U.N I were meant to be

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Okayyyyyy this is kind of awkward since I’m American and definitely not white, but rest assured that most of us hate our awful president (ESPECIALLY Gen Z and the Millennials), and that he technically lost the election by more than two million votes. I feel you, because here at least, being the US in a committee USED TO BE sort of an honor given to delegates club leadership is confident in, but now it’s kind of a curse because it makes you such an open target. The new administration is killing MUN.

REPRESENTING THE U.S IN THE AGE OF TRUMP

Anyways, on to your actual question. Think about it this way. Is America, in the UN, directly advocating for discriminatory practices? No, although it sometimes refuses to support anti-racism resolutions. Your job is simply to represent the views of the government you’re representing, and in this scenario, that means you have to twist contemporary allegedly xenophobic American actions/policy the same way the Trump administration did. You have to spin it as a national security issue. For every ridiculous racist ACTION taken by the Trump administration, there was an official excuse. Mention the rise of Central American drug cartels that together bring literal tons of illegal drugs through the border, mention the gun trafficking and human trafficking recorded at the Mexican-American border. Tell them that strengthening the border benefits both Mexico and America, because America is currently suffering from the drug trafficking and Mexico from the gun trafficking. Child separation? In the process of being reversed, so just wave it away. Anything with Nazis? Find some quotes from gov. spokespeople disavowing them. Find the official statements, the bullshit affirmations that the administration cares about minorities. Hey, Hispanic and African-American employment IS going up. You’re going to need everything you can get. Yeah, it’s going to suck spouting all of that, but you’re just playing a role.

One of my friends did a climate change committee with me a couple months after Trump was elected, and Morocco hit her HARD in a speech on how Trump is a climate change denier and has horrible positions. But she was prepared, you know what she did? She listed off every positive climate change initiative the U.S. had recently enacted, and she did it confidently, vowing her dedication to the resolution. Morocco was destroyed. You know what you need to do? Get a list like that. Talk about affirmative action, about any pro-minority Trump Executive Orders(they do exist in the official archives, surprisingly enough), about how hate crime and discrimination laws are including more types of minority groups. If anyone tries to hit you on something that does not have to do with the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT(like idk, police brutality), it has nothing to do with you and you just say that’s awful and you’re working on it and you move on.

Oh yeah, and if anyone tries to ask you about Trump, don’t get into it. You’re not him, you’re a delegate. Explain that the true measure of America’s support for ant-discriminatory measures comes from actual enacted policy with tangible effects and not Twitter. Sidestep that massive fucking landmine and just stay poised. 

I’m so glad you’ve decided to try out MUN! I think it’s truly an amazing experience and hope you have fun!

Debate skills are good for MUN, it really helps with your speeches/presentation, as well as your confidence. The real thing that I’ve had to add on top of my debate tournament persona is COMMUNICATION. It’s really important in non-specialized committees, where the aim isn’t really to convince people of your position, but to work together with like minded people on a cohesive solution to the problem.

So when I did my first MUN conference, it was kind of a mess because my delegation was woefully underprepared. Here’s what I’d want to have known:

1. Notes! Notes are so important! First of all, you build a bloc. Ideally you want to be the magnetic one approached by other people, mutual you may have to do some approaching yourself. You want to be an indispensable member of your bloc, not an add on. Write notes to people you think have similar ideas and seem like they would make good partners.

2. The best way to become an important bloc member is by contributing a lot of ideas. You want the resolution to reflect your contribution.

3. Putting in a lot of effort into the position paper really helps you know what you’re doing.

4. There are typically two kinds of really good delegates; the ones with giant research binders that really know their stuff and have great ideas, and the charismatic ones that people gravitate towards that are great at facilitating communication. You don’t necessarily have to fit in one of those boxes, but have a game plan for how you’ll contribute to the committee and interact with allies.

5. Try to be nice to everyone, even the bitches and the fuckboys. MUN circuits feel like a small world sometimes and you never know when you’ll see them again or have to work under/with them in the future. Sorryyyy

6. If you’re feeling nervous about speaking, the best thing to do is just jump in before you convince yourself not to. Raise your placard every time the dais asks for names for the secondary speakers list. When you go up, say anything you’ve ever wanted to add to the discussion: new ideas, comments, questions, anything. Just sound confident and assured.

7. Remember to talk regularly, even if you get caught up in resolution writing and notes.

8. For non-specialized, remembering to avoid first person pronouns and remembering to yield your time to the chair is important.

9. It’s good to keep the background guide, the conference schedule, any contact numbers, sample resolutions, your position paper, and a list of resolution clause words in your research binder.

10. Idk what ROP is like where you live bc it realllllly differs across regions, but read it over and ask questions to your fellow mun kids before the conference so you don’t get lost

Hi and thanks for doing a crisis committee! Check out my tips on the crisis committees tag if you haven’t already.

