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OU’s Model UN wins top honors at Toronto conference
This past weekend, Oakland University’s Model United Nations team continued its winning tradition with a first-place finish at the North American Model UN Conference in Toronto. Oakland received the Best Delegation Award, topping more than 30 other schools in the U.S. and Canada.
During the event, participants were judged based on how well they represented the interests of different countries on United Nations committees and organizations. More than 400 students competed at the conference, which featured more than a dozen committees discussing both contemporary and historical international issues.
Seven of the 15 OU students who participated took home individual awards. Four of those students were awarded "best delegate" in their respective committees.
Best Delegate winners:
- Adam Derington on the 1948 Legal Committee tasked with writing the Convention on the Elimination of Genocide
- Richard Williamson on the Congo government committee that replicated the 1960-1963 crisis in Congo
- Adam George on the Iranian Intelligence Committee involved in contemporary issues in the Middle East
- Marissa Coloske on the US National Security Council also involved in the Middle East crisis
Other winners:
- Ryan Dempsey, Honorable Mention, representing the United Kingdom at the historical 2005 World Summit.
- Brian Quinn, Honorable Mention, representing Czechoslovakia in the 1948 Genocide Convention session.
- Alex Bertges, "Best Position Paper," representing Canada in the Genocide Convention.
This is Oakland’s second straight first-place showing, having won top honors at the Lake Erie Model UN conference in November.
“This represents a very significant accomplishment for these students and our entire OU Model UN team,” said Dr. Paul Kubicek, professor of political science and faculty adviser for Model UN. “The conference in Toronto is significantly larger than the fall conference in Ohio and the caliber of some of the schools in Toronto is also in a higher category.”
To prepare for the conference, students spent weeks learning about the issues – developing research and presentation skills – to effectively advocate for their country’s interests. Model UN is open to students of all majors and can be taken as the course PS 362.
The team is gearing up to host Oakland’s first-ever high school Model UN conference Feb. 26-27. Opening ceremonies will take place in the Oakland Center Banquet Rooms at 3:30 p.m. this Friday, and sessions will start at 4:30 p.m. The event is expected to bring more than 200 high school students from across Michigan to OU’s campus.
For more information on OU’s Model UN team, contact Dr. Kubicek at kubicek@oakland.edu.