ORU gains valuable experience at MUN
By Jason Bowen

ORU's student delegation to the Midwest Model United Nations (MUN) conference in St. Louis has returned to campus after gaining considerable foreign relations experience at the Feb. 12-15 event.

The conference, held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Union Station, hosted approximately 45 colleges and universities in the Midwest in a format based on an actual United Nations event. Participating schools represented countries throughout the world, serving in the General Assembly, the Security Council and the International Court of Justice.

Among the other schools attending were DePaul University, Saint Louis University, Wichita State University, Missouri Southern University, North Texas State University, Langston University and Panhandle State University.

Attending the conference is a part of the course requirements for the Model United Nations Internship or as a club activity. Government instructor Sonny Branham serves as the teacher and advisor to the group.

"In class, students learn the particular foreign policy positions of the countries each represents in order to debate and advocate those views when the mock sessions meet," Branham said. "For this conference ORU students were delegates from Spain and Ethiopia. The delegations did exceptional jobs in taking on the character of ambassadors from their countries."

In a mock United Nations conference last year in Chicago, the ORU delegation members were ambassadors from El Salvador, Kenya and Jordan.

ORU also participated in a mock session in November 2002 at the University of Tulsa. The delegation received a superior participation honor and Ricky Twilley was named the most outstanding delegate. "It was a great opportunity for me to see what international politics was like," said Sarah Head, a junior International Relations major.

"It gave me a chance to know students from other universities that aren't Christian. The international relations part gave me a deeper hunger to do what God wanted me to do, and that's to work somewhere in international relations."

While in St. Louis the group also enjoyed sightseeing including the Gateway Arch and other attractions downtown.

Students participating in Model United Nations are Elizabeth Craig, Martin Kattam, Kara Dixon, Franz Petzold, Danielle Voss, Adam Rabe, Sarah Weimer, Vic Bullard, Sandra Coffman, Terri Zekich, Beverly Shana, Bethany Francis, Caryn Trotman, Bethany Francis and Paul Washburn.

Anyone interested in the Model United Nations class or club can contact Branham at extension 6071. Students do not have to be Government or International Relations majors to take the class and participate in the conferences.

Andrew Rabe, who has attended Model United Nations in the past, said, "MUN has opened up my eyes and my heart to see into other people's worlds that I would not have otherwise seen."

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