February is a short month, but for us Abbey Boys, there's a good schedule ahead:
Of course, today is the Super Bowl. Students are taking both sides; some of us hope the Steelers win on account of one notorious Latin teacher. For the record, I'm on the Steelers' side.
Feb. 10- according to the Facebook Page, the Abbey-WIS Game Away happens. One of my favorite aspects of this yearly match is the logistical side of things: how to move 150+ students, without school-provided transport, across town.
If all goes correctly, I will be a GRAD-uated driver. I plan to pick up my adult license on Tuesday (2/8). It's just a paperwork thing, but stuff happens.
In the past issue of the Priory Press, our sports reported gave a history on the Abbey-WIS rivalry. It started out with a spat over seeding in a league bracket back in 2000 or so.
There us another, more chivalric, notion that we have: a WIS kid insults an Abbey Boy. Rather than throwing fists, the two decide to settle by observing the outcome of the next WIS-Abbey B'ball game. The game ends with a tie, and WIS asks for overtime. The ref complies, and the Abbey wins. Both the Wis kid and the Abbey kid maintain that their team had won, and that was how the rivalry started.
Feb. 17-20- 2 important events happen this President's Day Weekend. Juniors and some Seniors take a Kairos Retreat. I can't reveal details, but it's a great experience. For a number of others, there is a NAIMUN- the N. American Invitational Model UN Conference at Georgetown University. For the Seniors, it's the second-to-last Conference of their High School Model UN Careers. We'll certainly put our experience to good use, saving the world in 96 hours.
TBD- the first Mixer Dance of the year. Stu Gov pulled off October's Homecoming in stellar fashion. However, the "Jersey Shore" themed dance had to be postponed twice: once on account of city plumbing work, and the next time on account of snow policy. Look forward to a Country Club-themed fete at the end of this month.
Showing posts with label MUN. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MUN. Show all posts
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Happy Half Birthday
That's 17 and a half. The high-IQ kid's show "Arthur" makes a stand about Prunella's ego-eccentricity when she throws a 9-1/2 birthday party (wow- almost double digits!) The little celebrated, often ridiculed milestone marks halfway from last April to legal. I don't plan to do anything extravagant; it'll just be less of a hassle (no more "Mommy can you sign off on this").
More essentially, I spent part of this weekend over the state line at Holy Cross in Bethesda. It was a Model UN event, and a well-orchestrated one at that. I could rave for the food (Panera-esque bread bowl beat the taco option 10-1), but the dynamics of the committee sessions were a draw as well.
ALL the below is simulation, not breaking international news...
I repped VietNam in SPECPOL, dealing with the Pakistan Flood Crisis. Naturally, I chummed out with China and N Korea. I couldn't help but side with Lebanon :). Trusting the Pakistani government was an edgy position to take- but edgy in Model UN means fun. The chairs (the high school co-eds who ran the committee and imputed punishment to disruptive nations) kept reminding me and my friends (allies) that we were poor and therefore irrelevant to providing aid relief. Our little club befriended America and won over "that rich country" we needed to pass the bill. The chairs thought that China should fix its own poverty issue before bailing out Pakistan. Things were going oh-so-well; I was about to get my resolution passed, until a Crisis happened. Yes, it put egg on my face. A report came out stating that the Pakistani government was a leaky tube that lost 60% of aid money to evil-doers. Away with US support and my Resolution went out the window. Somebody on the Crisis committee is going to get a nuggy tomorrow in class...
More essentially, I spent part of this weekend over the state line at Holy Cross in Bethesda. It was a Model UN event, and a well-orchestrated one at that. I could rave for the food (Panera-esque bread bowl beat the taco option 10-1), but the dynamics of the committee sessions were a draw as well.
ALL the below is simulation, not breaking international news...
