In September, Drake Oren, a first-year UW-Stout student from Lino Lakes, Minn., found himself the only person to show up at the year’s first Stout Model United Nations club meeting.
Undaunted, the applied social science student who knew very little about Stout Model UN, became the 2019-20 club president. Oren’s enthusiasm and initiative brought in eight more members within a month.
This spring, with UW-Stout classes currently meeting through alternative educational methods because of the COVID-19 virus, the Stout Model UN club is meeting virtually, allowing students to continue to be part of the student organization and provide social connections for students.
Students in Model United Nations role play delegates to the United Nations. “Students develop leadership skills through a better understanding of global issues while learning to write about, debate, moderate and negotiate positions that are intended to build global consensus to strengthen international peace and security,” said Mary Spaeth, founder of and adviser to SMUN and an assistant professor of entrepreneurship and international business.
The Model United Nations evolved from the Model League of Nations following World War II. The first simulation was at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Penn. in 1947.
SMUN began in early 2019 with mostly senior or international students who graduated or returned to their home countries last May, Spaeth said.
Oren knew what Model UN was but had never participated it in before coming to UW-Stout. “I thought it would be interesting, so I joined,” he said, noting that UW-Stout students are encouraged to pick one co-curricular activity to get involved, feel more connected to campus, boost resumes and explore their interests. UW-Stout boasts 150 student organizations.
In November, six club members traveled to Chicago for the 30th annual American Model United Nations conference. Representing Lithuania, the SMUN delegates wrote position papers for their assigned General Assembly committees and researched data on Lithuania.
First-year student Benjamin Bucheger, who had participated in MUN in high school, joined the club and coached the other members in United Nations protocol and procedure. In Chicago, the Stout MUN team members were among 1,250 students from over 100 universities across the United States.
Oren and his SMUN colleagues enjoyed the Chicago conference and being there and seeing students from across the country representing various UN countries.
“We met a lot of great people there,” he said. In addition to Oren, members who traveled to Chicago were Derek Hanson, vice president of Pleasant Valley and a manufacturing engineering major, Benjamin Bucheger, secretary a sophomore from Pewaukee, and Peter Strand, treasurer and sophomore business administration from St. Paul.
The research takes time. The club met weekly in September, but by October, they were choosing to meet two and sometimes three times weekly to talk about their topics, such as human trafficking, weapons, trade, rights of indigenous peoples, and Lithuania’s role in the EU. Oren mentioned that he learned that Lithuania has been challenged by population decline as people move from the country.
“With my major, it helps me see what I possibly could be doing in the future,” Oren said. “If you are interested in current events or world politics, Model United Nations is a lot of fun. You get to learn a lot about different countries of the world.”
Spaeth is impressed by the students’ engagement. “They are some the hardest working most initiative-taking students I have encountered,” she said.
Earlier this year, two of the SMUN members, first-year students Hanson and Jordan Weisensel, a senior psychology major from Lannon, traveled with Spaeth to the River Falls Public Montessori School to coach 5th and 6th grade MUN students who were preparing to represent Burundi at a national competition for middle schoolers.
