CSUSB Model UN Team Named Outstanding Delegation at South Korea Competition

While many students were on a four-day Thanksgiving holiday break Nov. 28-Dec. 1, six CSUSB students were overseas seeking solutions to global issues such as climate change and water-related disasters. When they finished at the National Model United Nations-Korea conference, they had garnered several honors, including Outstanding Delegation. It was the first time the university sent a Model UN team abroad; it annually participates in the National Model UN Conference each spring in New York City, where CSUSB students have earned 18 Outstanding Delegation awards, the highest recognition given at the conference, over the past 20 years. When the six students — representing Palestine and Iran in the diplomatic simulation — met with other teams in Songdo International City, a part of the Seoul, South Korea, metropolitan area, the result was no different. The team representing Palestine — Nicolette Davis, political science major; Kevin Gema, dual major in political science and economics; and Stephen El-Khatib, dual major in social science and Arabic language and culture — was awarded Outstanding Delegation. CSUSB was one of only seven universities from around the world to win the top award. The team representing Iran — Mikael Erwin, philosophy major; Amanda Meere, social science graduate student; and Kristen Ramos, dual major in geography (global studies track) and psychology — was awarded Honorable Mention. In addition, the CSUSB Iran team earned Outstanding Position Paper awards in all the committees in which its team members served, and the Palestinian delegation earned one out of the two committees on which it served. According to Kevin Grisham, the CSUSB Model UN faculty adviser who accompanied the students on the trip, the CSUSB teams took home the most awards for a delegation, along with Georgia State University. “For attending our first international Mode UN conference, the achievement by the students in committee was exceptional,” Grisham said. “What was more exceptional was the multitude of compliments the students and I received from faculty advisers and students from around the globe concerning the professionalism and preparation of the students. They operated as true ambassadors of our university and the Inland Empire community.” During their time in South Korea — from Nov. 24 to Dec. 1 — the teams also experienced Korean culture and history first-hand during visits to ancient palaces and portions of Seoul and Incheon. "In addition to the competition at the conference, students were bombarded with an environment of constant learning,” said Grisham, who is an assistant professor in the department of geography and environmental studies and also faculty adviser to the Model Arab League at CSUSB. “From meeting fellow students from around the world, to seeing the costs of ongoing conflict at the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea, to eating traditional Korean dishes, the turn of every corner in South Korea was a new experience. Each experience was a real-life reinforcement of the amazing education they receive at CSUSB." They also visited with U.N. officials and others working on technology in promoting sustainable development and climate change. The six students were responsible for raising money through private donations to fund most of their trip. The Center for International Studies and Programs at CSUSB provided additional financial assistance. The center, along with the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, where the Model UN and Model Arab League program are housed, also helped with administrative support for the student delegates. Students in both the Model UN and Model Arab League programs spent their winter break to begin preparations for not only the National Model UN conference in New York, but also for the National Model Arab League conference in Washington, D.C.