RUAIR In the News
Team ranks 11th best delegation
By Andrea Goyma
Correspondent
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/university/team-ranks-11th-best-delegation-1.2547156
Published: Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Updated: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 23:04
To determine the top 25 Model United Nations teams across North America, BestDelegate.com, a source for high school and collegiate Model UN, unofficially ranked the University's traveling team earlier this month as the 11th strongest.
The rank puts the Rutgers University Association of International Relations (RUAIR) within the level of Georgetown University and West Point, and ahead of schools like New York University and Princeton University, which was not ranked.
While there is no official team ranking, president of RUAIR Shariq Ahmad said the team has come a long way from two years ago when it only had one or two delegates win an award a year.
"We're above some pretty elite schools and the top 10 are some of the best schools in the country, so we're in really good company," said Ahmad, a School of Arts and Sciences senior.
RUAIR will be ranked higher at the end of the year because the current rankings do not take into account members' most recent results at the New York University Model UN Conference and the Five College Model UN Conference last week, where the team placed third at both, he said.
The team's rank is based on their award-winning performances at the Georgetown National Collegiate Security Conference and in two of Model UN's most competitive and largest conferences at the University of Pennsylvania and McGill University, where they won the Outstanding Small Delegation award at both conferences, according to BestDelegate.com.
Kevin Chan, one of BestDelegate.com's founders and the leader of the rankings project, said their goal was not to foster competition but to create awareness of good programs so delegates could emulate the attitudes and skills of successful teams.
"Our mission is to share information that's previously not available, so we wanted to use the awards data we've accumulated from blogging about conferences and compile it," said Chan, a University of California-Los Angeles alumnus.
He said their methodology for the ranking system uses conference size as a proxy for competition. Larger conferences mean bigger delegations, and they require delegates to procure and debate information to greater amounts of people.
"Not only are more schools attending [at larger conferences] but also some of the best schools are sending their best delegates," Chan said.
BestDelegate.com ranks the top four conferences in the World Division, in increasing order, as the McGill Model UN Assembly (McMUN), University of Pennsylvania Model UN Conference (UPMUNC), Harvard World Model UN (WorldMUN) and Harvard National Model UN (HNMUN), he said.
Anant Shukla, the Secretary-General of the UPMUNC, said UPMUNC is the most competitive conference on the Model UN circuit in the fall because all the heavyweights like Harvard University, Yale University and Georgetown University compete.
"Georgetown does not compete at Harvard [HNMUN] which is important because the only time that most of these schools do go head-to-head is at UPMUNC in the fall," said Shukla, a University of Pennsylvania junior.
Dominik Nieszporowski, secretary-general of HNMUN, said HNMUN is the oldest simulation of its kind and attracts more than 3,000 participants from both national and international colleges.
"I believe the single most important reason our conference maintains its status on the Model UN circuit is the quality of our delegates," Nieszporowski, a Harvard University senior, said via email correspondence.
Chan said BestDelegate.com compiled the rankings based on a conference's awards information — like which teams won, the number of delegation awards, the number of awards for each conference — and tried to find as many conferences as they could.
Since Model UN is student-run, generally students chairing the simulation UN committees decide which delegates receive awards at conferences, Shukla said.
"We anticipated that certain conferences would be weighted more because they publish more awards data, so we have more to work with," Chan said.
Ahmad said he does not believe it is fair to heavily weigh HNMUN in the ranking methodology because there are many schools that cannot afford to attend or have packed schedules like RUAIR.
"If we had gone and done well at Harvard, we would've ranked better," Ahmad said. "[But] it's the first time they've ever done a ranking [and] they've done a pretty good job."
The Best Delegate team is working on changes and will update public rankings periodically, as well as get better awards data for other conferences, Chan said.
But Ahmad said despite some other schools having advantages over RUAIR in terms of being financially supportive or having specialized academic focuses for Model UN, RUAIR has done well.
"What [RUAIR] does without those resources is amazing, in my opinion," he said. "While we might not have the same access to funding or the same academic programs, the best and brightest at Rutgers can hang in there with the best and brightest anywhere in the world."
Ahmad said he credits RUAIR's ability to attend an unprecedented seven Model UN conferences this past year to the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA).
"Rutgers has never been to seven conferences in a year before and the two schools that have been to the most conferences were West Point and UPenn, who have attended nine," he said.
Shukla said RUAIR have done well in the past and hopes they do well again this year in December at their UPMUNC conference.
