What you need to know:
- This year, Lynbrook Model United Nations rebranded their annual fall conference to Viking MUN
- Viking MUN was a beginner level conference for newer members as well as a collaboration between Fremont MUN and Lynbrook MUN
- Members of both schools competed in a crisis committee and a general assembly committee
On Nov. 16, Lynbrook Model United Nations held their yearly fall conference, renamed Viking MUN. Previously an unofficial skill-building mock conference, this year’s event was a formal conference where members could compete. It marked the first collaboration between Lynbrook and Fremont High School and provided an entry point for newer members, like delegates from Miller Middle School.
The idea for Viking MUN was sparked when Fremont MUN reached out to Lynbrook MUN in September, hoping to help with Lynbrook’s fall conference. Lynbrook student planners included junior Tanush Agrawal, logistics vice president; junior Amy Tang, outreach vice president; sophomore Aarav Anand, training director and sophomore Ojas Kothari, secretary-treasurer. They realized that with Fremont’s help, they could expand the event to become an official conference. Agrawal and Tang were the conference secretariats and Anand and Kothari were the crisis committee chairs.
“This year, we have actual awards and better committees with more concise topics,” Anand said. “We also have more detailed background guides for the delegates to follow. By partnering with Fremont MUN, we were able to advertise the event to the rest of the district, so we increased in membership from previous years.”
As previous fall conferences were beginner-friendly, Viking MUN was also engineered with lighthearted topics. In the Crisis Room, where delegates create action plans like military directives and press releases, members debated fictional scenarios such as who killed Harry Potter.
“To be more inviting to beginner MUN delegates, we like to choose topics that are easy to research,” Anand said. “For our crisis conference, we decided to take a bit of a different route so our delegates could get a taste of how fun a crisis committee can be, instead of thinking that it’s just a boring debate.”
The event was held in the Lynbrook library and room 701, lasting over six hours. In MUN, students roleplay United Nations conferences as international delegates to practice skills like public speaking and research. Members break into committees that focus on specific issues. Along with the crisis committee, Viking MUN hosted a general assembly committee. Both were moderated by committee and MUN chairs, and outstanding delegates were awarded.
“I’ve never been really good at public speaking at all,” junior and Viking MUN delegate Sean Kin said. “Even now, I still have instances where I stutter in front of other people. But through attending conferences and presenting in front of people, I’ve learned how to communicate my feelings and express what I want in a way that’s not harsh.”
At the conference, staff members helped run the event by reading crisis notes, which delegates write to gain power or pass directives. Kin and senior Saarang Mallepeddi both participated as backroom members and learned a lot of new things from the experience, despite being longtime MUN members.
“I had the chance to think from a perspective that I usually wouldn’t think from,” Kin said. “I wanted people new to MUN to see it as a fun activity that they’d love to continue.”
Mallepeddi, who has been a delegate since seventh grade, also gained a new perspective on MUN.
“I’ve been in a lot of crisis committees, but I’ve never actually been on the crisis staff,” Mallepeddi said. “This is my first time actually getting behind-the-scenes experience and seeing how they run this.”
In the future, Lynbrook MUN hopes to continue hosting and expanding the fall conference. Their next conference, Santa Clara Valley MUN, takes place from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1.
“Partnering with Fremont was really successful in terms of gaining membership,” Anand said. “In the future, we may partner with a lot of other clubs and give other people opportunities to lead this conference.”
