Four Rivers Students Recognized at Columbia Model UN Conference

 

CMUNCE is known as a “crisis conference,” meaning that the committees meet to solve crises instead of pass bills and laws. Each committee at the conference works through unique scenarios that include everything from the 1911 Mexican Revolution, to The President’s 2015 Special Task Force, to The Office of the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic set just before the Clone Wars of the Star Wars universe.

 

For Marissa Birne ’15, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) jumped off the page. Marissa earned the Best Delegate Award for her work as Guatemala.

 

“At first we were talking about the rhino crisis and the legalization of rhino horns leading to certain species becoming endangered,” Marissa said. “But they throw crises at you during the committee time that you can’t prepare for in advance. About halfway through one of our sessions, I was told a rare plant that could cure cancer had been discovered in Guatemala and I had to work to respond to that.”

 

A second crises was thrown Marissa’s way when she was “kidnapped by terrorists” with about a half-hour left in the final day of committee meetings. According to club advisor Amy Enright, being assassinated or kidnapped at one of these conferences is actually a compliment; it shows that you are being so effective in committee that the chairs want to challenge you by throwing you a curve ball and forcing you to improvise.  

 

During a break from committee meetings, the Rivers students were given the opportunity to visit Lebanon’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations and Deputy Permanent Resident Caroline Ziade, whose role is effectively that of an ambassador. Students were able to ask Ms. Ziade questions about her country and its position in relation to current events happening in the Middle East.

 

“I thought it was really interesting and educational to hear the real Arab point of view of those events from a person who has an encyclopedic knowledge of that region,” Ms. Enright said. “She represents a legitimately multi-cultural, moderate country and something like ISIS is much more of a threat to her way of life than it is to ours, so it was definitely a valuable experience.”

 

What also made the visit particularly impactful was the fact that Ms. Ziade is a woman. The United Nations is a predominantly male assembly, so to have the opportunity to meet with one of the few women doing this kind of work was truly an eye-opening and unique experience.

 

“We didn’t know who we were meeting with in advance, and the conversation prior to the meeting was along the lines of ‘I wonder what he will be like,’ ” Marissa said. “So when the door opened and this really strong and powerful woman walked in and sat at the end of the table to start talking to us about her role in the United Nations, it was really exciting. She was able to share that perspective in addition to that of her country.”

 

Rob D’Alessandro ’16, Lincoln Zaleski ’16, and Isabel Hardy ’18 all earned commendations of their own at CMUNCE, as well. Rob was awarded his committee’s Outstanding Delegate Award, Lincoln earned a Verbal Commendation, and Isabel was an honorable mention for her committee.