I repped VietNam in SPECPOL, dealing with the Pakistan Flood Crisis. Naturally, I chummed out with China and N Korea. I couldn't help but side with Lebanon :). Trusting the Pakistani government was an edgy position to take- but edgy in Model UN means fun. The chairs (the high school co-eds who ran the committee and imputed punishment to disruptive nations) kept reminding me and my friends (allies) that we were poor and therefore irrelevant to providing aid relief. Our little club befriended America and won over "that rich country" we needed to pass the bill. The chairs thought that China should fix its own poverty issue before bailing out Pakistan. Things were going oh-so-well; I was about to get my resolution passed, until a Crisis happened. Yes, it put egg on my face. A report came out stating that the Pakistani government was a leaky tube that lost 60% of aid money to evil-doers. Away with US support and my Resolution went out the window. Somebody on the Crisis committee is going to get a nuggy tomorrow in class...
Sunday, March 28, 2010
WAMUNC XII
Position Paper
Ireland
What Happened
DISEC- WAMUNC XII
I did something foolish on Wednesday night- stay up late to finish a position paper. First off, it wasn't a real work of art. It was enough to scrape by. Thursday night- oh then I realized I shouldn't have done that. Just try then to get a coherent sentence out of me. I probably turned the Dais off when he banged the gavel to end my speech and I squelched- "What?" The topic: "Virtual Nuclear States". Vague. Making details would certainly take time and effort. It sure did.
Friday, I felt bad for myself. I had come home late, did a tiny bit of homework, woke up school-time (what feels like "before the rooster crows"). The other delegations? Sleep in (to about 7:30am) and take excursions. I suspect the other regional schools let their MUN kids take Friday off. As a goodbye surprise (before spring break), I had the joy of an English test and taking "special delivery" status in the Ottermobile. Well, I had my fun the weekend before.
Friday? Not bad. A schedule fluke meant I came in late to hear a pro-proliferation professor preach his controversial view. I had to get in the game. Sleep-shorted or not, this was the right time. I found a way to become the leading signatory of a paper- write my own. I handed this, written on a 5x7 canary pad in pencil, to the Chair. "Well, can you make it nicer?". We had a swell classroom in the evening- the room in the School of Media Building was set up to replicate a cutting-edge newsroom you see on TV. GW's big on emulating 'real life'. I got my sentences straight, and rushed to finish transcribing that working paper of my own. It was not too long later before there were 8 working papers on the table. That was too many in any seasoned MUNner's opinion. As a diplomat, I merged my paper with that of Spain's. A lot of it was redundant, and, as the college kid had just spent 30 minutes typing my'comprehensive paper' into the computer, must have annoyed the Dais.
Saturday? Great! This was crunch time. I understood that any prize or commendation hinged on this day, and I respected this fact. I tried not to do anything outrageous to annoy the Chair, and I think I succeeded that day. Basically, we spent all six committee hours repping the paper and making it digestible to the most countries as possible. Clauses of mine came and went. Seeing that the main authors (sponsors) of papers were spending 'quality time' with the Dais, I decided that I had to boost my role as a non-nuclear state and make my contributions seem, well, important. I felt I did the best I could. Next topic, I assessed myself, I would dominate. The vote came late in the day. I spoke eloquently against closing the list without wasting my minute. In a committee of 80 with an inclusive Chair, you don't get a lot of speaking time. Especially if it's DISEC and you don't have nukes. The vote came. Res. 1.1 cleared the hurdle. I was not enthusiastic about it, but sold my vote for two votes on the Spain/Ireland paper (1.4). Res 1.2, written by a classmate (Slovakia- M.C.) to get brownie points, also passed, albeit being a short addendum 'to any suitable paper'. Res. 1.3, was weeded of conflicts with already-passed 1.1. The cruel, pro-proliferation paper, failed, to my pleasure. Res 1.4, my 'baby', won yea vs nay, but failed because of the high number of abstainers (38 yea, 32 nay, 11 abstainers and some who didn't vote). Hey, they were afraid to say no! Res. 1.5, Portugal (classmate's- YO-A) paper and Res. 1.6 failed as well. Time was up. I had done alright. Our delegation as a whole rocked the committee.
