Grandview Heights students to participate in Model UN conference in New York City

For the first time, Grandview Heights High School students will be traveling to New York City to participate in-person at the National High School Model United Nations conference March 18-21.

The words used by the seniors who help establish the local Model UN club in 2018 to describe their excitement about that opportunity sound a lot like comments from real-life diplomats completing a hard-earned international agreement.

"It's extremely exciting," senior Carter Black said. "It's what we've been working toward for so long, ever since we started the Model UN club."

"It's a culmination of our efforts," senior Harvey Pierce said. "It's going to be amazing to attend the conference in the actual United Nations building."

Grandview students were planning to attend the conference in 2021, but the pandemic forced the event to be held virtually.

NHSMUN is the largest Model United Nations conference for high school students and is in its 48th year. The event has hosted students from more than 130 countries, according to the NHSMUN website.

Grandview's program was initiated by Pierce and and Tyler Schmied during their freshman year. Science teacher Caleb Evans is the club's advisor.

"We thought it would be a super cool chance to talk about and explore politics and world issues," Schmied said. "In government class you're always focusing on American topics. I'm super interested in world politics and plan to major in international affairs."

The club "is a way to explore the issues and pay more attention to what's happening in the world," he said.

The club meets Tuesdays during lunch period and has grown from an informal membership of fewer than 10 students to about 30 regular participants.

Since its inceptions, the club has evolved to being less about receiving information and more about finding ways to ensure students can actively participate in discussions, Pierce said.

During last school year, the club's sessions included consideration of the issues resulting from a scenario in which the Soviet Union won the Cold War and the eastern bloc of countries held more sway in world affairs, Schmied said.

This winter, the club is considering a scenario of a nuclear battle occurring and the United Nations must wrestle with several issues that resulted globally.

"It's more apocalyptic than the other scenarios we've done," Pierce said.

Instead of exploring general topics, the new scenario is forcing club members to try to determine how it can work to resolve the toll the nuclear battle has levied across the world, Black said.

"It's having an impact on every country, he said.

Senior Connor Hayes said participating in the program has helped teach him that he must consider an issue from the other perspective in order to work out a solution.

"It's an eye-opening experience for the students," Evans said. "It gives them a perspective and a nice mix of viewpoints. They're learning how important the art of compromise is in resolving problems and that's something you can apply to everyday life, not just politics."

Nine Grandview students will attend the national conference. In addition to Schmied, Pierce, Black and Hayes, the group also includes juniors Cody Allen and Maria Ionno and sophomores Sabrina Li, Vivi Chute and Devin Yeager. The students raised money to help with the cost of the trip.

Evans said awards are presented at the conference, which also has a session March 23-26. Among the awards are for the best delegate (individual) and delegation (school).

Students are evaluated by a team of judges who move around the conference and the different committees taking notes on the students. The criteria used for the evaluations include students' participation, collaboration with other students and debate skills, Evans said.

Students also wrote and submitted position papers that are part of the criteria, Evans said. Each student was assigned two main topics to discuss, and papers were approximately 10 pages.

Students who attend the national conference are assigned roles representing a nation on a committee or specialized agency working to reach an agreement on a specific topic related to current and real-world issues.

Schmied will be part of a committee exploring the Italian mafia, how it is funded and what can be done to limit its power and influence around the world.

The research he is doing to prepare for his Model UN work has been "eye-opening," he said.

"You don't hear much about the Italian mafia, but it's still around in the U.S. and so many parts of the world and they're a formidable influence in all kinds of ways from the drug trade to arms trafficking."

Pierce will be a representative of Uganda at the national conference, and he's studying the positions the nation takes on real-world issues.

Looking at an issue from another perspective "helps make you more open-minded," he said. "It brings home the importance of 'don't judge a book by its cover.' You have to consider things from the other side."

Hayes will be serving as a judge on a committee considering trade disputes.

The role will require him to look at both sides of the issue, he said.

Being part of the Model UN has helped him understand why diplomacy sometimes moves slowly to a resolution, he said.

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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Grandview Heights students to participate in Model UN conference in New York City