Have you ever wondered what Model UN does? The NWN had the chance to talk to president of Model UN, senior Jack Thornton.

NWN: What is Model UN and what goes on in this club?

Thornton: It is a club where we represent other countries, go to conferences, and find solutions to world-wide issues. It’s basically a model of the United Nations.

NWN: What world-wide issues/problems does Model UN address usually?

Thornton: Well, in the last conference every person was in a different committee so everyone had different topics. There are many topics such as disarmament, nuclear weapons, world health, and many others, but I prefer research based issues.

NWN: What country is Model UN representing this year?

Thornton: For this conference, we are representing Armenia and Saint Kitts and  last time were representing Latvia and Slovenia.

NWN: Are there any awards? If so, have you won any awards at the conferences that the club has attended?

Thornton: There are, but we aren’t that competitive. We’ve won some awards, but in some schools there’s a class for Model UN which requires them to be more competitive to get an A. But winning awards isn’t our main focus; we usually go [to the conferences] for the atmosphere.

NWN: Is there a season for Model UN?

Thornton: Well, we have conferences every once in a while. We had one in December, February, and April. We also had one in October last year where we went to Washington D.C. and St. Louis.

NWN: How many people are in Model UN?

Thornton: Around 16 to 20 people come to the conferences. Since we’re representing two countries, half the people represent one country and half represent the other one.

NWN: In your opinion, what kinds of people should join?

Thornton: We need a lot of freshmen and sophomores because a lot of the people right now are seniors, and they’re going to leave. Also, if you’re someone who is fairly worldly or if you’re interested in learning more about world issues [you should join.]

You can catch Model UN Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. in room 3110.