Department of Political Science
(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., November 1, 2011) -- The CSUN Model United Nations team recently participated in a National Model UN (NMUN) conference organized by the National Collegiate Conference Association at the Washington Plaza Hotel in Washington, DC from October 20th-24th. The team consisted of ten students, including Sam White, Shaun Michel, Renae Gaydos (head delegate), Patrick Alsoszatai-Petheo, Bianca Cerritos (head delegate), Ahmad Thomas, Chris Vandepas, Narek Stepanian, Carlos Kattan and Sevan Niazi. The team represented Italy in 5 different UN committees, including the General Assembly 1st, 2nd and 3rd committees, the Commission on the Status of Women and a regional organization, NATO.
The team spent several months researching Italy’s positions on the 3 issues that each committee was prepared to address. Two students were assigned to each of the 5 committees, and they wrote detailed position statements in preparation for the conference. Additional preparation included public speaking and resolution writing exercises. Each of the position papers was completed during the summer and then finalized during September and October.
The CSUN team won an Outstanding Delegation Award at the conference for the consistency and excellence of its performance in all 5 committees. This is equivalent to a first place award. The CSUN team was one of 4 delegations out of 76 delegations represented at the conference to win this award. That means it was in the top 5 percent in terms of its preparation, diplomatic skills, resolution writing skills, leadership skills, public speaking and negotiation skills. In addition, four CSUN students in two of the committees were recognized by their peers as being the best delegates in the committee. This included Carlos Kattan and Sevan Niazi and Chris Vandepas and Narek Stepanian. This is the second year in a row that the team has won an Outstanding Delegation Award at the Washington, DC conference. Since 2007, the CSUN Model UN team has won 9 Outstanding Delegation Awards at national and international Model UN conferences sponsored by the NCCA. Information on the conference can be found at www.nmun.org. Questions about the team can be directed toward Faculty Advisor, Dr. Peter Kappas at peter.kappas@csun.edu.
