By DEEKSHA UDUPA, freshman

On November 15, numerous schools across New Jersey and New York joined together to participate in the much anticipated Model UN Conference hosted by JP Stevens. Students from middle schools and high schools debated tirelessly to represent their country to the best of their abilities.

The invigorating day began with a speech by Sami H. Elmansoury, a popular public speaker well known for his writings on many different topics, ranging from education to security. During his speech, Elmansoury brought up his travels around the world. He stated that one should never classify a country by its struggles, but rather, should be open to broader perspectives. Senior Simmi Sharma, vice president of Model UN, remarks, “To interact and hear from someone who’s been involved in MUN  and to see his success is extremely inspiring.”

As the day progressed, different committees began their debates. Within the six committees, there were three specialized committees, one general assembly, and one crisis committee. The general assembly, which focused on politics and decolonization, discussed private military security companies and human rights during armed conflict. The general assembly placed a particular focus on ISIS and other terrorist associations. The last assembly, the Bilderberg Committee of Directors, was the crisis committee. 20 students in this committee created a fictional executive board to dicuss their ideas.

The conference was unique because it was coordinated entirely by students, with little assistance from the MUN advisor. Senior Ankita Verma reflects, “The conference was an incredible experience for both the staff and the delegates. Every minute of the conference was crazy, awesome, or interesting. But above all, it was simply unforgettable.”

The conference enforced dedication into the participants. Senior Jessica Francis, president of MUN, says, “We were stressed because this was the largest JPSMUN in the school’s history, but all our hard work came to fruition and it was a definite success.”