ISSUED: 20 April 2020
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — Shepherd University’s Model United Nations team was scheduled to compete March 26-28 in the Southern Regional Model United Nations Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the event was canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. While the Model UN team was unable to attend, Shepherd’s Angolan delegation still came away the winner of Outstanding Position Papers at the conference.
Dr. Aart Holtslag, global studies director and Model UN advisor, said teams of students were assigned to represent Angola and Liberia. In preparation for the conference, the teams wrote position papers for their committees that were submitted two weeks before the conference started and were evaluated by the staff.
“Attendance at the conference would have been the culmination of a full semester of preparation in research, writing, practicing negotiation, public speaking, coalition building, and rules of procedure,” Holtslag said. “Although the students are very disappointed that they did not get to negotiate for three days and nights, they achieved a tremendous accomplishment.”
Members of the Angolan General Assembly committee were Natalie Pullen, political science major, Winchester, Virginia, and Peter Proctor, global studies major, Huntington. Serving on the Angola Interpol committee were Aly Nazarok, political science and global studies major, Northfield, New Jersey, and Raphael Corletta, history major, Annapolis, Maryland. The Angola United Nations Environmental Program committee included Erin Lehman, psychology major, Harpers Ferry, and Taylor Bean, political science major, Romney. Political science majors Jonathan Biedler, Martinsburg, and Jacob Miller, Hagerstown, Maryland, were on the Angola, African Development Bank committee.
Holtslag said papers written by the Liberian delegation also received excellent scores. Members of the Liberia General Assembly committee were Brandyn Paine, communication and new media major, Inwood, and Ethan Legge, political science major, Winchester, Virginia. Political science majors Lauren Fricks, Alexandria, Virginia, and Kelly Stout, Charles Town, served on the Liberia Interpol committee. Glen Sawyer, sociology major, Shepherdstown, and Ryan Ricer, business administration major, Fairmont, were on the Liberia African Development Bank committee.
Topics of the research included Securing Domestic Industries from Human Trafficking, Evaluating the Effectiveness of UN Peacekeeping Operations, Combatting Sexual Cybercrime in the Age of Technological Advancement, Encouraging International Cooperation to Prosecute War Crimes in Post-Conflict Areas, Cultivating Technological Innovations to Meet Climate Change Challenges, Reducing the Impact of Pollution on Habitat Loss, Decreasing Poverty Through Agriculture and Agro-Industries, and Fostering Anti-Corruption Initiatives within the African Continent.
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