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Printer-Friendly ModeU.N. informs on voting, community
January 21, 2008 —
SVSU's Model United Nations is witnessing some downtime this winter due to a lack of Model U.N. national gatherings. But, this doesn't mean SVSU students involved in the program can don Hawaiian shirts and start drinking cocktails just yet.
This is because the group has already begun a busy semester by electing new officers. Megan Olpere, an SVSU student double majoring in political science and history, was nominated and elected as the Model U.N.'s new president.
Later this semester, Model U.N. members are involved in Rock the Vote, a campaign which targets area high schools to get eligible students out to both vote and become more politically involved in their communities. SVSU's College Republicans and the Organization for Progressive Politics (OPP) are also involved in this campaign.
John Kaczynski, a political science instructor and faculty adviser for the Model U.N., said the campaign is much more than just getting students out to vote.
"Right now what we're looking at is a two-tiered thing," Kaczynski said. "We go out and we try to give a presentation in American government to seniors and juniors in American government classes to area high schools, to try to get high school students motivated in public service and civic engagement. Also, we're trying to get them to register to vote. We're going to have voting tablets right there in class."
In addition to this voting and education campaign, the Model U.N. is looking to form a possible high school Model U.N. that could potentially convene on SVSU's campus. To test whether or not this idea is plausible, members of the Model U.N. will send out surveys to government and civics high school teachers. Kaczynski says the idea is to send out as many surveys to as many nearby high schools as possible.
"The whole region. The thumb, the tri-city area, northern Michigan, mid-Michigan, and probably all the way down to the M-46, I-69 area. So, we're looking at a very very broad range," Kaczynski said.
Even though SVSU's Model U.N. doesn't have a United Nations event scheduled for this semester, members of the group traveled to Chicago last fall to participate in the American Model U.N. mock proceedings. At this gathering, SVSU represented the country of Kuwait. Although it was the first time SVSU had attended, Olpere, then the organization's treasurer, said she was satisfied with her and her teammates' performance.
Kaczynski and student members of Model U.N. are eagerly anticipating the next event that will occur this fall. At current, members of SVSU's Model U.N. will represent Portugal, but if enough students join into the Model U.N., SVSU could have a chance to represent two countries. Any student interested in more information on the Model U.N. can contact John Kaczynski at jlkazcyn@svsu.edu or Megan Olpere at mnolpere@svsu.edu.
