CWRU Wins!!!!!!!!!!

By JOHN D. GIORGIS

This note is to let you know that CWRU Model UN won honorable mention delegation this weekend at the Harvard National Model UN. The Harvard National MUN is the largest and most prestigious Model UN Conference in the Western Hemisphere. This is the first time in school history that the CWRU Team has ever placed at a major national Conference, and represents an oustanding accomplishment.

This year, CWRU represented the Republic of Kazakhstan. The members chose Kazakhstan for its unique placement as a nation at the crossroads of the Muslim, Asian, and Eastern European cultures. It is the second largest of the former Soviet Republics, after the Russian Federation, and is well-endowed with natural resources, including large depostis of minerals and oil.

At Harvard over 130 schools competed. Harvard gave out two outstanding delegation awards and two honorable mention awards. CWRU was the only small school delegation to win one of the four team awards. The Outstanding Delegation Awards were won by the perennially strong teams from Yale University as the People's Republic of China and from Baylor University as Argentina. The Universite Catolica Andres Bello of Venezuela won the other honorable mention award for representing Germany.

CWRU also took home a record four individual awards, placing in fully 50% of all the committees in which Kazakhstan was represented.

Honorable Mention Delegates:

1. Andy Zupcsan and John Clark - Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee
2. Johan Ericsson and Trevor Jenkins - Special Political and Decolonization Committee
3. Jeneanne Shanahan and Anne Fligor - the World Heatlh Organization

Outstanding Delegate Award:

1. Josh Cherry - Organization of the Islamic Conference

The team award was based on the total performance of all members of the delegation, all of whom represented Kazakhstan with distinction. Congratulations all around!

Model UN Team Takes Fourth at International Conference

Years of hard work by CWRU team pays off at Harvard

By WENDY GOODMAN

Assistant News Editor, Observer Campus Newspaper

At the annual Harvard National Model United Nations conference last weekend, CWRU's Model UN Club (MUN) won an honorable mention delegation award. The Harvard National MUN, according to CWRU MUN member and senior geology major John Giorgis, is "the largest and most prestigious Model UN Conference in the Western Hemisphere."

MUN conferences are simulations of the actual United Nations during which each college or university is assigned a country to represent. Awards are given at each conference for excellence in representing one's nation and for "excellence in debate and diplomacy," according to Giorgis.

Judging at the conference is based on a number of factors, including simple aspects such as quality of delegates' writing, speaking styles and overall level of participation. Other criteria such as adherence to national policy and accurate portrayal of one's country are also important.

CWRU portrayed the Republic of Kazakhstan at the Harvard Conference. "Members chose Kazakhstan for its unique placement as a nation at the crossroads of the Muslim, Asian and Eastern European cultures," Giorgis said.

Over 130 colleges and universities sent delegations to the Harvard Conference, including institutions such as Yale University, Carnegie Mellon University, University of California at Berkeley, Boston University, Wellesley College, and Stanford University. International delegations were also present, including universities from Turkey, Argentina, Mexico, Nigeria, Taiwan and others.

CWRU was awarded one of only four team awards given at the Harvard Conference. "The team award was based on the total performance of all members of the delegation, all of whom represented Kazakhstan with distinction," Giorgis said. Outstanding Delegation Awards were won this year by Yale University and Baylor University. Both schools traditionally fare well at the conference.

In addition to the honorable mention delegation award, CWRU also brought home a record four individual awards. Honorable mention delegates were: Andy Zupscan and John Clark on the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee; Johan Ericsson and Trevor Jenkins on the Special Political and Decolonization Committee; and Jeneanne Shanahan and Anne Gligor on the World Health Organization Committee. Finally, an Outstanding Delegate Award went to Josh Cherry for his work on the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

CWRU has never before placed at a major national MUN conference, so the delegation's success at Harvard last weekend was all the more appreciated.

As Giorgis said, "Many of the members of this year's team were seniors who have worked for four years to build the CWRU team up to this level. It is the highest honor in the nation that could be claimed by the CWRU team."

MUN Secretary Rachelle Calabreeze added, "It was a tough conference, and winning means a lot to our club. It not only puts us in the top five schools in the nation, but it's also more of a personal victory because a lot of our delegation was sick during the conference."