The Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s Model United Nations (BRMUN) Club recently traveled to North Brunswick Township High School to compete at its sixth annual conference.
A total of 22 club members attended the trip, which took place on Saturday, March 22.
Model United Nations (MUN) is a simulation of the real United Nations for high school and college students. Members attend conferences, hone their public speaking skills, meet new people and collaborate with different global perspectives. As well, students learn leadership and critical thinking. At the conference itself, delegates are split into various committees, representing different assemblies of the United Nations.
Bridgewater-Raritan attends various conferences throughout the year, including international ones, such as the National High School Model United Nations (NHSMUN), which recently took place in New York and spanned four days. They also attend various local conferences, hosted by high schools, such as the Academy Model United Nations (AMUN) in Bergen County. North Brunswick was their fourth conference of the year.
Delegates were split into four different committees at the conference, which included the Disarmament and International Security Council (DISEC), the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee (UNSC-CTC) and a COVID-19 Crisis Committee.
At the end of the conference, three pairs of Bridgewater-Raritan delegates were recognized for their efforts at the conference. Sophomores Aayush Dhar and Kush Dave received a verbal commendation in the DISEC committee, representing the United Arab Emirates. Sophomores Inaaya Ashar and Sarina Dalal received an honorable mention in the UNSC-CTC committee, representing Italy. Lastly, Junior Agastya Shahane worked with sophomore Natalia Placek, and they won best delegate in the INTERPOL committee, representing Afghanistan.
The conference also featured two keynote speakers during the opening ceremonies. They included Mayor Brad Cohen from East Brunswick and Mayor Womack from North Brunswick. They shared their thoughts on their careers, gave advice for community change and provided wisdom for the future. Their speeches were followed by a brief question-and-answer session.
Sophomore Aayush Dhar, who won an award, shared his thoughts on his recent win.
“Attending North Brunswick Model UN was a great experience for me. As someone who has done MUN for over a year, I am glad that we won something at this conference, and I look forward to developing my skills further as a delegate. I would like to thank North Brunswick for hosting us!” he said.
Looking ahead, the club will attend its final conference of the year, JPSMUN, in late April. Planning for the annual end-of-year banquet will soon begin, with the process of officer appointments for the next school year already underway.