ONU Model UN Team Travels to New York City

The ONU Model United Nations Team represented the country of Zimbabwe at the National Model United Nations Conference in New York City from April 7 until April 12. Students that attended were Ben Wollet, senior history major of Strongsville, Ohio, Dan Jones senior political science major of Ashland, Ohio, Matt Byal, senior international studies major of Dunkirk, Ohio, Leeann Sullivan sixth year pharmacy major of Wicklifffe, Ohio, Rochelle Reamy, junior international studies major of Bolivar, Ohio, Kelly Morman, junior political science major of Monroeville, Ohio, Shaili Patel, third year pharmacy major of Mannheim, Ontario, Canada, Stephanie Wells, senior international studies major of Dayton, Ohio, Amanda Stype, senior international business and economics major of Ada, Ohio, Doug Chapel, senior political science major of Parma, Mich., and Sarah Plesner, senior international studies major of Indianapolis, Ind.

ONU’s team competed as Zimbabwe, which Dr. Russ Crawford of the Department of History, Politics and Criminal justice acknowledges as a challenge, because that nation is currently under sanction by the international community. The students were escorted by Professor Andy Ludanyi and Professor Kofi Nsia-Pepra, both also of the Department of History, Politics and Criminal Justice. During the event, delegates debated issues that included child soldiers, nuclear disarmament, economic development and AIDS, among others. Professor Ludanyi commented that the members of ONU’s delegation did a fine job of representing their designated nation. The team proved to be extremely successful, initiating a number of resolutions within the conference, including one that passed at the General Assembly Plenary session.

"My favorite parts were working really hard with some of the ONU delegates, as well as delegates from other colleges, which included people from all over the US, Germany, Switzerland and Britain," said Jones. "Being in New York and working at the actual United Nations was incredible. It's such a fast-paced town with so much going on, but its still fun to get a pulse of culture that you can get nowhere else. My biggest lesson was to trust in yourself, and work hard. There was a lot of yelling and hard work, but through all of that, we were able to come to conclusions in our resolution that were effective solutions to global issues."

Model UN Team and professors enjoy an Ethiopian restaurant in New York City.

Seated, left to right: Kelly Morman, Shaili Patel, Stephanie Wells, Amanda Stype, Doug Chapel, Sarah Plesner

Standing, left to right: Ben Wollet, Dan Jones, Matt Byal, Leeann Sullivan, Rochelle Reamy, Dr. Andy Ludanyi, Dr. Kofi Nsia-Pepra

Published: Wed, 04/15/2009 - 3:42pm