"Whatever they're doing must be working for them," Shukla said.
Ahmad said while award recognition is satisfying, his involvement with Model UN is not to win awards but to create better leaders.
"When my delegates saw those rankings, they were excited because Rutgers was recognized," he said. "And they know that they have that potential to be better and it just drives us even more."
By Andrea Goyma
Correspondent
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/university/team-ranks-11th-best-delegation-1.2547156
Published: Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Updated: Tuesday, April 19, 2011 23:04
To determine the top 25 Model United Nations teams across North America, BestDelegate.com, a source for high school and collegiate Model UN, unofficially ranked the University's traveling team earlier this month as the 11th strongest.
The rank puts the Rutgers University Association of International Relations (RUAIR) within the level of Georgetown University and West Point, and ahead of schools like New York University and Princeton University, which was not ranked.
While there is no official team ranking, president of RUAIR Shariq Ahmad said the team has come a long way from two years ago when it only had one or two delegates win an award a year.
"We're above some pretty elite schools and the top 10 are some of the best schools in the country, so we're in really good company," said Ahmad, a School of Arts and Sciences senior.
RUAIR will be ranked higher at the end of the year because the current rankings do not take into account members' most recent results at the New York University Model UN Conference and the Five College Model UN Conference last week, where the team placed third at both, he said.
The team's rank is based on their award-winning performances at the Georgetown National Collegiate Security Conference and in two of Model UN's most competitive and largest conferences at the University of Pennsylvania and McGill University, where they won the Outstanding Small Delegation award at both conferences, according to BestDelegate.com.
Kevin Chan, one of BestDelegate.com's founders and the leader of the rankings project, said their goal was not to foster competition but to create awareness of good programs so delegates could emulate the attitudes and skills of successful teams.
"Our mission is to share information that's previously not available, so we wanted to use the awards data we've accumulated from blogging about conferences and compile it," said Chan, a University of California-Los Angeles alumnus.
He said their methodology for the ranking system uses conference size as a proxy for competition. Larger conferences mean bigger delegations, and they require delegates to procure and debate information to greater amounts of people.
"Not only are more schools attending [at larger conferences] but also some of the best schools are sending their best delegates," Chan said.
BestDelegate.com ranks the top four conferences in the World Division, in increasing order, as the McGill Model UN Assembly (McMUN), University of Pennsylvania Model UN Conference (UPMUNC), Harvard World Model UN (WorldMUN) and Harvard National Model UN (HNMUN), he said.
Anant Shukla, the Secretary-General of the UPMUNC, said UPMUNC is the most competitive conference on the Model UN circuit in the fall because all the heavyweights like Harvard University, Yale University and Georgetown University compete.
"Georgetown does not compete at Harvard [HNMUN] which is important because the only time that most of these schools do go head-to-head is at UPMUNC in the fall," said Shukla, a University of Pennsylvania junior.
Dominik Nieszporowski, secretary-general of HNMUN, said HNMUN is the oldest simulation of its kind and attracts more than 3,000 participants from both national and international colleges.
"I believe the single most important reason our conference maintains its status on the Model UN circuit is the quality of our delegates," Nieszporowski, a Harvard University senior, said via email correspondence.
Chan said BestDelegate.com compiled the rankings based on a conference's awards information — like which teams won, the number of delegation awards, the number of awards for each conference — and tried to find as many conferences as they could.
Since Model UN is student-run, generally students chairing the simulation UN committees decide which delegates receive awards at conferences, Shukla said.
"We anticipated that certain conferences would be weighted more because they publish more awards data, so we have more to work with," Chan said.
Ahmad said he does not believe it is fair to heavily weigh HNMUN in the ranking methodology because there are many schools that cannot afford to attend or have packed schedules like RUAIR.
"If we had gone and done well at Harvard, we would've ranked better," Ahmad said. "[But] it's the first time they've ever done a ranking [and] they've done a pretty good job."
The Best Delegate team is working on changes and will update public rankings periodically, as well as get better awards data for other conferences, Chan said.
But Ahmad said despite some other schools having advantages over RUAIR in terms of being financially supportive or having specialized academic focuses for Model UN, RUAIR has done well.
"What [RUAIR] does without those resources is amazing, in my opinion," he said. "While we might not have the same access to funding or the same academic programs, the best and brightest at Rutgers can hang in there with the best and brightest anywhere in the world."
