The Mycenaean

Over the weekend, March 1-3, Leesville Road High School’s Model United Nations club will participate at MUNCH, Model United Nations at Chapel Hill. 

Since 2004, the conference has been a long-standing tradition for high school students within the state of North Carolina, the same can be said for LRHS, who has attended the event since 2014. 

“It’s a great opportunity to participate in this conference because delegates are going to practice their communication and problem solving-skills in a very pragmatic setting,” said Benjamin Pappas, senior.

This time, twenty-one delegates will attend, representing countries from all over the world in thirteen different committees including the European Court of Human Rights, the World Bank, and the Central African Republic. 

Spanning over three days, the Model UN conference, hosted by students from Chapel Hill, contains several committees associated with the United Nations and other international organizations. Delegates can register to be a part of anything from the U.S. Senate to the International Press Corps. 

“You get to experience and argue different perspectives and get a true taste of world politics and debate,” said Bryce Hall, senior, club member

In such committees, delegates must be quick on their feet, having done extensive research before arriving in order to answer set questions that help guide the discussions at the conference. Along with research on several topics, a position paper delving into a delegate’s stance must also be submitted prior to the event. 

Towards the end of the conference, delegates must work together to write resolution papers, which outline possible proposals for the topics discussed in the committee, which is then voted on by the general delegation. 

“I think MUNCH is a good opportunity for higher schoolers to attend to explore interests in international relations and diplomacy. It gives students an opportunity to meet and work with students with similar interests from around the country and is a super fun experience,” said Neil Shah, senior.

To prepare for this, LRHS’ Model United Nations Club hosted a mock conference in Durham in late January where they ran through the protocol students would expect to see at Chapel Hill. 

As MUNCH welcomes LRHS for yet another conference, students are no doubt both excited and ready to discuss policies and effective solutions towards them.