Members of Model United Nations (MUN) in schools all around the Bay Area were looking forward to attending the Fremont Model United Nations Conference (FreMUNC) hosted by Irvington’s very own MUN chapter. With over 150 delegates attending from nearly a dozen schools in the area, the conference was a resounding success. As the conference was canceled last year due to several logistical challenges, this marked the first time Irvington MUN had hosted its own conference with delegates from multiple high schools.
FreMUNC featured 5 different committees, with each committee having multiple chairs. The committees were the Economic and Financial Affairs Council, the Social, Cultural, & Humanitarian Committee, the United Nations Environment Programme, Hunger Games, and Scramble for Africa. Hunger Games and Scramble for Africa were crisis committees in which delegates had the power to further develop the fact situation through crisis notes. Committees had 2-4 chairs and 20-40 delegates. Valhalla, Norse Hall, and multiple classrooms in the 200s wing were used as committee locations. The conference started with the opening ceremony at 8:00 AM and concluded at 4:15 PM when awards were announced at the closing ceremony.
Students had a generally positive impression of the conference. Many students, such as Vishnu Srinivas, a Sophomore from Foothill High School, enjoyed FreMUNC as it was an opportunity for beginner delegates to get more involved. “FreMUNC was very well organized in terms of procedure and the chairs have been very active,” explained Srinivas. “Compared to other conferences run by high schoolers, FreMUNC is doing a great job.” Aditi Seshadri, a Sophomore from Notre Dame High School, agreed with Srinvias’ review. “This is my first conference and it is super fun. Everyone seems to communicate really well,” said Seshadri. “Moderated caucuses are being done very well. I was scared to talk at first but I opened up afterwards.”
Last year, nothing for the conference was planned in advance and there was no specific officer tasked with leading the conference. Upon recognizing this issue, Jessica Li (12) was appointed FreMUNC’s Secretary General for this school year and she spearheaded this initiative. Learning from last year’s mistakes, Li was able to organize the conference successfully.
“We started planning the conference in June, just right after the end of the school year. We first had to get chairs in and that actually took a surprising amount of time,” explained Li. “I even learned how to code from scratch because I had to make the website in HTML.” Organizing a conference and gathering a large delegation of students was an arduous process, with IHS MUN’s officer team individually reaching out to schools, publicizing on Instagram, and using word of mouth to recruit attendees.
The conference was only possible because several Model UN officers and experienced Model UN members served as committee chairs. For many, this was their first time being a chair. Anushka Patel, a Junior at Irvington, chaired ECOFIN and this was her first experience as a chair. Chairs select students in the committee so that the delegates or students get the opportunity to address fellow delegates and the chairs. They also select who receives awards.
“It’s definitely stressful to think about how well everyone is doing,” shared Patel. “Still, overall it was very exciting to see them where I am normally. It was a challenge to take myself out of the narrative and work with my co-chairs meaningfully.”
Overall, it is clear how IHS MUN has grown in terms of membership and club status over the past couple of years. From a club that was largely inactive during online school to now hosting its very own conference with hundreds of delegates from multiple schools, it is undeniable that IHS MUN has become an Irvington powerhouse and is here to stay.