Ahmad said he credits RUAIR's ability to attend an unprecedented seven Model UN conferences this past year to the Rutgers University Student Assembly (RUSA).
"Rutgers has never been to seven conferences in a year before and the two schools that have been to the most conferences were West Point and UPenn, who have attended nine," he said.
Shukla said RUAIR have done well in the past and hopes they do well again this year in December at their UPMUNC conference.
"Whatever they're doing must be working for them," Shukla said.
Ahmad said while award recognition is satisfying, his involvement with Model UN is not to win awards but to create better leaders.
"When my delegates saw those rankings, they were excited because Rutgers was recognized," he said. "And they know that they have that potential to be better and it just drives us even more."
Team becomes competitive contender after conference win
By Andrea Goyma
Correspondent
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/university/team-becomes-competitive-contender-after-conference-win-1.2468749
Published: Monday, February 14, 2011
Updated: Monday, February 14, 2011 23:02
The University's traveling Model United Nations (RUMUN) team returned from the McGill Model United Nations Assembly (McMUN) in Montreal with the conference's prestigious "Outstanding Delegation Award" for the school with the highest percentage of individual awards.
This is the second delegation award for the RUMUN team, after winning the first at the University of Pennsylvania in November, said Shariq Ahmad, president of the Rutgers University Association of International Relations (RUAIR).
"We have now won delegation awards at the two largest conferences in North America," said Ahmad, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. "We have more individual awards this year than almost all our previous years combined."
Within each simulation committee, there are individual delegate awards — best delegate, outstanding delegate and honorable mention, Ahmad said. At McMUN, Ahmad and Advait Shukla, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, won outstanding delegate awards and Samip Joshi, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, won a best delegate award.
"The Outstanding Delegation Award means that the ratio of how many people we [had in our team] to how many individual wins we had was the greatest of any small group," said Aafiya Mohammed, director of communications for RUAIR.
Mohammed, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, said winning the award reflects the team's dedication and their ability to succeed when placed in competition with other schools like Georgetown University and Princeton University.
Participant's skills in diplomacy and debate are crucial factors for granting awards, Ahmad said.
"The most effective delegates know their topics very well, can debate them effectively, are good public speakers, skilled negotiators, quick thinkers, problem-solvers, charismatic, work well with others and can get their point across and turn their words into action," he said.
McMUN is one of the largest, most competitive Model UN conferences on the continent where many schools travel to Montreal to compete, Ahmad said.
"When we get called up for a major delegation award, there are thousands of students in that conference room watching you as you walk up to receive it, and they all know you are from Rutgers," he said. "Other colleges are really starting to consider Rutgers a formidable opponent."
The McMUN conference had about 2,000 students and over 100 participating schools, Mohammed said.
The structure and level of debate varies with each committee, Mohammed said. It took over a year for the team to prepare for the conference.
"We prepare just by holding our general meetings," he said. "Some meetings we focus on policy, some on public speaking, some are war game simulations and others are just round table discussions."
The head delegate, the president and some of the more experienced members also train everyone, including those who have no previous debating experience in Model UN, Ahmad said.
Positions are assigned based on the skills, experience and a specialty each delegate has, Ahmad said.
Before the members assign their own delegates, they try to find out other schools' delegate positions in the committees in order to create the best match and increase the team's chances of winning, he said.
"To be a member of the Model UN team, you just need to be willing to learn, not be shy and be able to prepare properly to go debate on whatever your topic will be," Ahmad said.
Abilities like speaking in class, giving presentations and being comfortable with argument translate into important skills at conferences, Mohammed said.
"Speaking skills are something I believe are not stressed enough in classes because being able to speak your way through tough situations is much easier than awkwardly sliding out of them," he said.
Debating on the Model UN circuit also fosters a skill set that is applicable and useful towards both students' academic career, RUAIR Treasurer Pavitra Badami said.
"The ability to critically analyze and innovate unique solutions to problems presented during the course of debate can naturally be applied towards critical analysis required in many [University] classes," said Badami, a School of Arts and Sciences senior.
RUMUN has two Model UN conferences in April at the University of Chicago and New York University.
To join the Model UN team, students should have an interest in international affairs and a desire to learn more about them, he said.
"It certainly helps if people like to voice their opinions and keep up with current events," Ahmad said. "That is not a prerequisite and many of our members join in order to learn more about what is going on in the world."
