Cal State San Bernardino’s Model United Nations program continued its tradition of excellence at the National Model United Nations Conference in New York City, with its two teams earning Outstanding Delegation and Distinguished Delegation honors.
In addition, the students earned three Outstanding Position Papers in Committee and one Outstanding Delegate(s) in Committee, an award bestowed by student peers, at the conference that took place April 9-13.
Taken together, and in the context of CSUSB’s honors earned in the National Model UN and international Model UN conferences in the last 27 years, the awards place the university among the top programs in the world.
Referring to the awards earned by this year’s two teams, which represented the non-governmental organization Amnesty International and the Republic of Ireland, program faculty adviser Kevin Grisham said, “This is highly impressive as around 75 percent of the entire delegation were brand new to Model UN. The majority of our students have never been to any MUN conference.
“They worked in committee meetings to create solutions to a variety of global issues (e.g., nuclear disarmament, promotion of sustainable development, and the promotion and protection of women rights),” said Grisham, an associate professor of geography and environmental studies. “These committee meetings went often from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., which meant they won these awards even as often they were researching, negotiating and writing at a high level with less than three to four hours of sleep at night.”
More than 3,000 students worldwide attended this year’s conference, Grisham said. CSUSB students were among delegations from American University in Cairo, Erasmus University Rotterdam and University of New Haven, and nearby, such as Riverside City College and Cal State Fullerton.
The awards CSUSB earned, which were announced in the Grand Hall of the United Nations in New York on April 13, are:
- Outstanding Delegation: CSUSB – Amnesty International;
- Distinguished Delegation: CSUSB – Ireland;
- Outstanding Position Papers in Committee, Highest-Level Form on Sustainable Development Committee: CSUSB, Ireland;
- Outstanding Position Papers in Committee, United Nations Environment Assembly: CSUSB – Ireland;
- Outstanding Position Papers in Committee, International Atomic Energy Agency: CSUSB – Ireland; and Outstanding Delegate(s) in Committee (peer voting), Economic and Social Council Plenary (ECOSOC): CSUSB – Amnesty International
The National Model UN’s criteria for its awards include “remaining in character, participating in committee, and proper use of the rules of procedure.”
The CSUSB team members are:
Amnesty International
- Casandra Phelps
- Jeffrey Hutchison
- Zainab Aliyu
- Valentina Garcia Moreno
- Paige Garcia
- Alejandro Gamboa Montes
Ireland
- Stephanie Sigler
- Luke Donn
- Daniel Ghossein
- Justin White
- Brittany Negrete
- Lupita Aguilar
- Karen Cervantes
- Richard Synovec
- Francisco Del Real Delfin
- Alex Gutierrez Chavez
- Joseph Bergee
- Tejwant Brar
- Yusra Serhan
- McKenzie Kelly
- Kevin Limoges
- Eric Lowe
To learn more about the Model United Nations program, which is housed in the university’s Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, visit the NMUN website.
To learn more about the CSUSB Model UN program, or to contribute, contact Kevin Grisham at kgrisham@csusb.edu or (909) 537-7569.