It is Saturday morning at 9:15a and the Sheraton lobby is buzzing with tourists dodging the 5 degree winter weather outside, but the HMUN “delegate’s” (the term used for the participants) are moving a bit slower after two nights of not sleeping in their own beds, and probably not sleeping that much in general.
Derryfield students, representing Austria, are now assigned to certain committees (“Security Council” or “World Health Organization,” for example) that meet in given rooms, so I have the freedom to walk around and listen to bits of conversation, both in the hallways and in the meeting rooms themselves.
Examples:
- “It has come to Sri Lanka’s attention that the working papers submitted by the Democratic Republic of Congo contain elements that are not in keeping with the tone of compromise needed to make progress in the area of creating sustainable refugee resettlement areas . . .”
- “Isn’t it true that NGO’s must have freedom to move about in country if we are to leverage all the improvements they are capable of bringing to Azerbaijian?”
- “Luxembourg, you are recognized for one minute.”
- “If we join together we have a better chance of hammering through a resolution, especially if we wait to the end of the caucus period, providing the US has already spoken.”
- “In exchange for North Korea introducing a motion to responsibly dispose of its nuclear waste the Security Council would entertain a motion from China that would include many of the elements of the working papers already introduced by Germany.”
- “Can we just slow down and read this new clause on indigenous rights together before introducing it in front of the entire committee?”
- “We are going to amend clause 12-D now and we are not going back in that room until everyone here agrees to how we construct boundaries in safe zones! If we can’t agree to a simple sub-clause amongst ourselves, how can we expect the entire committee to support our solution?”
- “Delegates, decorum!”
These last two words, which I heard from the podium in a few different committee rooms, seems to be the standard way that committee chairs reprimand the roomful of delegates when they get too loud. Each time I heard the phrase, the crowd instantly quieted down. Again, I depart with an appreciation for the sense of manners that these students have toward each other, and the respect they show for the institution of the HMUN.
