April 21, 2017
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (April 21, 2017)—Sixteen students from Tallahassee Community College recently attended the National Model United Nations in New York City, the oldest and largest intercollegiate Model United Nations conference in the world. More than 5,800 students from 44 countries convened in New York to participate in the simulation April 9–15.
The TCC students debated in United Nations chambers and heard from speakers such as Peter Thomson, current president of the U.N. General Assembly. This year, the TCC team partnered with four students from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan students and their professor were given a full scholarship from the National Model United Nations organization to travel to attend the conference. Their travel, visas and research were coordinated through TCC. Each Nicaraguan student was partnered was a TCC student, and the duos worked together via skype or email for eight months.
“The NMUN is an excellent opportunity for college students to come together and discuss important issues facing the international community,” said Michael Eaton, executive director of the National Collegiate Conference Association. “As the most accurate simulation of the United Nations, the NMUN also gives students a sense of the obstacles diplomats face when addressing international crises.”
The TCC delegation earned an Honorable Delegation award, given for the level of research knowledge, quality of papers submitted before the conference and speaking ability. The team also earned three Position Paper Awards, which are based solely on their research presented before going to the conference. The TCC students were also selected by their peers for a Best Delegation in Committee Award. They were competing with universities from around the world, such as the London School of Economics, McGill University and the University of Hohenheim.
The team was led by John Griffin, president, and Nicholas Spaunburgh, vice president. Faculty advisers are Thomas Waller and Richard Murgo. Membership is open to all TCC students.
For information, email tccmun@gmail.com or call Richard Murgo at (850) 201-8145.