Sunday? I was on fire!! The stars were lined up for me. Every Palm Sunday I've been alive I've been at church. I didn't want to break the record of 15/15, but realized that the non-faithful college students running the show had me in a tough spot. 9am start for committee vs 10am on Sunday. Deliberate, I thought. But 7:30am mass at my parish just off of GW worked just fine. I felt- delivered. I used a Starbucks gift card I had to buy a Pike's place to wash down the sugary aftertaste of the fundraiser donut I had just bought and took the pretentious white cup to committee with me. We were ready to move to topic B- India vs Pakistan re Kashmir. Within 10 minutes the Japanese delegate had working paper 2.1. The Chair was convinced it was pre-written. Ireland strategic victory! But the Dais looked at it. It was rejected for the mention of "Santa Claus". I called for a 5 minute Unmoderated Caucus. I could then blow my paper through as WP 2.2. I collected signatures- I needed 16. The Oman decided to help me with the paper. He was intellegent about weeding out things that DISEC was not authroized to do- military withdraws, for example. We also didn't have to worry about funding. That would be a great relief for me (I added bonuses for all those nations that voted yea on the Resolution). Japan removed Santa claus and reintroduced. The chair swiftly moved to voting procedure. I motioned. "Wait, there's another one coming" "That was not a point or order, Ireland." The prim demeanor of the room was devolving. Portugal put on sunglasses to complement a cream colored suit to become the "Great African Warlord". Oman, rushing to get brownie points, continued to push that paper of mine. I know that feeling all too well. Voting procedure. At this point, one could only stall Darth Vader with an Unfriendly Amendment. Girl Scout Cookies for all were unaminously (let DPR Korea- our own R.S.) approved. To all those who downvoted the Resolution and promoted Independence of Kashmir would get big cash payouts from the UN 'general fund'. Using the only bit of Irish political position in existence, I required that no lard would be used in cookies distributed on Fridays and that states in violation of this would cede their batch to Rome. The amendment was shot down (what, they don't want money?). Both India and Pakistan nuked Ireland. Ah, you know you did something wrong if that happens to you. Then for superlatives, I was called "most likely to become a politician". Oh well. I was also called the best leprechaun. Wink.
After committee, I refilled my Decaf coffee. They gave me a new cup, too, on account of Swine Flu- all for 55 cents. Some other classmate-MUNners came by: "Say, Deng Xiaoping (M.McC.), if you won some award would't you have to share it with everyone?" "Theoretically". The slideshow- it was great. STAMUN (our delegation) didn't get a lot of awards. Except for our committee. We took the lower rungs by force. Malaysia (CMcC) and the man dressed for success (Portugal- YO-A) were commended. Ireland wasn't cited, neither was Res. 1.2's author and key voice Slovakia. Deng won his award. As an involved fan, our Faculty Advisor noted the trend of less awards. "But, it's not about the awards". Slovakia on the UNDP (not M.C.) promoted his traditional views on human reproductive health. Abstinence, Chastity. Not incredibly popular among the young, but the man deserves a commendation by our school's Youth Christian Fellowship Group. I had my beliefs: Travel cutbacks by other schools because of budget issues. WAMUNC feels a need to make as many long-distance travellers feel welcome. They know we'll be back- but the school from Honduras? So here's another year to STAMUN! "Next year, the game plan will be different". No matter how much I dwell on the topic of awards, remember, Model UN isn't about awards. Initials were given to protect conferenceers' privacy.
Ireland
What Happened
DISEC- WAMUNC XII
I did something foolish on Wednesday night- stay up late to finish a position paper. First off, it wasn't a real work of art. It was enough to scrape by. Thursday night- oh then I realized I shouldn't have done that. Just try then to get a coherent sentence out of me. I probably turned the Dais off when he banged the gavel to end my speech and I squelched- "What?" The topic: "Virtual Nuclear States". Vague. Making details would certainly take time and effort. It sure did.
Friday, I felt bad for myself. I had come home late, did a tiny bit of homework, woke up school-time (what feels like "before the rooster crows"). The other delegations? Sleep in (to about 7:30am) and take excursions. I suspect the other regional schools let their MUN kids take Friday off. As a goodbye surprise (before spring break), I had the joy of an English test and taking "special delivery" status in the Ottermobile. Well, I had my fun the weekend before.
