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Crises at Columbia

By Angelina Alias


The delegates of the New Hyde Park Model United Nations Club recently participated in Columbia Model United Nations Conference and Exhibition (CMUNCE), Columbia University´s annual high school conference. For many, the idea of attending an Ivy League conference is frightening, which makes the idea of a virtual conference even more overwhelming.


Nonetheless, the New Hyde Park MUN club swept the conference with a total of nine awards. With the help of adviser Mr. Novak, these delegates prepared for three days of stimulating debate.


A majority of NHP's participants in CMUNCE were sophomores and first time crisis delegates. Crisis style debate is different from what many students learned in class, which is a General Assembly debate style. Despite the new debate format, nine students won awards, which matched the record number NHP has received. The students who won Best Delegate awards include sophomore Kaitlyn Bell and junior David Ren. Outstanding Delegate awards were won by senior Anitta Kottai, sophomore Alvin Paul and sophomore Brandon Noguera. Delegates who received Honorable Mention awards include senior Daniella Canning and sophomore Ethan Mehta. The Verbal Commendation award was given to senior Grace Aderibigbe and sophomore Sania Daniyal.


“Many students ended the weekend of debate with a newfound interest in Crisis style committees and a positive virtual conference experience...”

“I loved trying out a crisis style conference for the first time, and I think CMUNCE was the perfect conference to do so. They were cooperative, engaging and created a good remote environment,” sophomore Guneet Hanjra said.


Delegates engaged in rigorous debate and many learned new skills. NHP students worked with other participants from around the world in civilized discussions, representing different countries and people in their committees.


Source by Kaitlyn Bell

Model UN students attending Columbia and adviser, Mr. Novak, prepare before committee.


“I loved the other delegates participating within the debate as none of them were ‘toxic’ but rather worked together as a civilized and diplomatic group,” sophomore Brandon Noguera said.


“Getting thrown into something I’ve never done before was scary, but I had a lot of fun as it was very rewarding, and I learned a lot,” sophomore Kaitlyn Bell said.


NHP MUNners’ participation in the Ivy League conference solidified, once again, their ability to compete at a high level. Many students ended the weekend of debate with a newfound interest in Crisis style committees and a positive virtual conference experience.

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