Gator Model United Nations: The Experience

Cavaliers proudly represented Gables this past weekend of Jan. 29 at the University of Florida’s Gator Model United Nations (GMUN) conference. After a weekend full of debate, Cavaliers are excited to attend the conference in future years.

“I had a limited amount of model UN experience prior to attending GMUN, but now I’m confident in my ability to take charge in unmoderated caucuses and resolution writing since I was able to get a big idea of how other delegates manage to do it for multiple days in a row,” sophomore Lior Colina said.

Model United Nations is designed to give students the experience of a real-life United Nations debate. In the conference, students were assigned different countries and they engage in real-life, and at times, fictional debates that are meant to make students think critically. Engaged in debates regarding women’s rights, the Palestinian Israeli Conflict, and environmental issues, students were divided into different committees such as the United Nations Development Programme, the World Health Organization, The European Union, and the United States Senate, among others.

Each debate was run by students at the University of Florida who acted as the dais and moderated the discussions. During each discussion, students aimed to pass resolutions in order to reach an agreement on the topic of discussion. The conference is run using parliamentary procedure, giving students a real-life experience of what being a UN delegate is like.

“I’ve gone to many conferences before and honestly, I have never had an experience quite like this one. It was amazing.” freshman Cristian Ochoa said.

The Model United Nations team will keep growing at Gables. Any student that is interested can contact Ms. Landsea in order to get more information about the team. Go Cavs!