CRISIS PREPARATION:

Researching for a Crisis Committee:

Historical: So, you decided to relive some horrific and intense catastrophe? Find out everything about the PUBLIC IMAGE of your character in the exact time the crisis will be set. They might have changed stances overtime, betrayed their side, or been assassinated by the end of the real historical event. Keep this in mind but don’t outwardly acknowledge it, remember to be that person in the moment. Go through the event’s timeline, make a note of what you can mention in your speeches. Look at who else is in your committee and do a little research on how these parties relate to you personally, as well as your stances. Use this knowledge to establish committee dynamics early on, so you won’t be lost by the hostility of one delegate or the chumminess of another. Ask yourself why your character lost or won historically, and see if you can use this knowledge to secure this success and avoid mistakes. Know the political climate of the time and roll with it, and be prepared to surprise people. Identify your main goals and make them endgame.

Future/Fictional: The background guide is your friend! I’m not sure what everyone else calls them, cause I think half of you aren’t American and terminology differs, but I think you get the gist. Read through the background guide, focus on the current situation because that’s what really matters. The current situation is the jumping off point for debate, the first thing you will debate about is what to do about X, if X is some sort of triggering event. If there’s a really detailed alternate universe timeline of sorts, you should focus on what it says about public opinion and the changes to the world as we know it. ALSO, personal jurisdiction!!! Your crisis should have certain powers delegated to each person depending on their position. For example, the Chief of the Navy could deploy naval forced unilaterally. Fictional committees are awesome because you don’t need to pore over hours of research to get ideas, just the BG and your imagination. Also, the dais should be able to answer all questions about the committee that you have. I mean, I’m PRETTY sure that daisies let you email them in other countries, so just use that option so you don’t get confused.

General prep stuff:So before you walk into the room you should have identified:-What your character wants to achieve most -plans to achieve those things -ideas for directives that must get passed -solutions to the crisis that benefit you -who in the committee you will try to ally with -who in the committee is ideologically opposed to you -the issues your character is most concerned about(work these into your mod speeches) -the most pressing part of the crisis, the thing you will open your first speech talking about

Heyyyy I’m actually staffing PACMUN! We’re working so hard to make an awesome conference for you guys, and I can’t really say anything specific, but concepts are looking pretty good.

Here’s a tip, sign up for a specialized committee, cause honestly kind of jelous I won’t get to compete in some of them.

*Cracks knuckles*

CRISIS COMMITTEES 101

Crisis committees are my favorite kind of MUN committee- they’re fast paced, dynamic, dramatic, and creative. Best of all, you have actual power to affect the committee and can pass any directive unilaterally as long as it’s in your personal jurisdiction. ROP differs between conferences and regions so do your research there

Basic stuff to remember:-Don’t really trust anyone, always treat alliances you make like they’re going to backstab you eventually -Assassinate strategically, exploit the time someone isn’t allowed to talk or sign directives to push through your own measures with no retaliation -Always remember to name every directive and specify public or private, if you’re in JCC write your bloc number: forget and it might not get considered -WRITE ESPIONAGE DIRECTIVES, you could get ready valuable information on your enemies -Don’t hesitate to ask the dais about particulars of the scenario -Be specific and think outside the box when you write directives-no seriously we had a JCC where one bloc won the challenge of conquering the most territory by claiming the entire ocean floor -in a historical crisis, try not to use what actually happened as a guide, but DO conduct research on everyone in the room that could be used against them -Don’t get so carried away writing directives that you forget to talk regularly (or vice versa)-if you want to counter another directive with your own directive, do it FAST, because that could make all the difference -if you don’t have a page in the room, try to run your controversial or important notes/directives yourself, because you might not be able to trust people to pass them to the dais or not read them -PERSONAL PRONOUNS ARE OKAY-Don’t yield your time, there's no secondary speakers list -Stay in character -It doesn’t matter if you’re playing a terrorist or a prime minister, do what that person would do and the dais will like it -being Extra™️ is better than no one knowing who you are -Ask yourself if the risk of the directive backfiring is worth the chance of success -be careful when you word directives so that if they’re read out loud no one gets the wrong idea-Get spotlight positions if you can! You don’t have to work as hard to be in the middle of things -Sneaky bitches always come out on top-Don’t let other people out-dominate you in unmod negotiations

What happens in the MUN social

So there was this conference that had ADHOC delegates cycle through different committees to see who could make as much of an impact as possible, and they'd take slots in sponsors lists before leaving?

We actually tried to make a peace treaty in the first session once just to see what would happen? Apparently the answer to that question is "the dais pins several acts of ethnic cleaning on some of the parties involved to facilitate internal conflict".