Freshmen get a taste of diplomacy at Model U.N.
Steven Fingerhut (l-r), Jason Napoli and Jason Forman hold up the signs of their countries prior to the start of the Marlboro High School Model United Nations. Teacher Shawna Block (rear) instructed the ninth-graders in the program.
By adam riback
Correspondent
MARLBORO — Freshman students at Marlboro High School had a formal way to debate the world’s problems during the past school year.
The new method was carried out by the social studies department at MHS and was called the Model United Nations. Here the students learned and enhanced many skills necessary in everyday life.
"Various students who had probably never spoken in front of a crowd got up to speak," said Shawna Block, a World History teacher at Marlboro High School for three years.
While Block was the acting chair (the term which refers to the person who controls the meetings and debates), she had help from the other teachers in the Social Studies department. Teachers John Murray, Flora Neilson, Eric Yang, Shana Vanderbeck, Tim McGeough and Amy Lockwood all contributed to the freshman project.
The Model U.N. has been active at Marlboro High School for six years. The idea was initially brought to the school by Kim Cincotta, a former faculty member who had previously conducted the project at North Hunterdon High School. Cincotta, Bill Barricelli, John Murray and Jeff Moore all helped to bring the Model U.N. project to MHS.
Freshman history students were paired together and assigned a country to represent. For months the students researched their country in an attempt to understand and prove their political views and examine that nation’s economic position. Even if the students didn’t share the thoughts and opinions of the country to which they had been assigned, for the time spent in the U.N. they had to make everyone believe they thought the same way as real representatives from that country would think.
Freshmen Steve Fingerhut and Stella Peters were paired up to represent the Republic of Serbia. When asked if it was hard for him to take on the views of his country, Steve said, "Debating was difficult at times because my own views were very different from the interests of Serbia, but taking on this role forced me to disregard my personal opinions."
Josh Fischer also had an important role in the Model U.N. He was paired with Scott Rog representing Great Britain. Because of Great Britain’s role in world politics and its similarities to the United States, Josh found the transition of thoughts to be easier than most students experienced.
"It wasn’t hard for me to take the views of my country, considering Great Britain is one of the United States’ strongest allies," he explained.
Role-playing was easier for some students, but those who were assigned countries with different outlooks on world issues found themselves in a conflict that in time they would have to overcome.
"The goal is to get students more involved in current affairs, tune-up their research and improve public speaking skills," Block said.
Steve Fingerhut said the freshman project achieved more than that.
"It was a good experience for people in high school to get a sense of how decisions for our country are really made. Putting us in that diplomatic role gave us a different perspective on everything," he said. "Writing the resolutions forced the students to use their imagination."
Steve said the exercise gave him an appreciation for the amount of time it takes to solve problems in the actual U.N.
Josh Fischer said, "I thought it was a great experience and it taught us how the real U.N. might function. You had to decide very quickly whether your country was for or against a resolution."
Freshman Jason Napoli said he even started to watch live debates on television after taking part in the Model U.N. project.
"It got students more interested in world politics and the world today," he said. "It also improved my public speaking skills and taught me that the U.N. makes a lot of important decisions that could affect my life at any time."
Before the U.N. assembly could even begin, the students had to complete nine weeks of research about their country. From religions practiced in the nation to what a typical meal in that country is, they had to know it all. Almost two weeks was spent proposing resolutions and debating in the assembly.
However, the teachers supervising the meetings spent much time developing a fictional world crisis that would force the students to act on their feet and solve a major problem as peacefully and effectively as possible. Block refers to this as the most important part of the project.
"Addressing a problem and solving it is a life skill," the instructor said.
When Steve Fingerhut was asked about how he thought the assembly reacted to the obstacles he replied, "Maturely. I think that most of the countries contributed to the issues and they got into it."
On the other hand, he thought of the Model U.N. as more interesting than challenging.
"We did a very good job getting through the problems we had," Jason Napoli said of the students at the Model U.N.
Now the question is, were the resolutions that were proposed by the students to deal with the global problems realistic?
"Most of them were, but ones like isolating the United States from the rest of the world weren’t that realistic. On the other hand, issues such as world hunger were very realistic," Jason said.
Josh Fischer had different views on the realism of the issues presented to the assembly.
"They could be because some of the things proposed could have really happened and the views of the students were that of their countries, but some students may have taken more drastic measures," he said.
This was true on the last day of the Model U.N. As an act of humor in the meeting, Lybia declared war on the United States and threatened to raid Colombia’s coffee fields. This was a joke to relieve tension after days of important decision making and following parliamentary procedure in the Model U.N.
Most of the Model U.N.’s time was spent debating ways to sanction the United States for unnecessary aggression toward other nations and an attempt to isolate it politically and economically from the rest of the world. In the end, the only punishment meted out to the United States was a requirement to make a public apology.
When asked how she thought the student diplomats handled the challenges, Block replied, "They handled it very positively because it is an issue close to home. We try to run the Model U.N. as true to form as possible, but we have to take liberty because we are dealing with ninth-graders, not diplomats."
Certainly the terminology used would make one think that the students are present at a real U.N. assembly. For a few days the students tried to learn the proper words for the Model U.N. with some help from their teachers.
"I thought it made the Model U.N. more interesting and realistic. At first I was unsure about the terminology, but when I heard it used in the Model U.N., I picked it up quickly," Steve Fingerhut said.
Josh Fischer, however, found that the terminology came to him easily from the start.
"Once you study it, it really sticks in your head," he said.
Many participants in the project had their favorite parts.
"I like motioning to caucus (a term used when requesting to consult allies during the meeting), debating, inquiring and contributing to a resolution on the floor," Steve said.
Josh’s favorite part was "when Lybia declared war on Colombia."
Block described the 2003 Model U.N. as "probably one of the more memorable events of freshman history."