York High School has many extracurriculars, but one that has not been at the school is Model United Nations (MUN). Two students saw a problem with that and decided to work together to establish MUN at YHS. Chloe Whitbread and Maren Robinson, both members of the speech and debate team and interested in pursuing careers in politics, brought their proposal to administration, where it was approved. They then had to get the final approval from the school committee. MUN was an idea loved by the school committee, and they were glad to allow for the establishment of the new organization at YHS. MUN will not be active until the fall of 2025, when competitions will begin. Students from all grade levels can join now, as the plan is to begin fundraising and meeting this spring and summer in order to be prepared for the fall season.
For those who do not know what MUN is, it is a competitive academic activity for students to debate foreign affairs and legislation. MUN is as it says in the name, a “model” United Nations so it is run just like the UN with a general assembly and teams are assigned a certain country to bring legislation to pass in order to support the success of their country. Since the UN deals with foreign affairs, MUN is an international competition so competitions are held globally. MUN is popular in high schools but there are also programs at some colleges. Many of the high school tournaments are held at colleges as well. Since MUN will be new to YHS, the team hopes to attend local competitions within Maine and New Hampshire, but hopefully branch out to a high-caliber competition held at New England colleges, like Harvard, towards the end of the 2025 season. There are high hopes for this program to succeed at YHS since it is an established organization that has proven to be successful and beneficial at other schools.
MUN is extremely beneficial for students as it is an opportunity for students to express their ideas surrounding global politics and possibly explore future career ideas. It will also further students’ knowledge surrounding the world and create a more informed body of students here at YHS. Lastly, MUN provides opportunities for students to advance their communication skills and learn to cooperate with other students on their team as well as other teams. Those interested in MUN, please reach out to student leaders Maren Robinson and Chloe Whitbread, or the faculty advisor, Ms. Fioretti.
