstra University Model United Nations Conference (HUMUNC) took place from Friday, Feb. 28, to Sunday, March 1. On Friday, the conference officially kicked off with an opening ceremony at 2 p.m. in the Helene Fortunoff Theater at Monroe Lecture Center. Students from 14 public and private high schools on Long Island attended the conference, in which students were able to discuss such diplomatic issues as the Zika virus epidemic and climate refugees in an environment that mirrored actual United Nations proceedings.
Overseen by Secretary General Dara Gleeson and Undersecretary General Alexa Osner, the conference’s secretariat comprised six committees: the Social, Cultural and Humanitarian Committee (SOCHUM), chaired by Daniel Guido and Erynn Phillips; the Disarmament and International Security Committee (DISEC), chaired by Nick Bekker and Justin Burgess; the Special Political and Decolonization Committee (SPECPOL), chaired by Arsalan Jamal and Gopal Khandelwal; the Historical Crisis Committee, chaired by Maggie Hurley, Landri Kennedy and Charles Timm; the Food and Agriculture Committee (FAO), chaired by Miranda Maliszka and the Future Crisis Committee, chaired by Mike Roller and Alex Dersh.
“It’s great to see Hofstra students being able to participate and offer this kind of conference to the larger community on Long Island,” said Michael Lucivero, an alumnus of Hofstra’s political science department who assisted during the conference. “It helps students encounter issues they might not have encountered before and learn to work with others with different perspectives in a way that even professional diplomats struggle with every day.”
The Future Crisis Committee facilitated a discussion about civil rights in the contexts of artificial intelligence and robotic advancements. “We had over 300 crisis notes answered this weekend. It was an incredible experience,” Roller said.
“The delegates of FAO this year have exceeded my expectations in their ability to conduct themselves diplomatically and work towards writing resolutions,” Maliszka said. “The resolutions passed with regard to the issues of child labor in agriculture and the Zika virus – both very complex topics – have yet to yield their ability to pass resolutions for which is overwhelmingly impressive on their part.”
This year marked the second year of the FAO committee at HUMUNC; its proceedings and structure were well-received by the delegates. On the other hand, committees like SPECPOL, which handles disputes surrounding refugee rights, nuclear proliferation, decolonization, peacekeeping and more have been a part of HUMUNC for several years.
“The SPECPOL Committee is one that consists of great conversations about current events and gives students a way to find their voice and being comfortable about debating with others. I have really seen some kids coming in uneasy and nervous the first day speaking tons and creating great points toward the end of day two,” Jamal said. “It has also given me a chance to become better at public speaking and compromising to create new ideas.”
For the conference, many delegates wrote position papers which detailed the policies their representative countries followed and facilitated organized discussions during sessions. The papers also helped delegates adhere to their countries’ stances on issues when proposing, accepting or refuting policy points.
“We discussed America vs. the British in the Revolutionary War,” said Maggie Mongiello, a delegate from Sayville High School, a public high school about 30 miles east of Hofstra’s campus. “Our chairs were great. I’ve done this for two years now, and I think this is the best-run conference on Long Island.”
Of the five total committee sessions, the first took place on Friday; the second, third and fourth on Saturday and the fifth and final on Sunday, followed by an award ceremony.
“It was really fun. It was a great opportunity to discuss world issues while having a platform to discuss world interests,” said Ian Irushalmi, a delegate from Plainview-Old Bethpage High School, about 15 miles east of Hofstra’s campus. Irushalmi represented the Republic of Indonesia on the FAO Committee and took home a certificate for Outstanding Delegate. Several other students were also awarded honorable mentions for their performance.
Rosanna Perotti, an associate professor of political science, spoke at the closing ceremony. “Good leaders are committed to using reason to solve problems. We saw a lot of that during this conference,” she said.
