The Model United Nations (UN) is a club oriented around intellectual and informed debate here at Seminole High School. The club’s purpose is to help keep students informed on current events or problems, and to encourage students to think critically to consider and suggest solutions. The club even attends competitions against students from other schools around the state.

“[Model UN] provide[s] a diverse group of informed college/university students […] for addressing global concerns in a real world context,” states the National Model UN. This means that they strive to produce a positive environment for young adults and teenagers to tackle the problems concerning the world today, and attempts to find viable solutions to them.

“We want it to be schoolwide,” says sponsor  Mr. Peter Harriott. “We want [the school] to know we are on the map, and that one can learn different skills helpful to their career, such as learning how to problem-solve in groups, and negotiation among other [skills].”

There are students who think that Model UN is just a club where members argue and comment about the world’s current issues. In reality, the meetings are there to help members learn to debate and think critically, using the context of the issues in the world today.

Senior Elizabeth Bellersen, co-president of the club, says, “I feel like people know [Model UN] exists, but they don’t know what it does. It’s a lot more than just arguing, it’s about resolving real world problems.”

At the competitions, participants are placed into committees with typically about four people per committee. In these groups, the competitors are given a problem relevant on a global scale, and are allotted time to present a resolution to said problem. Their resolutions are then graded by other committees composed of other competitors based on how well they addressed the problem.

These competitions are state-wide, with their most recent one taking place at UCF from Nov. 6 to 8, at Knight Model United Nations (KnightMUN) XIV.
To join, one simply has to show up to the club, and be prepared to partake in engaging and intellectual discussion. Dues are $25, and to participate in competitions fees start at $40 and rise from there.