In November, the Eastern Model United Nations team attended two conferences. The first conference TechMUN lasted one day and was held at Camden County Technical Schools. The second RUMUN spanned four days at the end of the month and took place at New Brunswick Rutgers University campus. Both conferences provided students with ample opportunities to assess worldly perspectives as they developed implementable policies on a global scale regarding current international issues.

 On November 18, Eastern’s 23-person strong delegation represented a diverse group of 17 nations ranging from Afghanistan to South Africa at the inaugural TechMUN. Freshmen, juniors, and seniors participated. Despite some initial bumps, such as a sick keynote speaker, the conference was very successful. Students participated in various committees concerning topics relevant today. For example, freshmen Mary Zhou, Abigail Malitsky, and Darren Frankel discussed food nutrition and security while Kruti Karnik, Priya Modi, and Eshita Bhatt debated nuclear safety.

  The freshman contingent further proved its excellence. Christos Kokolis won Best Delegate; Brian Baker won Honorable Mention; Melody Dias won Best Novice; and Anna Dolce and Dara Cherkas won Best Position Paper. However, the Juniors and Seniors were not upstaged by the young diplomats. Alexa Grabelle won Best Delegate; Brandon Goldstein and Zachary Boroda won Honorable Mention; Ronak Thakur won Best Novice; Julia Dodd won Best Position Paper; and lone-senior Ben Dias won Best Delegate. Overall, Eastern brought home 11 individual awards, the most of any delegation.    

  At RUMUN, twelve Eastern students participated in the conference. A few Eastern alumni who are current Rutgers students helped run the weekend’s programs. After a keynote by Jim Kline, debate commenced. Students participated in committees spanning a wide range of topics. For instance, senior Justin Choi attended the International Intelligence Summit, which discussed the topic of cyber defense, while juniors Bryan Eichen and Jainit Patel participated in the historical Bandung Conference of 1955, which discussed neo-colonialism and is known for being an important step towards the creation of the non-aligned movement.

 The team members worked hard every day, including one 14 hour day, to participate in debate, create resolutions, and speak out in committee. The delegate’s hard work paid off as Cyrena Kokolis, Maddie Portnoy, and Justin Choi each won Best Position Paper awards, and Zachary Boroda and Brandon Goldstein won Outstanding Delegate. The team as a whole won Best Small Delegation, the most prominent team award available.

  This delegation award snapped Eastern’s four year delegation award drought. Next, the Model United Nations team looks forward to February when it will travel to Moorestown for MooMUN, a day conference, and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore for JHUMUNC, an overnight conference.