Garden City High School Model UN Tackles Global Issues In Boston

GARDEN CITY, NY — Earlier this month, members of the Garden City High School Model United Nations club along with their adviser Michele De Collibus and Social Studies Coordinator Jeannette Balantic, joined 1,400 high school students from around the United States at the Boston University Model United Nations Conference.

Each student was assigned a nation, individual or committee and was tasked with solving real-world problems. In preparation for the conference, students spent weeks researching and writing papers on topics, ranging from nuclear disarmament, terrorism, climate change, drug trafficking and more.

Students acted as representatives of countries, including Algeria and Saudi Arabia. During the three-day conference, students formed blocks and caucused with other students on their committees to write, vote on and pass resolutions to try to solve world problems. Students had the opportunity to practice the difficult yet important work of diplomacy with fellow student leaders from across America.

The keynote speaker, former Ambassador Mark C. Storella, talked to students about the art of diplomacy and emphasized the importance of being both idealistic and realistic in negotiations. He encouraged students to fight for what they believe in and their country’s values while simultaneously advising that other nations have their own priorities and that ultimately, compromise, albeit slow, is necessary to make progress. Storella also encouraged students to respect other nations, both large and small, and to find compromises wherever possible.