The many relationships fostered with other students and universities from all across the world are one of the highlights of participating in Model UN, Badami said.
"The opportunity to represent [the University] on a global platform and beat schools such as United States Military Academy at Westpoint, Yale and Columbia gives Rutgers the exposure it so deserves and the opportunity to demonstrate our strengths and skills across the nation," she said.
By Andrea Goyma
Correspondent
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/university/team-becomes-competitive-contender-after-conference-win-1.2468749
Published: Monday, February 14, 2011
Updated: Monday, February 14, 2011 23:02
The University's traveling Model United Nations (RUMUN) team returned from the McGill Model United Nations Assembly (McMUN) in Montreal with the conference's prestigious "Outstanding Delegation Award" for the school with the highest percentage of individual awards.
This is the second delegation award for the RUMUN team, after winning the first at the University of Pennsylvania in November, said Shariq Ahmad, president of the Rutgers University Association of International Relations (RUAIR).
"We have now won delegation awards at the two largest conferences in North America," said Ahmad, a School of Arts and Sciences senior. "We have more individual awards this year than almost all our previous years combined."
Within each simulation committee, there are individual delegate awards — best delegate, outstanding delegate and honorable mention, Ahmad said. At McMUN, Ahmad and Advait Shukla, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, won outstanding delegate awards and Samip Joshi, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, won a best delegate award.
"The Outstanding Delegation Award means that the ratio of how many people we [had in our team] to how many individual wins we had was the greatest of any small group," said Aafiya Mohammed, director of communications for RUAIR.
Mohammed, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, said winning the award reflects the team's dedication and their ability to succeed when placed in competition with other schools like Georgetown University and Princeton University.
Participant's skills in diplomacy and debate are crucial factors for granting awards, Ahmad said.
"The most effective delegates know their topics very well, can debate them effectively, are good public speakers, skilled negotiators, quick thinkers, problem-solvers, charismatic, work well with others and can get their point across and turn their words into action," he said.
McMUN is one of the largest, most competitive Model UN conferences on the continent where many schools travel to Montreal to compete, Ahmad said.
"When we get called up for a major delegation award, there are thousands of students in that conference room watching you as you walk up to receive it, and they all know you are from Rutgers," he said. "Other colleges are really starting to consider Rutgers a formidable opponent."
The McMUN conference had about 2,000 students and over 100 participating schools, Mohammed said.
The structure and level of debate varies with each committee, Mohammed said. It took over a year for the team to prepare for the conference.
"We prepare just by holding our general meetings," he said. "Some meetings we focus on policy, some on public speaking, some are war game simulations and others are just round table discussions."
The head delegate, the president and some of the more experienced members also train everyone, including those who have no previous debating experience in Model UN, Ahmad said.
Positions are assigned based on the skills, experience and a specialty each delegate has, Ahmad said.
Before the members assign their own delegates, they try to find out other schools' delegate positions in the committees in order to create the best match and increase the team's chances of winning, he said.
"To be a member of the Model UN team, you just need to be willing to learn, not be shy and be able to prepare properly to go debate on whatever your topic will be," Ahmad said.
Abilities like speaking in class, giving presentations and being comfortable with argument translate into important skills at conferences, Mohammed said.
"Speaking skills are something I believe are not stressed enough in classes because being able to speak your way through tough situations is much easier than awkwardly sliding out of them," he said.
Debating on the Model UN circuit also fosters a skill set that is applicable and useful towards both students' academic career, RUAIR Treasurer Pavitra Badami said.
"The ability to critically analyze and innovate unique solutions to problems presented during the course of debate can naturally be applied towards critical analysis required in many [University] classes," said Badami, a School of Arts and Sciences senior.
RUMUN has two Model UN conferences in April at the University of Chicago and New York University.
To join the Model UN team, students should have an interest in international affairs and a desire to learn more about them, he said.
"It certainly helps if people like to voice their opinions and keep up with current events," Ahmad said. "That is not a prerequisite and many of our members join in order to learn more about what is going on in the world."
The many relationships fostered with other students and universities from all across the world are one of the highlights of participating in Model UN, Badami said.
"The opportunity to represent [the University] on a global platform and beat schools such as United States Military Academy at Westpoint, Yale and Columbia gives Rutgers the exposure it so deserves and the opportunity to demonstrate our strengths and skills across the nation," she said.
