Behind the Scenes at VAMUN: Junior Staff Experience

With the sun blazing relentlessly and my hands full of various flyers, I was ready to go back into the cool safety of air conditioning at the activities fair last August. Almost immediately, I was quickly taken aback by the sheer amount of clubs to join, all tightly packed together in crowded tents. As a first year, the fact that there could be this many options baffled me, and so I wandered around every which way, ensuring that I did not miss out on any potential organizations. The last tent of tables that I stopped by was the one in front of the amphitheater, where the pre-professional organizations were set up. As I squeezed through the final row of tables that I had yet to visit, someone quickly asked me about joining Model UN. On a whim, I scribbled down my name and email.

In the overwhelming sea of email correspondence that I received in my first few weeks here at UVA, I decided to skim through them and pick the clubs that I wanted to join. By means of the links sent by the International Relations Organization (“IRO”), I attended an interest meeting and ended up filling out a junior staff application for Virginia Model United Nations (“VAMUN”). It seemed like a good opportunity and the application was straightforward, so I figured, “Hey, why not?” As far as my own Model UN experience goes, it was slim; although I might have pursued it the past few years, I had not done it since middle school because my small high school had not offered it.

According to the United Nations Association of the USA (“UNA-USA”), “Model UN is a simulation of the UN General Assembly and its other multilateral bodies where students perform an ambassador role while debating topics such as gender equality, climate action, global health, and more.” VAMUN brings together high schoolers from up and down the East Coast for a top-notch chance to step into these ambassador roles. Going on for 44 years strong, VAMUN is entirely organized by the IRO—which is entirely student run—and staffed by dedicated undergraduates. 

VAMUN is divided into various categories of committees that each center on specific topics or issues that the high school delegates must debate and resolve. The committees are split into General Assemblies (“GA”), Specialized Agencies (“spec”), crisis committees, Wilson Global Systems Simulation (“WGSS”), and Jefferson Committees on Diplomacy (“JCD”). General Assemblies are simulations of “the main policy-making organ of the Organization” and address broader policy issues. Specialized Agencies have “a focus on a more niche topic area” and are typically smaller than GA. By comparison, crisis committees are “fast-paced MUN committees that often emulate small organizations and boards” where “rather than representing a country, delegates take on the role of a character”. WGSS adds another dimension with a “four-way, interconnected simulation”—another form of crisis. Finally, JCD committees are chances for “experienced delegates to step outside of their comfort zone and collaborate to create effective policy solutions.” Together, these committees offer many opportunities for delegates to explore their own personal interests while still engaging in the Model UN experience. 

This year’s VAMUN conference spanned over a three-day weekend, beginning November 15th. As a member of the junior staff, my work on Friday began in the late afternoon when I picked up the box containing the materials for my committee. Staff were assigned into their respective committees, mine being the 2060 Green Team: Busting Greenwashing and Tech Turmoil, one of the crisis committees. By the time I arrived at the designated spot where my committee met, there were already dozens of delegates swarming the Newcomb Hall patio. As an out-of-state student who has never had the chance to go to any away conferences such as VAMUN, I was wholly unprepared for how many schools had signed up to participate. 

The 2060 Green Team focused on a hypothetical society in the future where “the growing backlash against corporate pollution has risen tides of greenwashing across the commercial world.” The delegates acted as fictional members of the Green Party and had to work together “to address the environmental crisis head-on.” The room comprised approximately 20 delegates from several different high schools, and each was assigned a made-up name and position in the Green Party. 

The committee was split into a front room and back room, the latter of which I was assigned to. For crisis committees, delegates are given two notepads to write private directives, which are typically written instructions or a plan that they wish to implement regarding the events happening in the front room. Periodically, the backroom comes in and collects one of the notepads to write responses on while the delegates work on the other notepad. This continuous system of swapping and replying to notepads ensured consistent feedback and exchange of actions between the rooms.

In addition to the notepads, the back room was responsible for creating crisis updates that incorporated what the delegates were working on through their private directives and ongoing discussions. The 2060 Green Team backroom consisted of myself and three others; we were headed by a senior staffer who created a slideshow that we used to present the updates in the front room. While there were already some pre-planned events to upset the flow of the delegates’ ideas, we also incorporated specific policies or actions that delegates had written on their pads. The process tended to go thusly: collect notepads, respond to the notepads and record responses in a spreadsheet, pick what we thought were the most influential or interesting—and controversial—private directives and add them to the slideshow. By doing this, the delegates always had a flow of issues to respond to and work on, keeping the front room conversation interesting, dynamic, and engaging. 

On Friday, we worked for four hours and on Saturday the conference ran from 9 a.m. through 7 p.m.—a whole ten hours. Sunday was “Fun MUN” and was optional for junior staffers, while senior staffers had to be present to distribute awards. There were scheduled breaks at various intervals throughout the weekend, much to the relief of staffers and delegates alike. 

Despite the long schedule on Saturday, I had a great experience overall. Going into VAMUN, I had no idea what to expect or much knowledge on what to do. I had attended the information session in October and the additional logistics meeting several days before the conference, but there remained a lot of uncertainties. Fortunately, the senior staffers of my team had sent out information and the background guide beforehand, so I had those documents to give me some base information. With the help of the fellow members of my backroom, we assisted each other with feedback on the private directives and refining updates. The welcoming space allowed me to quickly adapt to the swift-moving nature of the crisis. 

As the United Nations wrote, “Model UN conferences help students develop public speaking, writing, and research skills.” While I did not participate as a delegate at VAMUN, I can confidently attest to the personal growth in these areas. Crisis committees denoted that we had to not only announce and act out the updates in front of the committee, but also to think quickly to create thoughtful replies to the delegates’ private directives. Thinking critically and on the spot was something that I had to do often during the duration of VAMUN and I ended up having a fun time. Through staffing VAMUN, I gained a greater sense of how an official Model UN conference panned out while practicing interpersonal skills and collaboration techniques. The challenge of synthesizing the directives thrown at us made us employ creativity and a lot of strategizing skills to make this the best experience possible for the delegates. 

For those who may be interested in joining VAMUN, let this article serve as proof that one does not need to have prior experience with Model UN and to simply join—what matters most is a willingness to learn and participate. I plan on doing this again next year and try out a different committee to see how things may pan out there in comparison to the crisis committee. I recommend this experience to those who like problem-solving, teamwork, and navigating complex situations in a fun and dynamic environment.