Before Russia annexed the Ukrainian province of Crimea, delegates from France proposed a resolution to the standoff between Russia and Ukraine, calling for a popular vote to determine the region’s fate and the United Nations to enforce the outcome. Despite feverish consensus building among delegates, the United States vetoed the resolution.
CHS Model UN Delegates, left to righ: Olivia Potter, Sabrina Flohr, Leah Cuddeback, Thomas Campbell, Daniel Sims, Felix Kocher, Thomas Boyer and Nathan Campbell
The situation could have occurred in the United Nations in New York in the past two months, instead it happened at the Model United Nations at Blackburn College, in Carlinville, Ill. The French delegates were Leah Cuddeback and Sabrina Flohr, from Collinsville High School.
The pair combined with six other CHS students to earn second place representing France at the conference. CHS also sent teams to represent Rwanda, India and New Zealand.
At the conference, a CHS delegation revisited the establishment of an international civil force in Kosovo. Another advocated for hubs of assistance and protection for humanitarian assistance in Syria. The groups from CHS had to know France’s political philosophy and argue accordingly.
In Tour de France fashion, the group representing France was not competing on their own, but as part of a larger team providing support. The other countries, especially Rwanda, helped the CHS “A” team of France by arguing points that improved the image of France, but only if it was true to the country’s world view, Cuddeback said.
The teams were coached by social studies teacher Barabara Lindauer, who has made a 20-year habit of coaching teams to a top three finish at the event.
The Model UN teaches students how the UN operates, the important issues facing the world and how countries perceive issues differently based on their political culture, national interests and national experiences and relative position s in the international system, the Central Illinois High School Model United Nations website indicates.
Teams are expected to take on the political philosophy of the country they are representing. The United States won France in a lottery. Any member of the Security Council, with veto power, is a prized draw, Lindauer said.
Daniel Sims was part of a CHS group in the General Assembly that submitted proposed resolutions in advance. Once on site, the delegations campaigned to get other countries to bring their resolutions to a vote, and then campaigned to get it to pass.
The criteria used by the college students and professors to assign places in the event is a bit of a mystery. The groups that work well with others usually rate higher, Cuddeback said. But the final judging criteria is withheld.
The experience convinced Daniel Simms to major in International Business when he starts at Kansas University this autumn. Lea Cuddeback said her time preparing for and participating in the Model UN gave her a better view of the word. At Model UN conferences, she likes to take the side of countries that are opposed to the United States because it gives you a different way to see things.
The CHS Model UN participants were: Olivia Potter, Sabrina Flohr, Leah Cuddeback, Thomas Campbell, Daniel Sims, Felix Kocher, Thomas Boyer and Nathan Campbell.
