On Saturday, March 23, 2024, the Middletown High School North Model United Nations Delegation attended the North Brunswick Township High School Model United Nations Conference 5 (NBTHSMUNC V) at North Brunswick Township High School.
Members of our delegation were each a part of 3 different committees. Rashi Mhapsekar, Chase Hantke, and Sean Forkan represented North as a part of the SOCHUM committee. Angela Tian and Vicky Chen represented Middletown North as a part of the DISEC committee and lastly, we had Paige Peyton and Monisha Chalamalasetty representing North on the JCC Cuban Missile Crisis committee.
SOCHUM stands for Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee which is a United Nations committee that discusses social conflicts and human rights worldwide. While in committee, delegates discussed the issue of Child Trafficking in Eastern Europe. Rashi Mhapsekar, who represented the United States and is a sophomore at Middletown North, spoke about the importance of education, security, and rehabilitation policies to combat child trafficking to other countries in her committee. Sean Forkan who represented Germany and is a freshman at Middletown North further supported those ideas and assisted in creating a resolution.
When asking Forkan about his experiences at the conference he said, “The Model UN conference taught me a lot about the United Nations and we had a great debate with all the other countries, especially Greece”. Chase Hantke who was representing France and is also a freshman at North assisted the committee further with creating resolutions and presenting new ways to combat child trafficking. When he was asked about the conference, Hantke said, “This was my first Model UN conference and it could not have gone better. I had a great time debating with my peers and coming up with resolutions for such an imperative issue that exists in today’s society.”
DISEC stands for Disarmament and International Security Committee which is a UN committee that discusses global security threats and maintaining peace. While in committee, delegates discussed China’s belt and road initiative which is an initiative to enhance connectivity and cooperation between Asia, Europe, and Africa.
They resolved economic, environmental, security, and social issues while in committee by coming up with ways to pay back debt, creating sustainable environments with eco-friendly replacements, advocating for countries being transparent with each other, educating social workers, and more.
Angela Tian, a sophomore at North, represented Thailand who worked on bettering the initiative and implementing many ideas that can help it become more ethical. Vicky Chen who is also a sophomore at North represented Australia further discussed many of the same ideas centered around implementing transparency and financial plans allowing for a successful committee. When asking Chen about her experience with the conference she had said, “The NBTHS Model UN Conference was such a great experience allowing me to interact with people, communicate and create groups to resolve the issue we were facing. Everything was executed nicely and I had a great time”.
Lastly, delegates participated in the Joint Crisis Committee which was centered around the Cuban Missile Crisis where they acted as prominent figures in the Cuban Missile Crisis. The committee was divided into two cabinets with one being the Cabinet of the USSR and one being the US. Delegates in both cabinets discussed back and forth about the events that took place.
Delegate Paige Peyton represented Rodion Malinovsky who was the Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union as part of the USSR Cabinet. During the committee she worked with other prominent figures in the USSR Cabinet to preserve Cubas sovereignty while also maintaining relations with the USA. She debated if nuclear actions had to be taken or if there was a more diplomatic resolution. The USSR worked through many issues during the committee like internal financial issues, traitors, attempts with the committee ending with the Geneva Conference. With all the hard work Peyton put into this conference, she won Honorable Mention at closing ceremonies. When asking Peyton about her conference experience she had said, “This has been one of the best conferences I have attended. I met new people and saw people from other conferences I have attended. I put a lot of work into preparing for this conference and wanted to emerge as a confident delegate. I really believe I did and it was nice to see all my hard work pay off, with earning an award”.
Finally, delegate Monisha Chalamalasetty represented Maxwell D. Taylor who was a United States ambassador as part of the US Cabinet in the JCC Cuban Missile Crisis. While in committee Chalamalasetty debated with her fellow delegates on the best way to approach the issue. After rigorous discussions, they realized disarmament of missiles was the best solution. During the committee, many obstacles came across the delegates’ paths like spies switching to and from the USSR Cabinet, possible impeachments, and more. Ultimately the US cabinet created a joint peace directive with the Cabinet of the USSR to resolve the issue.
Middletown High School North’s attendance at the North Brunswick Model UN Conference resulted in a big success with one of our very own delegates winning an award at closing ceremonies. The MHSN Model UN Delegation will continue to strive for excellence as we keep attending conferences in the future.
