Overview

The Arizona Model United Nations is a non-profit organization in Tucson Arizona. It is a college-based club in the department of Political Science at the University of Arizona. The club's ideals and activities are similar to many Model United Nations programs. The main purpose is to spread knowledge about the United Nations, learn about the cultures in the world in an effort to limit ignorance, and provide services to the local community. The Arizona Model United Nations is run by an all student Executive Committee and has oversight by a faculty adviser.

The Executive Committee

The AMUN Executive Committee has been under the direction of Dr. William Dixon for countless years. He is the club's faculty adviser as well as the head of the political science department at the University of Arizona. The Executive Committee itself is made up of 9 main positions, each with a year long term. The first position is the Secretary General. This post is currently filled by Jennifer Yelle. The election of the Secretary General varies from other Executive Committee posts. In early March, after receiving applications for the post, the Executive Committee will nominate a candidate for the position. The candidate will then be put before the club members. The members will either approved the nomination or reject it. To be accepted, the candidate has to receive 2/3 of the vote. If rejected, the Executive Committee will then reconvene and nominate another candidate. During Executive Committee meetings, it is the duty of the Secretary General to map out possible courses of action for the club to take. To ensure that the Secretary General can not overstep the bounds of democracy, this post does not have a vote. Hence, the Secretary General outlines the possible voting options and the Executive Committee chooses the appropriate option.

The remaining Executive Committee members are voted on solely by the standing Executive Committee. Elections are held at the end of the Spring semester in April, all for year long terms. These positions all hold the title 'UnderSecretary General of ___'. Less the Secretary General, the Executive Committee members all hold equal rank. The main posts are listed below: <br />1)UnderSecretary General of Rules and Procedures currently held by Christina Jelly <br />2)UnderSecretary General of High School Coordination currently held by Morgan Sim<br />3)UnderSecretary General of Public Information currently held by Kalin Mowry<br />4)UnderSecretary General of Conference Services currently held by Jeremy Norden-Paul<br />5)UnderSecretary General of Fundraising- Senior currently held by Ryan Donaldson<br />6)UnderSecretary General of Fundraising- Junior currently held by Sabina Zobel<br />7)UnderSecretary General of Finance currently held by Eric Reichenbacher<br />8)UnderSecretary General of Internal Affairs currently held by Achyut Sompora<br />Under the UnderSecretary General of High School Coordination, there is the High School Recruitment sub-committee. This sub-committee consist of two members who assist the UnderSecretary General of High School Coordination. One post is dedicated to recruiting Spanish speaking high schools (currently held by Erica Rodriguez). The other post is dedicated to recruiting all high schools (currently held by Samantha Stern). While these two post dont have an official vote on the Executive Committee they are a vital resource in creating a high school conference.

AMUN's Annual High School Conference

The Annual High School conference is the main focus of the Arizona Model United Nations in the spring semester. It has over 200 high school students from around the southwest as well as Sonora Mexico. Students have the option of participating in multiple committees. If fluent in Spanish, the students can join the Organization of American States. The remaining committees are all in English and consist of: General Assembly 1st, General Assembly 2nd, General Assembly 3rd, The Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Historical Security Council and the Security Council. Throughout the 2 day conference, (this year March 23-24) the student debate in their respective committees. The topics are vast and the solutions hard, however, it is a stimulating experience. The goal is to bring a greater understanding of the problems facing the world as well as provide a lesson in diplomacy.

More Information

More information can be found at [www.clubs.arizona.edu/~amun]