Model UN, Debate Union face off on environmental policy
By Rashmee Kumar
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/university/model-un-debate-union-face-off-on-environmental-policy-1.2422426
Published: Sunday, December 5, 2010
Updated: Sunday, December 5, 2010 22:12
The Rutgers University Association of International Relations' Model United Nations bested Rutgers University Debate Union in a debate on green energy alternatives on Nov. 29 in the Graduate Student Lounge of the Rutgers Student Center.
The win was especially significant for delegates of the Model UN, who had to adopt RUDU's style of debating, said Shariq Ahmad, Model UN president.
"It put us out of our comfort zone and made us debate using a different style against an extremely competent opponent who is nationally ranked and has recently been getting a lot of attention," said Ahmad, a School of Arts and Sciences senior.
The debate, which was sponsored by the Federal Republic of Germany's Transatlantic Climate Bridge program, featured discussion on carbon emissions and renewable energies, Ahmad said.
A panel of professors acted as judges, scoring each team based on the strength of their argument and persuasive skills, their speaking and presentation and their knowledge of policy and issues, he said.
The final round pitted Ahmad, School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Aniket Kesari and School of Arts and Sciences senior Aakruti Vakharia against School of Arts and Sciences seniors David Reiss and Kyle Bomeisl, and School of Engineering sophomore Chris Bergman.
"The final ended up being extremely close, but RU AIR pulled away with the win by stating more on policy," Ahmad said.
RUDU Vice President of Public Relations Krishna Kavi said it was the Model UN's knowledge of facts and figures that put them over the top.
"In Model UN debates, they're used to having specific numbers and details," said Kavi, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. "Debate Union didn't use all of those arguments. Instead, they used general facts and underlying philosophies, so they lost by a small margin."
To prepare for the debate, members of Model UN researched independently and then came together to coordinate speeches and arguments, Kesari said.
"It was really awesome [to win]," he said. "We did a lot of preparation a couple days before, so it was really rewarding to get the win."
The Model UN team recently visited Columbia University, Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania to participate in competitions, Kesari said.
"We are 100 percent into everything. We do our research and participate while we're there," he said. "In general, we make sure that Rutgers is known as a very professional, friendly school so that other schools know what Rutgers is really about."
Ahmad said while the Model UN would like to impact the campus community more, their greatest contribution is creating a positive image outside of the University.
"When [other teams] interact with Rutgers students who are equally as intelligent as them and who have been consistently beating them in nationwide competitions, they go back to their elite schools with a certain amount of respect for Rutgers and a changed perception from that of the usual state school with a big-time sports program and lots of parties," he said.
Ahmad said the award (Outstanding Delegation at UPMUNC) symbolizes a sense of pride for the entire Model UN team.
"For the Model UN as a whole … we share in each other's victories, and also it gives us a reputation outside of Rutgers that we're a legitimate school that is competing at the collegiate level," he said. "It basically represents us as hardworking people that are really passionate about what we do."
The award was only given to schools that are recognized for having the highest number of award-winning delegates, Ahmad said.
"It is a huge honor for any school and marks the beginning of a new era for the Rutgers Model UN program, where we will be well-respected around the nation for years to come," he said.
By Rashmee Kumar
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/university/model-un-debate-union-face-off-on-environmental-policy-1.2422426
Published: Sunday, December 5, 2010
Updated: Sunday, December 5, 2010 22:12
The Rutgers University Association of International Relations' Model United Nations bested Rutgers University Debate Union in a debate on green energy alternatives on Nov. 29 in the Graduate Student Lounge of the Rutgers Student Center.
The win was especially significant for delegates of the Model UN, who had to adopt RUDU's style of debating, said Shariq Ahmad, Model UN president.
"It put us out of our comfort zone and made us debate using a different style against an extremely competent opponent who is nationally ranked and has recently been getting a lot of attention," said Ahmad, a School of Arts and Sciences senior.
The debate, which was sponsored by the Federal Republic of Germany's Transatlantic Climate Bridge program, featured discussion on carbon emissions and renewable energies, Ahmad said.
A panel of professors acted as judges, scoring each team based on the strength of their argument and persuasive skills, their speaking and presentation and their knowledge of policy and issues, he said.
The final round pitted Ahmad, School of Arts and Sciences first-year student Aniket Kesari and School of Arts and Sciences senior Aakruti Vakharia against School of Arts and Sciences seniors David Reiss and Kyle Bomeisl, and School of Engineering sophomore Chris Bergman.
