By Angelina Vollucci
Staff Writer
Mira Costa Model United Nations members will be competing at an international conference in Montreal, Canada from Nov. 7-11 for their first major conference of the year.
40 students will be attending the conference, the majority of them juniors and seniors, with the exception of four sophomores. According to Costa MUN Co-Advisor Wayne Knutson, individuals were selected for the team based on past performance, as well as progress and improvements in in-class debates.
“The kind of conference is also taken into consideration when creating the team,” Knutson said. “Different conferences call for different sets of skills, and Montreal is mainly a single-delegate conference.”
For this debate, 20 committees will cover topics such as HIV/AIDS, access to healthcare, and the future of print media in the digital age. Preparations for the conference mainly occur outside of class.
“I have three different topics, all regarding intellectual property, and I have had to not only research them in depth but also come up with solutions on how to solve the problems regarding it being stolen, “ junior Stefan Neumann said. “ I look forward to meeting people from all over Canada and the United States.”
Over 2,000 students will be attending the conference, coming from nations such as Mexico, China, the United States and Canada. The conference will be held at McGill University in downtown Montreal.
“Montreal is our first big conference of the year, hosted by what is the Harvard of Canada [McGill],” MUN Co-Advisor Bob Timberlake said. “Our goal is to collect another UN Helmet Trophy for Best Delegation.”
Like previous conferences this year, Montreal will provide technology such as free wi-fi to enhance the interactive nature and depth of the debates.
“We are trying to incorporate technology such as smart phones, and encourage online material and notebook usage for a faster, smarter experience,” Timberlake said.
The conference will take place during the week of Nov. 7. The team’s last conference was less than a month ago on Oct. 22 and Oct. 23 at Edison High School.
86 Costa MUN members of all grades competed at the conference in Huntington Beach, accumulating 24 outstanding and 25 commendation awards. Seven “gavels.” or best delegate honors, were won, and Mira Costa received one of the two large school delegation awards.
“We always point toward college tournaments,” Knutson said. “They are the largest, longest, and most difficult, but also the most prestigious. Our year culminates with trips like Montreal. It’s how we judge ourselves as a team.”
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