Friday? Not bad. A schedule fluke meant I came in late to hear a pro-proliferation professor preach his controversial view. I had to get in the game. Sleep-shorted or not, this was the right time. I found a way to become the leading signatory of a paper- write my own. I handed this, written on a 5x7 canary pad in pencil, to the Chair. "Well, can you make it nicer?". We had a swell classroom in the evening- the room in the School of Media Building was set up to replicate a cutting-edge newsroom you see on TV. GW's big on emulating 'real life'. I got my sentences straight, and rushed to finish transcribing that working paper of my own. It was not too long later before there were 8 working papers on the table. That was too many in any seasoned MUNner's opinion. As a diplomat, I merged my paper with that of Spain's. A lot of it was redundant, and, as the college kid had just spent 30 minutes typing my'comprehensive paper' into the computer, must have annoyed the Dais.
Saturday? Great! This was crunch time. I understood that any prize or commendation hinged on this day, and I respected this fact. I tried not to do anything outrageous to annoy the Chair, and I think I succeeded that day. Basically, we spent all six committee hours repping the paper and making it digestible to the most countries as possible. Clauses of mine came and went. Seeing that the main authors (sponsors) of papers were spending 'quality time' with the Dais, I decided that I had to boost my role as a non-nuclear state and make my contributions seem, well, important. I felt I did the best I could. Next topic, I assessed myself, I would dominate. The vote came late in the day. I spoke eloquently against closing the list without wasting my minute. In a committee of 80 with an inclusive Chair, you don't get a lot of speaking time. Especially if it's DISEC and you don't have nukes. The vote came. Res. 1.1 cleared the hurdle. I was not enthusiastic about it, but sold my vote for two votes on the Spain/Ireland paper (1.4). Res 1.2, written by a classmate (Slovakia- M.C.) to get brownie points, also passed, albeit being a short addendum 'to any suitable paper'. Res. 1.3, was weeded of conflicts with already-passed 1.1. The cruel, pro-proliferation paper, failed, to my pleasure. Res 1.4, my 'baby', won yea vs nay, but failed because of the high number of abstainers (38 yea, 32 nay, 11 abstainers and some who didn't vote). Hey, they were afraid to say no! Res. 1.5, Portugal (classmate's- YO-A) paper and Res. 1.6 failed as well. Time was up. I had done alright. Our delegation as a whole rocked the committee.
Sunday? I was on fire!! The stars were lined up for me. Every Palm Sunday I've been alive I've been at church. I didn't want to break the record of 15/15, but realized that the non-faithful college students running the show had me in a tough spot. 9am start for committee vs 10am on Sunday. Deliberate, I thought. But 7:30am mass at my parish just off of GW worked just fine. I felt- delivered. I used a Starbucks gift card I had to buy a Pike's place to wash down the sugary aftertaste of the fundraiser donut I had just bought and took the pretentious white cup to committee with me. We were ready to move to topic B- India vs Pakistan re Kashmir. Within 10 minutes the Japanese delegate had working paper 2.1. The Chair was convinced it was pre-written. Ireland strategic victory! But the Dais looked at it. It was rejected for the mention of "Santa Claus". I called for a 5 minute Unmoderated Caucus. I could then blow my paper through as WP 2.2. I collected signatures- I needed 16. The Oman decided to help me with the paper. He was intellegent about weeding out things that DISEC was not authroized to do- military withdraws, for example. We also didn't have to worry about funding. That would be a great relief for me (I added bonuses for all those nations that voted yea on the Resolution). Japan removed Santa claus and reintroduced. The chair swiftly moved to voting procedure. I motioned. "Wait, there's another one coming" "That was not a point or order, Ireland." The prim demeanor of the room was devolving. Portugal put on sunglasses to complement a cream colored suit to become the "Great African Warlord". Oman, rushing to get brownie points, continued to push that paper of mine. I know that feeling all too well. Voting procedure. At this point, one could only stall Darth Vader with an Unfriendly Amendment. Girl Scout Cookies for all were unaminously (let DPR Korea- our own R.S.) approved. To all those who downvoted the Resolution and promoted Independence of Kashmir would get big cash payouts from the UN 'general fund'. Using the only bit of Irish political position in existence, I required that no lard would be used in cookies distributed on Fridays and that states in violation of this would cede their batch to Rome. The amendment was shot down (what, they don't want money?). Both India and Pakistan nuked Ireland. Ah, you know you did something wrong if that happens to you. Then for superlatives, I was called "most likely to become a politician". Oh well. I was also called the best leprechaun. Wink.