"The final ended up being extremely close, but RU AIR pulled away with the win by stating more on policy," Ahmad said.
RUDU Vice President of Public Relations Krishna Kavi said it was the Model UN's knowledge of facts and figures that put them over the top.
"In Model UN debates, they're used to having specific numbers and details," said Kavi, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. "Debate Union didn't use all of those arguments. Instead, they used general facts and underlying philosophies, so they lost by a small margin."
To prepare for the debate, members of Model UN researched independently and then came together to coordinate speeches and arguments, Kesari said.
"It was really awesome [to win]," he said. "We did a lot of preparation a couple days before, so it was really rewarding to get the win."
The Model UN team recently visited Columbia University, Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania to participate in competitions, Kesari said.
"We are 100 percent into everything. We do our research and participate while we're there," he said. "In general, we make sure that Rutgers is known as a very professional, friendly school so that other schools know what Rutgers is really about."
Ahmad said while the Model UN would like to impact the campus community more, their greatest contribution is creating a positive image outside of the University.
"When [other teams] interact with Rutgers students who are equally as intelligent as them and who have been consistently beating them in nationwide competitions, they go back to their elite schools with a certain amount of respect for Rutgers and a changed perception from that of the usual state school with a big-time sports program and lots of parties," he said.
Ahmad said the award (Outstanding Delegation at UPMUNC) symbolizes a sense of pride for the entire Model UN team.
"For the Model UN as a whole … we share in each other's victories, and also it gives us a reputation outside of Rutgers that we're a legitimate school that is competing at the collegiate level," he said. "It basically represents us as hardworking people that are really passionate about what we do."
The award was only given to schools that are recognized for having the highest number of award-winning delegates, Ahmad said.
"It is a huge honor for any school and marks the beginning of a new era for the Rutgers Model UN program, where we will be well-respected around the nation for years to come," he said.
Student delegates grapple with world issues in Canada
By Cassandra Sperber
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/student-delegates-grapple-with-world-issues-in-canada-1.2249413
Published: Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Updated: Thursday, April 29, 2010 16:04
The Model United Nation's trip to an annual international conference last week in Montreal exemplified the University's mantra of 'Jersey Roots, Global Reach.'
The University's Model UN President Harinath Amarnath was honored for being a top delegate in his committee at the event.
'When Harinath won his award, hearing them announce Rutgers over Ivy League schools was a great feeling,' Director of Communications Shariq Ahmad said.
The conference recognized all of the committee's top three delegates, Amarnath said.
At the conference, held at McGill University from Jan. 28 to 31, teams of students received assignments of a country and an issue. Their goal was to resolve a problem, keeping in mind the specific country's perspective.
'I have been participating in Model UN since I was in middle school,' said Amarnath, a Rutgers College senior. 'It's a great way to improve public speaking and presentation skills and learn about complex international issues.'
Attending the event allowed the students to meet 1,400 delegates from schools around the U.S., Canada, England and Pakistan, and learn more about different countries, Ahmad said.
'I gained a lot of knowledge about real world events,' said School of Arts and Sciences junior Irina Ushakov. 'We debate about current legislation and try to resolve complex issues.'
Attending this conference can help students articulate ideas and better understand how the world works, said Sarika Chopra, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore.
The students started the day with a debate on a topic, following UN procedure. Alliances with other nations often led to resolutions, Ushakov said. In some cases, unique ideas were mailed to the actual UN.
'It was interesting to me to see how students from schools like Harvard and Columbia were so focused on issues such as the economy, while Rutgers and other liberal arts schools were not afraid to step outside the box to look for new solutions,' Chopra said.
During free time, the students met students from universities around the world, Ushakov said.
'We made new friends from all over the world, and our own delegation also got very close,' Ahmad said.
Ushakov said she was able to gain knowledge through the program.
'I gained the confidence of doing my own research and then presenting that knowledge and negotiating with others,' Ushakov said.
Sixteen students attended the conference this year, and Model UN members hope to increase funding and the number grows in the future, Amarnath said.
'Participating in Model UN provides one with the skills to negotiate and think outside the box, which is essential for professions like business and law,' Amarnath said.
Model UN encourages interested students to attend its meetings, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. in Room 402 of the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus. E-mail RUInternationalRelations@gmail.com for more information.
By Cassandra Sperber
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/student-delegates-grapple-with-world-issues-in-canada-1.2249413
Published: Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Updated: Thursday, April 29, 2010 16:04
The Model United Nation's trip to an annual international conference last week in Montreal exemplified the University's mantra of 'Jersey Roots, Global Reach.'
