After two years of online conferencing, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Model United Nations team returned to New York City this month to compete in the National Model United Nations conference.
The return to in-person competition on the national level continued the University’s tradition of Model UN (MUN) success, with a group of 16 students from UW Oshkosh earning the coveted Outstanding Delegation designation for their representation of the African country of Botswana. It marks the 38th consecutive Outstanding Delegation honor in national competition the MUN program.
“We had a lot of students who are brand new to MUN on the team this year,” said Tracy Slagter, political science professor and faculty adviser for the UWO team. “They handled themselves brilliantly this week and learned a lot from the conference and from our experienced team members.”
In all, UWO was represented by 21 students in New York—16 as Botswana and five as the delegation from the small island state of Singapore. Seven students earned an Outstanding Delegate award and six won Outstanding Position Paper awards.
Two Titans—Grant Steffen, a senior political science major from Kimberly, and Cole Schmidt, a senior political science major from Burlington—won both honors.
The National MUN (NMUN) conference, held in the New York Hilton Midtown hotel in Manhattan, ran April 9-15. This year’s gathering followed a virtual 2021 event and a canceled conference in 2020.
NMUN is the largest and oldest event of its kind, drawing student delegations from around the world to compete in simulated UN negotiations. Each member of each country delegation has a different area of expertise, dependent on which committee of the UN they are assigned. For example, students assigned to the UN Environment Assembly were asked to prepare country-specific research on reducing marine plastics and the development of a circular economy, while students in the General Assembly First Committee had expertise in countering the threat of Improvised Explosive Devices and nuclear danger. UWO delegates competed in eight different committees, tailoring their knowledge to a diverse array of topics.
The goal in each committee is to reach consensus on a draft resolution, which means that delegates organize themselves into like-minded working groups early in the conference. Throughout the week, the groups attempt to craft a resolution that all countries in their working group can support. Eventually, working groups attempt to merge their resolutions with those of other working groups in the committee. Student delegates distinguish themselves by knowing both the topic and the process, by facilitating inclusive conversations, and by showcasing excellent negotiation skills.
The delegations and award winners:
Botswana (Outstanding Delegation Award)
Gabriel Anderson (Outstanding Position Paper Award)
Abigail Baker
Savannah Bartelt
Jayme Baumann
Sami Christiansen (Outstanding Delegate Award)
Sarah Fleming
Peter Herrmann (Outstanding Delegate Award)
Trenton Korth (Outstanding Position Paper Award)
Tannyr Locy
Cesar Morales Magana (Outstanding Delegate Award)
Carrie Reed
Patrick Remick
Cole Schmidt (Outstanding Delegate Award, Outstanding Position Paper Award)
Grant Steffen (Outstanding Delegate Award, Outstanding Position Paper Award)
Abigail Tiedemann
Meg Traska (Outstanding Delegate Award)
Singapore
Ernesto Hernandez
Taeyeon Kim (Outstanding Position Paper Award)
Mason Sada (Outstanding Delegate Award)
Danielle Sawyer (Outstanding Position Paper Award)
Emma Sullivan
Those interested in joining the MUN team to build both lifelong friendships and valuable skills should contact Slagter at slagtert@uwosh.edu or Angela Subulwa, director of international studies, at subulwaa@uwosh.edu.
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