Interesting Perspective from One of WAC’s Own

Hey guys,

This is a really interesting piece written by a former World Affairs Council member. As a Pakistani, he provides us with a perspective on the last ten years that is rarely heard in the Ozarks. I strongly encourage you to not only take the time to read the article, but also to take the time to reflect on the last ten years of your own life. As I am writing this, I am beginning to realize, that many of the high schoolers that will be participating in this year’s MAMUN may not be old enough to remember the events of 9/11 first hand. If I calculated correctly, the sophomores that will be participating this year would have been the kindergarden class that year. Your lives have undoubtedly changed a good deal in the last ten years. Please take the time to reflect.

“It has been said, ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”

-Rose Kennedy

http://www.news-leader.com/article/20110910/OPINIONS02/109100317/1068/opinions02/Mazhar-Living-warzone-post-9-11-proves-difficult

 

Tara Hammer

Secretary-General, World Affairs Council

Updating Website

I am currently working on updating the website with all of our new MAMUN information for this year. Country list should be posted by the end of the week, and general topics are now up with the exception of the Security Councils. Topic briefs will be posted sometime around the last week in September.

If you have any questions about MAMUN this year, please feel free to let me know. As you all may have already heard, I will be returning as this years Secretary-General. We had a few leadership changes the first week of school, and so I am really just now getting a chance to get my hands back into it. Please be patient with me, but I will try to get stuff back on track as soon as I can.

Thanks,
Tara Hammer,Secretary-General
Hammer636@live.missouristate.edu

Position Papers are being Posted

Hey guys,
As position papers are being turned in, I am posting them on the website. You can access them through the MAMUN tab, and then clicking on Position Papers. From there, you will just select the committee you are interested in, and then the country that you are interested in. Hopefully this will give you a broader understanding of the different positions out there, so that you can come to the conference more prepared, knowing who your allies are, who your opposition is going to be, etc.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me.
Thanks,
Tara Hammer
Secretary-General, Mid-American Model United Nations
Hammer636@live.missouristate.edu

Important information about MAMUN 2010

I realize there has been some confusion about what countries are on what councils. Please refer to the assigned countries list to determine if your country is on Security Council, Historical Security Council or ECOSOC. These committees are voted on by members of the United Nations and membership rotates annually in most cases. NOT ALL COUNTRIES ARE ON ALL COMMITTEES.

That being said all countries do have a seat in the General Assembly. For whatever country you have they will be on 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Committees. 6th Committee was a one time thing because we had eliminated ICJ. We have now brought back ICJ, and have discontinued 6th committee from our conference. I thought that the handbook reflected these changes, but if not I will fix that today. I am sorry for the confusion. Please email me of you have any questions.

Some Topic Briefs Are Up

Hey guys,
I have started to put some of the topic briefs up, finally. There was more editing to some of them than I originally thought there would be, which is why it is taking me slightly longer. There is at least one brief up for every committee though, and they will definitely all be up by Monday morning since I have a class presentation on them at that time. Again I am very sorry for the delay. If you have any questions about the briefs, or any other aspect of MAMUN please feel free to email me at any time at Hammer636@live.missouristate.edu

Have a great weekend,
Tara Hammer
Secretary-General, Mid American Model United Nations

PLEASE NOTE COUNTRY LIST

The country list for this year is up under the MAMUN tab. We had some slight problems due to a virus that attacked my computer, so I have been attempting to rebuild the list to the best of my ability. Due to the fact that some schools could not confirm the countries that they drew in the lottery, I was forced to do some reassigning to the best of my ability. I tried to be as fair as possible by spreading out the Security Council and HSC seats as evenly as I could. If you have any problems with this, please let me know and I will try to get it fixed as best I can.

SECURITY COUNCIL AND HSC TOPICS RELEASED

Here are the long awaited SC and HSC topics. PLEASE PLEASE keep in mind that the Security Council has an open docket and anything could come up. Students need to be prepared to deal with anything that could pose a security risk. Keep up to date with current world events, and know that the Security Council may have to address issues other than the ones posted here.

Security Council Topics:
The Situation surrounding Israel and Palestine
The Situation in DR Congo
The Situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)

Historical Security Council (1946) Topics:
The Situation in Greece
The Situation in Indonesia
The Situation in Syria-Lebanon

First World Affairs Council Meeting

The World Affairs Council will have their first meeting of the year at 5:00 pm this Thursday in Strong 250. There has been some concern from people who have class during that time. If you do, please come let me know and I will be more than happy to fill you in. Don’t forget our office is the first one you come to in the Political Science Department. You also can always email me at hammer636@live.missouristate.edu

Photos

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ICJ Update

Cases have been decided for the 2010 MAMUN. Once again, the students will represent their country both as acting as the plaintiff/defense, and as a judge on the ICJ.
The cases are as follows:
1. Senegal vs. Belgium-The Obligation to Prosecute or Extradite
2. Ecuador vs. Colombia-Aerial Herbicide Spraying
3. Georgia vs. Russian Federation-The Application of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
4. Botswana vs. Namibia-Territorial Dispute