The Model UN activity is an opportunity for 学生 who love discussing and exploring current world events, 国际关系, 还有冬季学期的外交. It brings these 学生 together to role-play as 代表 from a host of different countries in a simulated version of the United Nations.

在一个典型的年份, the activity period is full of training exercises as the young 代表 work to master parliamentary 语言 and protocol, 成为被指派国家的专家, and then become fluent in the concerns and responsibilities of their assigned committees. 经过几个小时的掌握这些技能, 学生 write position papers with initial solutions based on their research. 展示他们的技能, the Solebury Model UN 代表 attend a one-day regional high school-sponsored event. The activity then culminates in a four-day national conference at Johns Hopkins University in the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

在一个典型的模拟联合国会议上, 较新的代表通常被分配到较大的大会, 她们在世界卫生组织(卫生组织)等委员会任职, 社会, 文化, 和人道主义委员会, 以及裁军和国际安全委员会. More seasoned 代表 are assigned to smaller and more specific committees like the United Nations Security Council or historical crisis committees like the Cuban Missile Crisis.

但在COVID-19时代，这不是一个典型的年份. 地区高中会议被推迟到至少3月份, 为期四天的Zoom会议的前景也不太理想. 那么有什么替代方案呢?

"Even before the school year began, I knew Model UN was going to be anything but typical. 当我开始和我的联合顾问进行头脑风暴时, 蒂姆纯, 关于我们今年该怎么做, I realized that rather accidentally we had already laid the groundwork for some unique opportunities internally. 去年, 21岁的凯西·爱泼斯坦·格罗斯和21岁的蒂姆·卡罗尔有了一个小的想法, 新代表的有趣练习委员会, focusing on what was at the time the most urgent matter on Solebury's campus—Minimal Meat Fridays!模拟联合国顾问唐·卡普兰分享道. 蒂姆随后成立了一个危机委员会，专门研究伊拉克入侵科威特的问题. These two committees demonstrated that we could do more than just research and practice, 我们可以很开心地测试一下我们的技能. So with that in mind, I started thinking that we should consider hosting our own conference."

在这个新计划下, 代表们在活动的前两周接受培训, 他们学习礼仪的地方, 程序, 语言, 模拟联合国该做什么和不该做什么, 以及学习如何写意见书, 工作底稿, 和决议. 然后唐和蒂姆提出了召开内部会议的想法.

The first internal conference gave the 学生 one week to prepare and produce a truncated position paper focused on the Commission on the Status of Women in Media. Many different countries from around the world were represented and two young 代表, 斯基尔斯·罗伯茨，22岁的萨尔瓦多和24岁的蒂亚莎·萨卡尔, 谁从来没有当过委员会主席, 成功接管.

第二次会议, 在裁军和国际安全委员会的主持下, 处理国际社会对自主武器系统的关切. 这是本学期最严肃的委员会, with 学生 asked to write full position papers and come ready to solve the problem from beginning to end. 这个委员会的主席是22届的Aline Lu和21届的Tim Carroll, 四年制首席代表, 谁分享, "I'm really grateful for all the new 代表 who joined Model UN during COVID, 勇敢的新人决定尝试新事物. I'm also thankful for Don Kaplan and 蒂姆纯 for the tireless work they've put into adapting Model UN so we can still 成长 as speakers, 代表, 学生, 和积极分子."

The third and final conference being held in late 2月 will be a crisis committee, “当继承受到质疑时,，大致根据HBO剧集改编 美国副总统, and is the brainchild of committee chairs Casey Epstein-Gross '21 and Leo Mokriski '22. Casey is excited for this conference because it will be her and Leo's first time completely writing and directing a committee, “我们都为此感到非常兴奋! 能参加索利伯里学院的委员会真的很酷, which we rarely ever have since our focus is usually on attending other schools' conferences rather than creating our own."

反思今年唐所表达的变化, "I have been amazed at the enthusiasm and creativity of the 学生 and thoroughly appreciate how they have refused to give up on this activity. Ultimately, I think we actually learned more this trimester even though we never left campus...it really has been inspiring watching the 学生 function as creators of international crises and national crises and throwing all their energy into collaborating and finding solutions to the problems they have encountered.当我们结束采访时, 当唐凝视着地平线时，我注意到他眼中的泪水, and when I strained to listen I heard him muttering the classic Winston Churchill phrase, “成功不是最终的, 失败不是致命的, 继续前进的勇气才是最重要的."