After committee, I refilled my Decaf coffee. They gave me a new cup, too, on account of Swine Flu- all for 55 cents. Some other classmate-MUNners came by: "Say, Deng Xiaoping (M.McC.), if you won some award would't you have to share it with everyone?" "Theoretically". The slideshow- it was great. STAMUN (our delegation) didn't get a lot of awards. Except for our committee. We took the lower rungs by force. Malaysia (CMcC) and the man dressed for success (Portugal- YO-A) were commended. Ireland wasn't cited, neither was Res. 1.2's author and key voice Slovakia. Deng won his award. As an involved fan, our Faculty Advisor noted the trend of less awards. "But, it's not about the awards". Slovakia on the UNDP (not M.C.) promoted his traditional views on human reproductive health. Abstinence, Chastity. Not incredibly popular among the young, but the man deserves a commendation by our school's Youth Christian Fellowship Group. I had my beliefs: Travel cutbacks by other schools because of budget issues. WAMUNC feels a need to make as many long-distance travellers feel welcome. They know we'll be back- but the school from Honduras? So here's another year to STAMUN! "Next year, the game plan will be different". No matter how much I dwell on the topic of awards, remember, Model UN isn't about awards. Initials were given to protect conferenceers' privacy.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
MonkMunc (SPECPOL POV)
Dec 5-6
We started with a renouned international policy specialist, then moved to the piles of pizza and soda. After a quick half hour of socializing, it was time for some partisanship.Not before we were encouraged to shop at the bazaar. A moving bot that I saw earlier that day had not sold yet. I ran a functions test, and became surprised regarding why the $2 price tag didn't get it sold in 20 seconds. So I bought it. Unlike the university conferences, things were a bit more relaxed, or, slower-paced. Half an hour to the end of the session for the evening, there was no working paper submitted. It was my time to do something. Usually, I had been caught off guard by illicit pre-written papers from a school in Florida or New Jersey, but, I had nothing but my stack of research, on Austrailia, to work with regarding self-determination, or, what's a country. Ranbcor ran deep as Iran blamed the west for everything.
Saturday morning, we continued the same debate, and the comitttee was presented with a working paper from Iran. It was off the wall, and bigoted. My paper, cosigned by the necessary count of delegates plus two, was proposed, modified, and postponed on account of snow. Golly, this was the first time it snowed this early in the year. Soon, lunch break followed. Sadly, I had to part before the last session. I handed the paper to a co-sponsor- Sri Lanka (who added an Eastern perspective to the Resolution)and hoped for the best. TO date, no word on the sucess of the resolution.
Wait a second... sometimes you get really involved in model UN!
We started with a renouned international policy specialist, then moved to the piles of pizza and soda. After a quick half hour of socializing, it was time for some partisanship.Not before we were encouraged to shop at the bazaar. A moving bot that I saw earlier that day had not sold yet. I ran a functions test, and became surprised regarding why the $2 price tag didn't get it sold in 20 seconds. So I bought it. Unlike the university conferences, things were a bit more relaxed, or, slower-paced. Half an hour to the end of the session for the evening, there was no working paper submitted. It was my time to do something. Usually, I had been caught off guard by illicit pre-written papers from a school in Florida or New Jersey, but, I had nothing but my stack of research, on Austrailia, to work with regarding self-determination, or, what's a country. Ranbcor ran deep as Iran blamed the west for everything.
Saturday morning, we continued the same debate, and the comitttee was presented with a working paper from Iran. It was off the wall, and bigoted. My paper, cosigned by the necessary count of delegates plus two, was proposed, modified, and postponed on account of snow. Golly, this was the first time it snowed this early in the year. Soon, lunch break followed. Sadly, I had to part before the last session. I handed the paper to a co-sponsor- Sri Lanka (who added an Eastern perspective to the Resolution)and hoped for the best. TO date, no word on the sucess of the resolution.
Wait a second... sometimes you get really involved in model UN!
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