Editors’ Note: All image credits go to Head of Upper School Stacey Bobo’s News and Notes
On Saturday, May 18th, the Fieldson Model UN team hosted the annual EthicalMUN conference, which pledges to “provide middle school students with an opportunity to explore difficult ethical dilemmas in International Relations.”
One of Fieldston’s indispensable annual events –After all, what is more ECFS than leading middle schoolers in a rapid argument over the merits of Zeus’s lightning bolt and other critical dilemmas?– Ethical MUN gives younger students the chance to have valuable experiences in diplomacy, compromise, strategy and public speaking, and students exit the conference with an increased sense of confidence and responsibility.
However, setting up such an educational and well-organized conference requires overcoming many challenges. The day before the event, club members, led by chiefs-of-staff Nathaniel Rozoff (Form V) and Zeke Tesler (Form V) in the absence of the seniors, frantically set up placards and taped signs to rooms. A significant hurdle emerged when it became apparent several students had inexplicably signed up for positions with no intention of actually showing up, leading to an imminent staff shortage in some committees. Luckily, Rozoff salvaged the situation by re-assigning several club members, averting the crisis.
Next, the club discussed candy grams, a crucial EthicalMUN tradition. Delegates (Model UN vernacular for participants in the conference) can pay 3 dollars for a bag of candy and a note to send to anyone of their choosing. Proceeds from the candy go to a charity of the club’s choosing. A slight issue arose when the school refused to reimburse one staffer after she bought a hundred dollars worth of candy, but the club crowdsourced the funds, and the staff created a plethora of candy grams to sell. The conference raised 171 dollars for United to Beat Malaria, a noble step towards ending the pernicious disease. Some courageous chairs even volunteered to be pied in the face to incentivize donations, delighting the middle schoolers.
Because EthicalMUN has historically struggled with conference size and delegate turnout, having 75 students was a refreshing success. In the past few years, the Model UN team faced some instability, adding to the difficulties of putting together a conference. Tesler explains, “This year, we had a lot of challenges getting EthicalMUN up and running! We didn’t have a faculty advisor at the start of school and couldn’t start planning until way later than we anticipated. Considering that obstacle, I’m very proud of all of the work that everyone in the club did in the leadup to EthicalMUN, whether it be leadership who worked on the actual organizing or our amazing EthicalMUN staff who ran the event.”
On the conference day, staff arrived early and mingled in the commons, which had a lovely breakfast spread. The delegates arrived shortly after. Some wandered the school lost before making their way to the Student Commons, and an unlucky group of students stood locked outside for 10 minutes. Once they managed to enter, the opening ceremonies commenced, where Matthew Kabaker spoke about banking in a quintessential Model UN opening ceremonies guest speech, and secretaries general/club leaders Charlie Kabaker (Form VI), Caleb Feldman (Form VI) and Caroline Madsen (Form VI) delivered opening remarks. Shortly after, staff members shepherded the delegates to the classrooms, and the committees began.
Other than the unfortunate cancellation of the 1950s asylum committee and the few minor vomiting incidents, the committees went without a hitch. At Ethical MUN committees, club members worked as committee chairs and crisis directors to guide middle schoolers in dynamic debates, alliance-making and resolution writing. Students created moral, logical and statistical arguments on The Hunger Games, the assassination of Caesar, the Iraqi invasion, the Trojan War, and Watergate.
Delegates debated whether Octavian should be named leader of Rome, decided to ally with Greece or Troy, passed directives surrounding aid to Mount Olympus, and held Q and A sessions on military strategies. Occasionally crisis staff, sometimes donning crowns or carrying foam swords, would pop into the rooms and deliver obstacles, such as announcing the rise of Kronos, which the students would then work to adapt to.
While Ethical MUN is ultimately a competition with awards announcements at the closing ceremonies, the MUN club works to provide a supportive environment. Fieldston 8th grader and Ethical MUN delegate Javin Gasca shared, “I love the creativity and learning that is always in EthicalMUN. Even if I made a mistake, the chairs had no problems helping me fix it.”
Now, club members are looking to the future. According to Tesler, “We only plan to expand the scope and scale of EthicalMUN in the coming year, and hope that the conference will continue to stand out in the eyes of delegations that attend.”
