On Saturday, April 2nd, three Montrosians traveled to the International School of Boston for one of the final Model UN conferences of the year.  Ciara Dunn ‘18, Caroline Churney ‘19, and myself Gabby Landry ‘18 participated in separate committees to discuss and attempt to solve some of the most pressing international issues of our time.

Ciara Dunn represented the nation of Armenia in the General Assembly and debated Mars Colonization.  Ciara said, “The conference itself was interesting, and I liked the more relaxed atmosphere of my committee in particular.  Since the topic was Mars Colonization, there were elements that allowed for more than just serious faces.  Also, the food was delicious.”

Caroline played the role of Syria in the Human Rights Council, debating the Armenian genocide and the definition of genocide.  Caroline said, “In my committee, I wrote some clauses of a working paper for the first time. It was incredible to bond with so many different students and fight for a position.”  

Both Caroline’s committee and my own included crises, in which the secretary-generals of the conference come into the committee and present an urgent crisis that the committee then has to solve. Caroline added, “The crises kept us on our toes and provoked the writing of resolutions to take action in response to the problem. For example, I represented Syria in the Armenian Genocide committee, and I was accused of poisoning the water. It forced me to think on my feet and formulate a statement in my defense.”  

I represented the nation of Lithuania in the High Commissioner on Refugees committee and discuss the Syrian refugee crisis. One interesting crisis added to our agenda was a bombing in Cambridge, which provoked debate over screening processes of refugees.  Like Caroline said, these crises kept the committee exciting throughout the day and forced us to think and act fast.  For the members of Montrose Model UN, the ISB conference was one of exciting debate, interesting topics, and enjoyable collaboration with students from other schools.