Model UN Club hosts conference about WWII

Students+take+on+roles+of+world+leaders+from+the+WWII+era+at+a+Model+UN+conference+held+at+NPHS+on+December+8.+

Divya Sood

Students take on roles of world leaders from the WWII era at a Model UN conference held at NPHS on December 8.

TOWAMENCIN – The signature pastel yellow bricks of North Penn High School’s A Pod classrooms were home to deliberations about the fate of World War II this past weekend.

Student delegates of all grade levels from the Wissahickon and North Penn Model United Nations Clubs convened for the second annual North Penn Model United Nations Conference on Saturday, December 8th. There were twenty-one delegates in attendance. Each student was pre-assigned a role of an important figure from World War II; delegations from the United States, Germany, Italy, Japan, England, Soviet Union, and France were represented. Divided into the “Axis” and “Allied” committees, the delegates discussed means of addressing crises associated with World War II, simultaneously advocating for their personal and country interests. Delegates were notified of the crises as they arose by the Crisis Backroom, consisting of North Penn’s Model UN Cabinet and volunteers from the National Honor Society; crises included invasions, popular uprisings, bombings, suspicious package deliveries, and assassinations.

Divya Sood
NPHS students participate in the Model UN deliberations about WWII.

As Vice President and three year member Eesha Dave believes Model UN is both an intellectual and practical experience for those involved.

“Many times when people see MUN or hear about MUN, all they think about is students just arguing and saying ‘Oh, this is an issue in this country, how should we resolve it?’ but I think what it really teachers other than public speaking is knowledge. You get to learn about real world events and actually use [your knowledge]. You learn about all of these events in history class…[and] in debate you argue what’s right and what’s wrong, but MUN is a combination of the two [and] is the best of both worlds. That’s something I think every student needs to get a taste of because you want to know how to talk about everything,” Dave explained.

Delegates communicated with the Crisis Backroom via note passing, where they detailed their plans for using their pre-assigned “portfolio powers” in attempt to resolve the World War II crises and leverage their personal standing. During the debates, delegates honed in on their public speaking, communication, and problem solving skills as they collaborated with the other delegates to pass resolutions (directives) to address each crisis that arose, preparing them for the larger overnight conference with students from all over the world, WAMUNC. Between the debates, delegates were able to enjoy refreshments and socialize with one another, thus creating invaluable memories.

NPMUNC’s conference leadership consisted of:

Shree Patel- Secretary General (President, NPHS Senior)

Eesha Dave- Director of Internal Affairs (Vice President, NPHS Senior)

Divya Sood- Chief of Staff (Secretary, NPHS Junior)

Rida Rahman- Director of Logistics (Treasurer, NPHS Senior)

Polux Garcia- Director of Simulations (Historian, NPHS Junior)

Interested in joining? Meetings are held every Tuesday after school in A33. Email President Shree Patel at [email protected] for more information.