Students from the Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s Model United Nations (BRMUN) club attended the twenty-eighth annual J.P. Stevens Model United Nations Conference (JPSMUNC) on May 11.
With the opening ceremony to the conference ending at around 8 a.m., delegates spent the next eight hours in their respective committees, in addition to a 30 minute lunch break.
MUN is an activity that simulates real-life United Nations conferences through various competitions and events held throughout the year and around the world. BRMUN participates in numerous conferences throughout the year.
Though this conference was not part of the regular club season, delegates were able to sign up as independent delegates in order to attend the conference. JPSMUN was the host to various high schools around the region with over 120 delegates in attendance at the conference.
Six out of the seven Bridgewater-Raritan students in attendance at JPSMUNC were part of the UN-Habitat committee that deals with issues surrounding human settlements and urbanization. The remaining student, Laasya Thota, participated in a special committee regarding the Disney Board of Directors. This committee is referred to as a “crisis” where delegates represent certain characters or historical figures and control events, instead of collaborating and debating solutions.
At the end of the event, delegates were recognized for their performances at the award ceremony. Three students received awards at the conference, all of whom participated in the UN-Habitat committee. Sophomore Ayushmaan Mukherjee was awarded Outstanding Delegate, sophomore Lahari Thota received the Honorable Delegate award and freshman Kush Dave qualified for a Verbal Commendation.
Freshman Aayush Dhar reflected on his time at the event and his experience with BRMUN in general.
“JPSMUN was a well organized conference filled with interesting debate and even included a committee wide merger. MUN has been a stepping stone for me to see what I can truly accomplish when I put my mind to something,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lahari Thota, who was given the Honorable Delegate award, recounted her experience at the conference as well as her award.
“JPSMUN was really enriching for me to talk with and work with other delegates who had their own approaches to performing well in MUN. I was surprised that I won an award, and I take it as a sign that I’m steadily improving and hopefully will do even better in the future,” she said.
The BRMUN club looks forward to further encouraging its members to do great things at future conferences.
With the end of the year in sight, the next big event will be the annual BRMUN Banquet, where the club will reminisce on another successful year and where the club’s officer positions will be announced for the 2024-2025 school year.
