Emory welcomed the first-ever Southern United States Model United Nations (SUSMUN) conference last weekend, hosting nearly 300 high school students from across the United States and Canada.

“Emory has a beautiful campus that has been incredibly accommodating, and we love the classrooms and technology,” said Molly Randall, director general of SUSMUN and one of the event’s organizers, explaining why SUSMUN chose Emory to host the inaugural conference.

Students from 17 different high schools from across the United States and Canada competed in the event, which was structured like the United Nations with committees and student delegations representing countries. Students were divided into beginner, novice, veteran and expert committees and competed against other students with similar experience levels.

The event was organized by the International Model United Nations Association (IMUNA). IMUNA typically holds two large-scale Model UN conferences each year — one in Utah and one in New York — designed to teach high school students about diplomacy and international politics.

This year, however, IMUNA added a third conference to attain a larger presence in the Southeast.

College junior Aaron Collett, president of Emory’s Model UN team, served as an assistant director for a beginner committee, advising participants on UN procedures and regulations.

“It’s important to get people together and encourage them to talk,” explained Collett, describing the purpose of MUN.

Senior Vice Provost for External Academic Affairs Lynn Zimmerman helped facilitate the event on Emory’s campus and stressed that it is important for Emory to host events like this conference.

“We want to support things that engage students with the world,” Zimmerman said.
She added that an extra benefit of hosting the conference is that high school students from around the country get to experience the university firsthand.

“Events like this bring motivated students to campus,” Zimmerman said. “We’re proud to help provide an opportunity to connect high school students to college students in a meaningful way.”

Zimmerman also expressed desire to host the event in the future.

“I really hope we get to host the conference again. They [SUSMUN] have been very well organized, and we’ve received lots of support from different offices on campus,” Zimmerman said.

The conference was held primarily in White Hall, where classrooms with tiered rooms and podiums mimicked the General Assembly.

But it was not just the type of facilities that caused IMUNA to pick Emory to host the conference. Randall noted that another reason for IMUNA’s selection was Emory’s commitment to sustainability.

“Emory’s sustainability fits perfectly with our theme,” Randall said. “The technology in the classrooms helped us cut down on use of paper and we stayed at the Emory Conference Center Hotel, which is LEED-certified.”

The conference also hosted several high-profile speakers, including adjunct Emory professor and Director of Research at the Carter Center Steven Hochman, who also served as an assistant to President Jimmy Carter, as well as Chief of the Non-Governmental Organization section of the United Nations’ Department of Public Information Juan Carlos Brandt.

— Contact Doug DeMuro.