Alabama Model UN Team Sweeps at McMUN and MUNE

The Alabama International Relations Club’s traveling Model United Nations team has continued their dominant performance streak at the McGill Model United Nations Assembly (McMUN) January 23th -26th and the Model United Nations at Emory (MUNE) February 6th-9th.

The 12 delegates selected to represent Alabama at McMUN travelled to Montreal to compete in a wide range of committees ranging from the United Nations Environmental Program to the European Court of Human Rights. Competing against over 1,000 delegates from across the world, the team was successful in securing eight awards over the course of the weekend.

Sophomore Catharine Del Carmen came out on top winning Best Delegate (1st place) representing Kenya in the 2020 African meeting on Science and Technology, advocating for the spread of sustainable methods of technology. Head Delegate (team captain) Andrew Smith also secured a 1st place finish winning Best Delegate in the innovative Formula 1 Committee.

In the divisive International Organization for Migration, junior Madalyn Frazior won Outstanding Delegate (2nd place) debating in the interests of South Africa. Sophomore Camden Lethcoe represented the university in the Furthest Shore space committee earned an Honorable Mention (3rd place). In Moneyval, junior Sarah Conrad was awarded an Honorable

Just two weeks later, the team travelled to Atlanta for the Regional Model United Nations at Emory Conference with 16 delegates, including several first-time competitors. The topics debated included a range of both historical and contemporary committees. Mention for her work on anti-money laundering policy. The Double-Delegation composed of senior Russell Puffer and freshman Brett Bonikowski also awarded with a Verbal Commendation (4th Place) representing Mexico in the 300-person Special Political and Decolonization Agency (SPECPOL). This performance earned the team a top 5 finish at the most competitive conference of the spring semester.

The weekend ended in triumph as the team earned five awards. Senior Russell Puffer was selected as Best Delegate in the OAS Special Mission debating 1982 Honduran Politics and the strengthening of Honduran Institutions. In the fantasy joint crisis committee Morningstar, based of the series of the same name, Alabama Delegates brought home two awards. Sophomore Victoria Carl was awarded Outstanding Delegate, and, in a breakout performance, freshman Alexandra Nabity secured an Honorable Mention. Head Delegate Andrew Smith continued his awards streak with an Honorable Mention in the 24-hour Chernobyl Committee and Sophomore Andrew St. Charles was awarded an Honorable mention in the Crisis of the 3rd Century exploring the tumultuous politics of Ancient Rome.

After finishing the fall 2019 semester ranked Top-50 in the World Division of Collegiate MUN, the team has started the spring semester with two exceptionally strong performances. The goal is to secure a Top-25 ranking by the end of the 2019-2020 school year.

Next up for Model UN team is WorldMUN hosted by Harvard University in Tokyo, Japan from March 16th-20th, the Virginia International Crisis Simulation by the University of Virginia from March 26th-29th, and the University of Chicago Model United Nations Conference from April 9th-12th.

Students interested in learning about Model UN can attend a meeting of the Alabama International Relations Club in 340 Bidgood on Thursday evenings at 7:00pm to learn more about the club and its opportunities. Information can also be found at https://international.ua.edu/airc/.