By Parnia Mazhar
Staff Writer
Novice and intermediate Mira Costa students in Model United Nations will be participating in the Southern Orange County Model United Nations XXIII conference on Sept. 27 at Santa Margarita Catholic High School.
SOCOMUN is Costa’s first outside MUN debate of the 2014-15 school year. It is a one-day conference with 41 different topics of discussion and 33 committees. Between 45 to 50 Costa students will participate in the Advanced committees that SOCOMUN offers.
“The quality of competition is decent, but it’s not killer,” MUN advisor Robert Timberlake said. “Overall, it is a good conference for new students looking to grow a little and an opportunity for those who want to get warmed up for the bigger stuff we have down the road.”
Over the past few weeks, Costa MUN students have been writing speeches, preparing position papers, creating solutions for their assigned topics and participating in in-class debates to prepare for the conference.
“I feel prepared for my first debate because I have had a lot of in-class practice and have gone over my speech several times,” freshman Jack Major said. “However, I’m also nervous because there will be a lot of competition from different schools.”
SOCOMUN awards delegates with recognitions including Best Delegate, Outstanding and Commendations. According to the SOCOMUN XXIII Conference Program, students who receive these awards are ideally leaders of their caucus group, diplomatic, organized and discuss all of their solutions effectively.
“I honestly don’t care if they receive awards; I care about each student developing the right skills at this conference,” Timberlake said. “I don’t want them to develop skills and be full of hot air.”
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