The Model United Nations Program was created to give students an opportunity to behave like actual diplomats charged with the task of correcting some of the world’s most pressing problems. On our campus, students from as far away as Añasco debated solutions to issues ranging from the reconstruction of Cambodia after the genocide sponsored by the Khmer Rouge, to convening President Nixon’s Cabinet to discuss battle plans for the war in Vietnam. Over the weekend students had the opportunity to voice their delegation’s opinion in 5 committees: Caribbean Community, FIFA World Cup 2022, the Khmer Rouge, Nixon’s Cabinet on Vietnam, and the United Nations Development Programme. In each committee students needed to accurately represent their assigned delegation, and build consensus within each committee to create solutions that the “international” community would accept. Each competition requires students to write a paper detailing their delegation’s position on an issue, and a proposal of solutions to fix the central problem of the committee.
Special about Baldwin’s Competition was its English requirement, imposed to help students from Baldwin and other schools prepare for the international competitions that most schools attend during January and February. The chief organizers for this event included Linette Rodriguez ’15, and Luis Ballester ’15, who served as the competition’s Secretary General and Under Secretary General respectively. Baldwin’s commitment to the growth of our students ensured that each committee was meticulously organized by Linette and Luis, and the rest of the Model UN Club Council (Emmanuel Kontokalos ’15, Sara Acevedo ’17 and honorary member Diego Salinas ’17). Like most events that happen on our sprawling campus, other members of the community also chipped in to make sure that the event was a success, special shout outs are in order for the Club’s parent volunteers, the National Honor Society, the Senior Class, the French Club, the Maintenance Crew, and the office of Development and the VPAC staff.
By the end of the competition, it was abundantly clear that the organizational team had accomplished its goal of fostering an inviting and challenging atmosphere for our guests, and we even managed to walk away with a few prizes in the committees. Aside from the leadership exhibited in the competition by Linette ’15 and Luis ’15, Jean Pablo Cortes ’16 served as member of the Dais (Chairperson) of the FIFA Committee.
Baldwin Students were awarded the following prizes by the Dais of each committee:
- Julio Correa ’17 and Diego Salinas ’17 received a Distinguished Delegation in FIFA (3rd place)
- Miranda Betancourt ’17 and Juan Jose Hernandez ’17 received a written mention in the FIFA committee (4th Place)
- Gabriel Rabell ’16 and Ignacio Rivera ’16 received a Distinguished Delegation (3rd place) in the UNDP Committee
- Tania Jaramillo ’17 and Andrea Rodriguez ’17 received a Written Mention (4th Place) in the UNDP Committee
- Isabella Moran ’19 and Eduardo Martin ’19 received an Oral Mention (5th place) in the UNDP Committee
- Jorge Luis Perez ’18 and Emilia Fallman ’18 received an Oral Mention (5th place) in the Khmer Rouge Committee
- Ilena Agarwahl ’15 received an Oral Mention (5th place) in the Khmer Rouge Committee
- Quique Gaztambide ’16 and Jose Ignacio Nazario ’16 received a Written Mention (4th Place) in President Nixon’s Cabinet on the Vietnam War
- Alberto Tirado ’17 and Marcos Acevedo ’15 received a Distinguished Delegation (3rd Place) in President Nixon’s Cabinet on the Vietnam War
- Emmanuel Kontokalos ’15 and Sebastian Quiñones ’15 continued their record-breaking winning streak and captured their fourth consecutive Outstanding Delegation (1st place) in the Caribbean Community Committee.
Congratulations are in order!
Franklin Davison and Erin Moran
Moderators of the Model UN Club