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Model United Nations Program Explodes in Popularity in 2015

The Model United Nations Program at Belmont Hill has seen tremendous growth this year! From the foundation of the Middle School Program, a group that includes both boys who debate in-school, as well as 20 boys who compete competitively, to the refreshed Upper School Program, it is clear that Model UN has truly become a defining feature of Belmont Hill’s student body. A club that focuses primarily on debate, international relations, and the operation and policies of the United Nations, students in the program have debated both contemporary and historic topics, such as the Ebola Crisis of 2014 and the Cuban Missile Crisis and Cold War, both in-school and competitive inter-high school tournaments.

The program began the year with several in-school debates before heading to their first conference in October, held at St. John’s High School in Shrewsbury. Less than a month later, the group then travelled to St John’s Prep in Danvers, earning several awards in their second conference of the year. In March, after several months of diligent work and debating, the group competed in the BC High and International School of Boston conferences, showing tremendous improvement and winning an even larger assortment of awards, such as best delegate, best position paper, and best debater.

As Patrick Connor ‘18 appropriately remarked after the final conference of the year, “Model UN combines the fast-paced aspects of debate and international relations with history and research, a pairing that leads to interactive and comprehensive discussions on some of the most important issues that our world faces today.” With such a large number of Belmont Hill students excelling in history and showing a passion for debate, it makes sense that Model UN has been a perfect club for many boys, whether in 7th or 12th grade.

Although the conference season has ended for Model UN, the members are still looking forward to debates and competition next year, with continued success and growth guaranteed in the group. Hoping to continue off this year’s success, in the 2015-2016 school year, the Model UN program plans to continue to develop a curriculum for debate and international relations, as well as partaking in more interscholastic competitions. With the group hoping to attend conferences at Dartmouth, Brown, and MIT, in the coming years, Belmont Hill’s Model UN program hopes to see tremendous growth and success.

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