The University's Model UN President Harinath Amarnath was honored for being a top delegate in his committee at the event.
'When Harinath won his award, hearing them announce Rutgers over Ivy League schools was a great feeling,' Director of Communications Shariq Ahmad said.
The conference recognized all of the committee's top three delegates, Amarnath said.
At the conference, held at McGill University from Jan. 28 to 31, teams of students received assignments of a country and an issue. Their goal was to resolve a problem, keeping in mind the specific country's perspective.
'I have been participating in Model UN since I was in middle school,' said Amarnath, a Rutgers College senior. 'It's a great way to improve public speaking and presentation skills and learn about complex international issues.'
Attending the event allowed the students to meet 1,400 delegates from schools around the U.S., Canada, England and Pakistan, and learn more about different countries, Ahmad said.
'I gained a lot of knowledge about real world events,' said School of Arts and Sciences junior Irina Ushakov. 'We debate about current legislation and try to resolve complex issues.'
Attending this conference can help students articulate ideas and better understand how the world works, said Sarika Chopra, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore.
The students started the day with a debate on a topic, following UN procedure. Alliances with other nations often led to resolutions, Ushakov said. In some cases, unique ideas were mailed to the actual UN.
'It was interesting to me to see how students from schools like Harvard and Columbia were so focused on issues such as the economy, while Rutgers and other liberal arts schools were not afraid to step outside the box to look for new solutions,' Chopra said.
During free time, the students met students from universities around the world, Ushakov said.
'We made new friends from all over the world, and our own delegation also got very close,' Ahmad said.
Ushakov said she was able to gain knowledge through the program.
'I gained the confidence of doing my own research and then presenting that knowledge and negotiating with others,' Ushakov said.
Sixteen students attended the conference this year, and Model UN members hope to increase funding and the number grows in the future, Amarnath said.
'Participating in Model UN provides one with the skills to negotiate and think outside the box, which is essential for professions like business and law,' Amarnath said.
Model UN encourages interested students to attend its meetings, Tuesdays at 9 p.m. in Room 402 of the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus. E-mail RUInternationalRelations@gmail.com for more information.
National UN conference awards four U. students
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/university/national-un-conference-awards-four-u-students-1.2027353
By Sara Gretina
Published: Monday, October 19, 2009
Updated: Monday, October 19, 2009
After their four-day journey to the nation’s capital, the Rutgers University Association of International Relations returned with four awards.
This was the most the University ever brought home from the National Collegiate Security Conference, said Association President Harinath Amarnath.
“We did a lot better this year than we have in the past,” said Director of Communications Shariq Ahmad, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. “I’ve always thought that the smartest kids at Rutgers are just as good as the smartest kids at any other institution.”
The conference has four levels of awards: best, outstanding, honorable and verbal, from greatest to least, said Amarnath, a Rutgers College senior.
Advait Shukla, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student, and Neelesh Mittal, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, were awarded verbal commendations; Samar Shah, a Rutgers College senior, was given an honorable delegation; and Amarnath was awarded an outstanding delegation.
“We were up against schools like Harvard and other ivy leagues,” he said. “In my committee, I beat out U. Chicago and Harvard, and they have really smart delegates.”
The conference brought nearly 500 students to Washington, D.C., where they participated in debating committees such as Indian Parliament, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Assembly on Cyber warfare, Egyptian-Israeli Joint Conference, United Nations Peace-Building Commission and others, Amarnath said.
“The competition requires us to represent various countries or personalities and debate international topics,” he said.
For example, the Egyptian-Israeli Joint Crisis required one of our delegates in the Egyptian cabinet to debate what policy decisions Egypt should make following the nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956, Amarnath said.
“In a more contemporary simulation, another delegate representing Jamaica debated how to reform the Peace building fund of the UN,” he said.
School of Arts and Sciences senior Audi Syarief played the role of Tennessee senator John Bell in the Senate 1850 Committee.
Pretending it was the year 1850, the students considered bringing territories into the United States after the recently ended Mexican War, he said. In an attempt to compromise, the committee set up rules at the beginning of the conference that would affect later decisions.
“We got so into our roles that compromise didn’t work. We wrote letters asking … to secede and so the Civil War broke out ten years early,” he said.
