“None of us were expecting it,” said Head Delegate Casey Waugh of the accolade. “I was so proud of us.”
In addition, four delegates from the 12-delegate team also won individual awards.
Senior Dan Glaun, who is vice president of the club, won an Outstanding Delegate award for his part on the Russian Security Council committee. Glaun represented Sergei Yevgenyevich Naryshkin, the head of the president’s administration, on the council. And he dealt with issues involving threats to Russian national security, international relations and bombings in Chechnya. His debate was based on Naryshkin’s reactions to these issues.
Glaun said he was excited about his placement in the competition, noting it was “pretty competitive.” He said a substantial amount of work went into his success, which in the end, he said, was “pretty rewarding.”
He said several individuals – by placing highly and racking up points – helped the team win the Outstanding Small Delegation award.
Junior Al Friedman and freshman Nick Fernald, both first time delegates, also won Outstanding Delegate awards for representing the Venetian Republic on the Ending the 30 Years War on the Peace of Westphalia committee.
Senior Chris Stubelt received a Verbal Commendation on the Egyptian Cabinet 2012 Committee, where he represented Sami Hafez Anan, the chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces.
For the conference at Columbia, Waugh said she looked for applicants who showed dedication to the club, and who had helped out at conferences like the Five College Model UN and UMASSMUN – a high school Model UN conference put on by the club. She said she also looked for less experienced delegates, to give them a chance to experience their first Model UN conference.
The art of being a good delegate and receiving awards all comes down to preparation, said Glaun, but he also said it involves, “making good points and engaging with people.”
To prepare, delegates have to research their topic thoroughly, create arguments and write directives. But even more than having knowledge about the committee they are on, they must be convincing with their public speaking skills.
“It’s fun to do and you learn a lot about different topics,” said Mark Saver, another first-time delegate on the UMass team. Saver also said it was “fun to beat big name schools.”
Waugh said she first became enthusiastic about the UMass International Relations Club – the host organization of the Model UN team – and got more involved in affairs after attending her first Model UN conference.
“I was so excited by the atmosphere,” she said. “It gets pretty crazy and pretty interesting.”
Her excitement only grew when she found out the team she had picked won the Outstanding Small Delegation award, she said.
Waugh said the victory “set the tone for the year.” She said she hopes to bring the enthusiasm seen at Columbia’s CMUNNY conference to the other conferences the club will be attending this year.
The UMass International Relations Club will be sending a delegation to three more conferences this year, the next one being Georgetown’s National Collegiate Security Conference in Washington, D.C., from Oct. 27 to Oct. 30. Next semester, a delegation will be attending McGill’s Model UN Assembly in Canada from Jan. 26 to Jan. 29 and Princeton’s Interactive Crisis Simulation Conference in New Jersey from Feb. 23 to Feb. 26.
Students from the International Relations Club that want to attend conferences as part of the UMass delegation have to submit applications to the club’s e-board. The president, vice president and head delegate go over submissions, but ultimately it is the head delegate’s decision on who gets to attend the conferences.
Representatives from 20 to 30 schools around the nation, as well as from some parts abroad, attended last week’s conference at Columbia.
Michelle Woodward can be reached at [email protected].
