To the Editor: Model UN’s Disbandment

NVU-Lyndon Community,

After weeks of recruitment efforts and communicating with my Johnson counterparts, I wrote a letter to the NVU-Lyndon Student Government Association in regard to the status of the Lyndon campus’ Model UN club on September 28th. In that letter, I asked the executive board to include a vote on disbanding the club in their next available meeting agenda.

That letter read as follows…

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with a heavy heart that I write this letter to the NVU-Lyndon Student Government Association in regard to the status of Model UN. With this letter, I would like to ask the SGA to move Model UN’s club status to “inactive.”

I have served on the executive board of Model UN since my first year at Lyndon in 2018. I was brought to a club meeting, begrudgingly, by a friend and convinced to serve as the SGA Representative for the club. In my second year, I took on the dual role of SGA Representative and Treasurer. After that, I balanced responsibilities as the only executive board member, working with other student leaders on the Johnson campus to keep our club going.

Model UN has always been, arguably, one of the worldliest clubs on campus. Every spring, our students travel to Boston for Harvard’s National Model UN Conference. Here, we debate current world issues and work to solve them through eyes that are not our own. We meet students from other states and countries, spending ample time learning about and sharing our cultures. Our members come away from Model UN with new friendships and business connections around the world.

This year, however, we were unable to recruit club members to reasonably continue club activities. We sent emails, we hung posters, and we went around campus talking one-on-one with the student body. I’m happy to share that Model UN had many students express interest, but they were unable to dedicate time to the conference and club overall.

My hope is that, in the future, interest will form once again, and students can either independently come to the SGA for funding to attend HNMUN or revitalize Lyndon’s Model UN chapter entirely. I just cannot carry the torch any longer by myself. But I leave Model UN with a smile knowing that the door of opportunity is still open.

Thank you for your time and service to the Model UN club.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Huff

This week, the topic of disbanding Model UN was brought before the SGA General Board and approved by an overwhelming hand vote. I had many students at the meeting turn to me and ask how this happened. I want you all to know that this was not a decision I made lightly.

As stated in my letter to the SGA, I have been the only executive member of the club for the past couple of years. I’ll be blunt: running a club by yourself is exhausting. While I did have my counterparts at Johnson to rely on, whom I will forever be thankful for, organizing events, communications, and meetings here at Lyndon was difficult to do on top of my other responsibilities. I started to not enjoy the club activities because of this built-up pressure, but I also didn’t want to be the reason Model UN disbanded.

When I tried recruiting members again this semester, I started to find students and my hopes were raised. However, no one was able to make our joint Zoom meetings, no one responded to our Johnson president’s or advisor’s emails, and no one was able to commit to the Harvard National Model UN Conference in Boston this spring. I talked with our advisor and president, Prof. David Plazek and Mercedes Durden, on September 12th to talk about the status of Lyndon’s half of the club, and after a couple more weeks of trying to recruit members, I let them know I was going to ask the SGA to disband us. Both supported me in this decision.

At any time, students can restart the Model UN club at Lyndon. At any time, students may come to SGA and request funds to attend the Harvard National Model UN Conference, by themselves or with Johnson, whether they have an organized club or not. That is the beauty of our student government model–any student can request funds at any time for any reason; you don’t have to be an SGA-affiliated organization.

I do hope students take advantage of this in the future. Although I was first hesitant to join Model UN, our trips to Boston are some of my fondest memories. I made friends from all over the world whom I still speak with through various messaging apps. I got to eat raw cocoa beans, learn about Venezuelan currency, and got traditional henna drawn all over my arm. I explored Boston and had a squirrel steal my McDonald’s french fries. I joined hundreds of students singing “Country Roads” in the middle of a committee session. I sent valentines back and forth with my new friends at Johnson that were read in front of our entire delegation.

I cherish these memories fondly, and I’m forever thankful that I took that leap of faith and tried something new. I encourage other students to do the same during their time in college.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Huff

 

Feature Photo courtesy of Alexandra Huff || Roses and notes sent to me during committee from Gracie and Sydney, some of my first friends from the Johnson campus, during the 2020 HNMUN Conference.