Dr. Jay Stone
YUNMUN Faculty Adviser

Once again the Ramaz team has returned triumphant from the Yeshiva University Model United Nations Conference held in the Parsippany Hilton. Coming in as the second runner up and second in overall awards, Ramaz easily bested the combined award count for all the other Metropolitan New York teams. First and second place went to YULA and Shalhevet, both of Los Angeles.

• Typical topics of discussion included:
  Global implications of price discrimination by international pharmaceutical companies (World Health Organization)
• Alternative Energy Sources (Commission for Social Development)
• Discrimination Against Women in Islamic Countries (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women)
• Propriety of Palestinians suits against Israel when the former is not a member of the U.N. (International Court of Justice)
• Worldwide Youth Drug Abuse Education (UN Drug Control Program)

Leading our team with best delegate awards were junior Judah Marans (Environment Committee) and senior Caroline Phillips (International Court of Justice). Our senior captains, Ariel Grun, Gabe Oppenheim, and Baruch Shemtov all won honorable mentions respectively in the Disarmament Committee, Mideast Summit and the Children’s Fund. Additional honorable mentions were garnered by junior Samantha Demby in the Committee for Social Development and senior Dan Marans in the Conference on Trade and Development.

Despite the daunting competition of the Super Bowl on the opening night this was without a doubt the most serious and yet enjoyable conference thus far. A combination of an exceptionally well-prepared YU staff and the vast improvement in the physical plant at the new locale were undoubtedly largely responsible.

PARTICIPANTS COMMENT'S

Ariel Grun
Senior

    My role in YUNMUN was playing the French delegate in DISEC. My committee spent most of its time debating how to resolve the issue of North Korea’s nuclear program. Being that North Korea already possesses enough plutonium to create at least two nuclear weapons, it is a huge threat to the world, and could potentially lead to a world war. After much work and with the aid of a few other yeshivah delegates, I created a resolution suggesting using incentives and peaceful negotiations with a mediator, in order to try to persuade North Korea to rid itself of its nuclear weapons. Model U.N. also ended on a great note: Ramaz won Third Place! All in all, I would consider YUNMUN 2005 a great success, and I am sad that I will no longer be a participant in this fun, intellectual event.

Judah Marans
Junior

    Every year, yeshivah high schools join together from all over U.S. and Canada at the YU hosted Model UN conference called YUNMUN (Yeshivah University National Model United Nations). Model UN is a combination of so much that I love. It entails doing research, refining public speaking skills, awareness of international diplomacy, and making alliances and compromises. It is also a chance to hang out with students from Ramaz in a different setting and to spend time with friends from other schools.

There was something I was personally keeping an eye out for, going into the convention: how YU might reconcile the views of those who feel that the UN is an inefficient, non-progressive institution. An anti-UN force is prevalent in many circles. In fact, the Ramaz debate team hosted a debate about a year and half ago, and the topic was, “The UN should be dismantled.” Many of the speakers at YUNMUN actually addressed the points of view of those who feel that the UN should be dismantled. At the convention, I learned a great deal about the United Nations that I did not know before the convention began and I can now make more educated decisions regarding it.