Lu Argueta
IRP 471- Model United Nations
05/05/2011
NMUN Reflection Paper
“Every day, in field operations around the world, men and women serve under the flag of
the United Nations, to build and maintain peace, to relieve human suffering, and to
promote human rights.” If you walk towards the Chagall Stained Glass at the United
Nations Headquarters in New York City, you will notice a torn United Nations flag hung
from a wall to your right. Underneath the flag, the words reading “Fallen In the Cause of
Peace” and the caption above reminded me the reason why I chose to become proactive
in MUN and most importantly, why I chose International Relations as my major when I
enrolled at Syracuse.
Being an International Relations major was a journey that started off like any
other; unaware of the experiences, yet excited to become successful in something I had a
strong interest for. But for three and a half years of my undergraduate career, almost
nothing triggered the spark I felt when I decided to choose my major. MUN had started
my love for international diplomacy and negotiating, but it was probably meeting new
people and collaborating with them that probably struck a passion for doing MUN.
This year, I was chosen to become one of the students in the SU delegation
representing the Republic of Kazakhstan at the NMUN 2011 Conference, taking place for
a week in New York City. Though excited and nervous, my journey through NMUN can
be described as uncertain and spontaneous. For much of the time I spent researching,
practicing and learning about Kazakhstan, the rules of procedure, the specifics of our
committees, etc., I sometimes lacked the drive in our weekly classes to become
passionate about this experience. To me, NMUN was not going to be much different as
Lu Argueta
IRP 471- Model United Nations
05/05/2011
any other of IR experiences on campus. Little did I know it would turn out to be the
opposite.
It was a challenge to do MUN as a senior. Because it happened in my last
semester of my undergraduate career, I was more concerned about missing out in
Syracuse than creating new memories in NYC. Our training and researching duties were
long and difficult. There was much information to be compiled, statistics to be learned,
names to be memorized, and issues to be debated. I remember thinking the information
was endless and struggling with organizing it, or even debating if I could learn all of it.
This was certainly not the way we had done it in high school. But what I learned as we
got closer to the date of the conference was that the National Model United Nations was
far different from any other high school experience.
It really surprised me how the conference was entirely different than what I had
expected. The very first day, in our committee, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
Review Committee, delegates immediately spurred into discussing the agenda, began
forming alliances and really advocated to speak their country’s stand on the various
issues we had to discuss. The feeling was overwhelming; I didn’t think I was prepared for
the conference at all. But talking to my committee partner, Glenda Nunez, gave me some
comfort. “It’s either sink or swim,” she said to me. And without over thinking it, I
jumped into a pool of chattery delegates only to get asked two seconds later what
Kazakhstan’s agenda for the Committee was. We were swimming for the rest of the
conference, with an adrenaline rush attached as a bonus for the next couple of days.
Lu Argueta
IRP 471- Model United Nations
05/05/2011
The delegates were a lot more professional and the experience was much more accurate
to how the actual UN works. The days were long and exhausting, but building friendships
at the same time we were trying to build resolutions was comforting. The bloc Glenda
and I worked with was mostly Central Asian nations: Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were our
closest allies yet; we called ourselves “the Trifecta.” Equatorial Guinea, Azerbaijan,
Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan remained close to us throughout the process of
amendments and voting. Our Working Paper, drafting and emphasizing on the
significance of collaborative, multilateral work on the transportation of nuclear materials,
and the creation of an International Summit for the denuclearization of Nuclear Weapons
States, was one of the most cohesive and neutral works in the committee. At this point in
the conference, I remember thinking to myself how thrilled I was to actually be a part of
something that has the potential to improve today’s living conditions around the world.
Although our working paper didn’t make it to the final resolution due to time logistics, it
was still encouraging to work with many other delegates from all over the world, with
different cultures, languages and experiences. I thought to myself, “so, this is what the
UN really must look like.”
Looking back at this experience, I understand that International Relations holds a
place dearly to my heart. It was incredibly refreshing to put into practice what we have
learned in theory, to work closely with other SU students in my same major and to form
closer ties to a faculty member, Dr. D’Amico- neither of which had taken effect in my
four years at this university.
Lu Argueta
IRP 471- Model United Nations
05/05/2011
The challenges I encountered through this course were gratifying to overcome. Writing
the position papers was not easy as a couple, especially when there was so much
information to be included. Learning the terminology and rules of the conference was
confusing and a little excruciating. Dealing with our Chair and Dais at the conference
was enough to realize we were being treated unfairly. But I can proudly say, there is
nothing that I would change, because I can take it all as a learning experience and realize
that this type of work is what I want to be doing for the rest of my life.
The accomplishments of this course far outweighed the challenges. I acquired and
expanded team-building skills, improved my public speaking, found out about many
future opportunities in the UN field, and developed new friendships that I hope will last a
lifetime. NMUN is obviously just a simulation of how the real United Nations works.
I’m sure someone would have hesitated to leave the world’s future in the hands of 20something year olds who were just desperate for the conferences to end soon enough to
go to the delegate dance. But, just as Ronnie Heintze, our Secretary-General, said it in his
final address at the closing ceremony; we have the power as young scholars to “help the
world through the many accomplishments created at the conference”. You wouldn’t think
of it, but there are probably a select few that day at the UN’s General Assembly who are
going to eventually work under the flag of the United Nations and work their best to
achieve peace, security and human rights worldwide. I sure do hope I’m one of them.
Otherwise, I really have no clue how I’m supposed to discover what my passion really is.