On Thursday February 7, members of North Point’s Model United Nations club saddled up and traveled to John Hopkins University to attend its annual Model United Nations Conference.  During the conference, each school represented a different country in the United Nations. This year, North Point represented South Korea. Students were then split into several different committees that expanded over a vast array of topics, from drug trafficking to international security.  Some students were also assigned to historical committees, which covered topics like war in Ancient Egypt and the French Revolution.

“We went to our own committee positions within the conference and we discussed international affairs within the two specific positions,” commented Matthew Bianes (’14), who was on the Final War of the Roman Republic: Ancient Egypt committee. Bianes’ committee discussions included fighting Rome and a failed assassination attempt on Cleopatra.

One of the reported highlights of the convention was changing France’s name to “The Democratic People’s Republic of Camille” in a resolution introduced in the French Revolution committee.

Despite not being able to stay to hear the conference results at the annual awards ceremony, the popular opinion of the club members was that they did a good job.

“[The conference] went pretty well, not a lot of information was provided at the beginning so it was hard, but once we realized everyone was in the same boat, it was easier,” said Scott Skinner (’15), who appreciated the benefits of being able to participate in the conference. “I think it will help me in the future because I want to get into politics or law after high school, and it helps me with my public speaking.”

Mr. Kirby, the Model UN sponsor, seemed satisfied with the results of the conference, claiming that the students did an excellent job and gave it their all. While the 2013 John Hopkins Conference has come and gone, next year will provide yet another opportunity for Model UN to shoot for the best.