Rutgers University Student Assembly allocated approximately $2,500 for two conferences per semester, which translates to six University representatives for each, Amarnath said. But the association fundraised to send 10 people at $120 each to the Conference.
“There are so many people who want to go to Model UN Conferences and these trips. It’s horrible to say ‘no’ to some talented students who deserve to go, but we can’t afford to take them under our current budget,” Ahmad said.
Nonetheless, the association has recently built its membership and as a result, has been able to take more promising delegates to their conferences, he said.
“A lot of the Ivy Leagues don’t give Rutgers a second thought when we go to the conferences, but now they know that we are competition. We put Rutgers on the map [at these conferences],” Ahmad said. “And when we go to U. Penn in November we hope to continue that success.”
Besides conferences, the association holds weekly meetings on Tuesday at 9 p.m. in room 402 of the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus, Amarnath said.
“Our mission is to improve the understanding of international relations on campus,” he said. “[We] discuss contemporary issues such as whether it is genocide in Africa or debating if Mexico is a failed state.”
(Props to Shariq Ahmad for getting the Quote of the Day as well!)
Source: http://www.dailytargum.com/university/national-un-conference-awards-four-u-students-1.2027353
By Sara Gretina
Published: Monday, October 19, 2009
Updated: Monday, October 19, 2009
After their four-day journey to the nation’s capital, the Rutgers University Association of International Relations returned with four awards.
This was the most the University ever brought home from the National Collegiate Security Conference, said Association President Harinath Amarnath.
“We did a lot better this year than we have in the past,” said Director of Communications Shariq Ahmad, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. “I’ve always thought that the smartest kids at Rutgers are just as good as the smartest kids at any other institution.”
The conference has four levels of awards: best, outstanding, honorable and verbal, from greatest to least, said Amarnath, a Rutgers College senior.
Advait Shukla, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year student, and Neelesh Mittal, a School of Arts and Sciences senior, were awarded verbal commendations; Samar Shah, a Rutgers College senior, was given an honorable delegation; and Amarnath was awarded an outstanding delegation.
“We were up against schools like Harvard and other ivy leagues,” he said. “In my committee, I beat out U. Chicago and Harvard, and they have really smart delegates.”
The conference brought nearly 500 students to Washington, D.C., where they participated in debating committees such as Indian Parliament, North Atlantic Treaty Organization Assembly on Cyber warfare, Egyptian-Israeli Joint Conference, United Nations Peace-Building Commission and others, Amarnath said.
“The competition requires us to represent various countries or personalities and debate international topics,” he said.
For example, the Egyptian-Israeli Joint Crisis required one of our delegates in the Egyptian cabinet to debate what policy decisions Egypt should make following the nationalization of the Suez Canal in 1956, Amarnath said.
“In a more contemporary simulation, another delegate representing Jamaica debated how to reform the Peace building fund of the UN,” he said.
School of Arts and Sciences senior Audi Syarief played the role of Tennessee senator John Bell in the Senate 1850 Committee.
Pretending it was the year 1850, the students considered bringing territories into the United States after the recently ended Mexican War, he said. In an attempt to compromise, the committee set up rules at the beginning of the conference that would affect later decisions.
“We got so into our roles that compromise didn’t work. We wrote letters asking … to secede and so the Civil War broke out ten years early,” he said.
Rutgers University Student Assembly allocated approximately $2,500 for two conferences per semester, which translates to six University representatives for each, Amarnath said. But the association fundraised to send 10 people at $120 each to the Conference.
“There are so many people who want to go to Model UN Conferences and these trips. It’s horrible to say ‘no’ to some talented students who deserve to go, but we can’t afford to take them under our current budget,” Ahmad said.
Nonetheless, the association has recently built its membership and as a result, has been able to take more promising delegates to their conferences, he said.
“A lot of the Ivy Leagues don’t give Rutgers a second thought when we go to the conferences, but now they know that we are competition. We put Rutgers on the map [at these conferences],” Ahmad said. “And when we go to U. Penn in November we hope to continue that success.”
Besides conferences, the association holds weekly meetings on Tuesday at 9 p.m. in room 402 of the Rutgers Student Center on the College Avenue campus, Amarnath said.
“Our mission is to improve the understanding of international relations on campus,” he said. “[We] discuss contemporary issues such as whether it is genocide in Africa or debating if Mexico is a failed state.”
(Props to Shariq Ahmad for getting the Quote of the Day as well!)
