Skyline’s Model UN attended a conference at Boise State University from February 22nd to the 24th. Students from Hillcrest, IF, and Skyline took a bus to Boise as they prepared to go to a three-day-long conference. What exactly is Model UN? Well, Model UN was originally started at Oxford University on November 12th, 1921 by a man named Frank Church. Some people may ask why he started this, and the answer is simple: it was started to help students all over to understand world issues and politics better.

Skyline students Chloe Dashnaw, Cheveyah Day, and Teodore, were questioned about the school’s Model UN club.  Chloe said, “I wanted to join Model UN because I wanted to get a better understanding of the geography of countries. Something that Model UN helped me improve on in school is the understanding of which countries are allies. I would definitely join again next year because I enjoyed the conferences and learning about what they do in Model UN. I’m really glad Jenna convinced me to join this club because if she didn’t I wouldn’t have had

this great opportunity to learn more about countries political issues which were my goal going into Model UN.”   

When Teodor was asked the same questions he said, “I joined Model UN because I like politics, debating, and it was a free trip to Boise. Something Model UN helped me improve on in school is becoming more aware of global issues. I would for sure join again next year because I thought the conferences were really fun! I think the best part was the debates themselves, when I first joined I didn’t know anything about Frank Church. Even though no one had to convince me to join, I did anyway and I’m glad I did! My goal since joining was to pursue geopolitics further and I think I have, thanks to Model UN.”

When Model UN supervisor James McCubbin was interviewed he said, “ I began planning at the beginning of the year and worked with the Frank Church Institution in Boise trading information about our country and the trip, then began the process of recruiting students. It was very difficult planning the trip because I had a very difficult time recruiting kids to join the club. The most stressful part of planning this trip was the recruitment process and making sure there were enough students there. My favorite part of this experience was getting to know the students better and watching Teodor win the Outstanding Delegate award. I enjoyed supervising the Model UN club for Skyline, getting to see the kids working together, and seeing them getting more familiar with the United Nations. One thing I learned as a supervisor that I didn’t know before was all the paperwork I had to do for the prior approval process. If I could change one thing that happened this year I would have them be more involved in the discussions. Something I would tell students who are thinking of joining Model UN is it’s a great opportunity to meet other students and get to learn how other nations work together .” Now from what I gather from these amazing remarks about Model UN and my personal experience with it, Model UN is a great club to help educate the young and older minds about political issues and global issues that are going on, along with countries all over, not just America. This club was started by

Frank Church in hopes that it would help educate people about the United Nations and what its role is in helping countries, and now in 2024 it is still going on reaching teenagers who want to learn more and helping them achieve their goals in a political way.