By Kelly Fraenkel
Staff Writer
Costa’s Model United Nations (MUN) program attended various virtual conferences, including Berkeley MUN (BMUN) from Feb. 26-28; the National High School MUN (NHSMUN) Conference from March 5-8; and Edison MUN on March 13.
Delegates from Costa’s advanced MUN program attended the 69th-annual BMUN conference hosted by UC Berkeley, where they won 11 awards. The theme was uplifting marginalized narratives, in accordance with its mission to increase understanding of global issues and diplomacy, according to the BMUN website.
“Despite being online, BMUN was still a really valuable experience,” junior Charlotte Estrin said. “It’s definitely an adjustment to not be together in person, but I’m grateful we’re still getting to debate, even if it’s virtual.”
Costa MUN students also attended the 47th-annual NHSMUN, hosted by the International Model United Nations Association (IMUNA). According to the NHSMUN website, the objective was to provide students with an interactive conference and a climate that is favorable for learning. The conference focused on topics such as human rights, global health and international security.
“My experience at NHSMUN was fine. It was one of the better-run Zoom conferences that I went to this year,” senior Grace Householter said. “However, while it was run well, it doesn’t compare to attending it in-person. I went when I was a sophomore, and it was more fun since we actually got to meet people from all over the world.”
Numerous Costa delegates were selected to speak at the conference, which is typically hosted at the U.N. headquarters in New York City. Selected speakers included sophomores Brady Stephens and Allyssa Lessinger; juniors Ben Henschel, Kate Lindberg and Andrew Feidler; and seniors Naina Dhawan, Caleb Wallis, Thomas Gerken and Jonathon Ro. Speeches were pre-recorded and played during the virtual conference on March 8.
“I couldn’t attend live because of class, but I pre-recorded my speech,” Dhawan said. “In my speech, I went over what our committee’s topic and main solutions were, as well as which resolutions passed. Overall, NHSMUN was run very well this year and a fun last conference.”
Over 40 of Costa’s freshman MUN students attended Edison MUN’s novice conference on March 13, where delegates discussed a variety of issues, with an emphasis on Security Council specific topics. Partners in the debates and freshmen Lily Van Fossen and Lily Stern; Slater Smith and Jackson Alexander; William Kiely, Aidan Tacinelli and Caden Coons; and Kina Desai and Callie Borden won Best Delegate awards.
“My experience at Edison was very good, especially since it was my first partner debate, which I really liked,” Desai said. “I am looking forward to traveling and participating in more in-person conferences with Costa MUN.”
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