Westminster College turned into a replica United Nations on Wednesday at its 15th annual high school conference.
This year’s conference simulated the UN’s General Assembly’s First Committee, Third Committee, the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Security Council. More than 250 high schoolers from 21 schools spread across Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia attended the conference, including 20 from Neshannock, eight from Wilmington and seven from New Castle.
It was the largest turnout for the event in 11 years.
“Your job is to represent the country you’re representing,” said Dr. Michael Aleprete, Westminster political science professor and event coordinator.
“You don’t represent your opinion. You have to represent your country’s opinion.”
There was also a simulation of the 1945 San Francisco Conference in which the UN charter was approved.
Ethan Tanyel, a senior at Neshannock and first-year UN Club member, represented Panama in the Third Committee, which discussed social, humanitarian and cultural issues.
“We did a good amount of preliminary research,” Tanyel said.
Tanyel said he researched Panama’s position on refugees, its economy and political allies to prepare for the conference.
He also credits Matthew DeLorenzo, Neshannock’s Model UN adviser, for preparing them for the event.
“It’s been a good experience,” Tanyel said.
Westminster junior political science major Sarah Anil Cherian, the college’s UN Club president, served as the secretary general, while three former students — Joe Pisano, Ellen Politi and Mitchel Henderson — assisted.
Cherian, from Texas, said except for the 1945 conference simulation, all topics discussed were relevant to current-day global issues.
The First Committee discussed weaponry, including nuclear bombs, the Third Committee discussed current humanitarian and refugee concerns, the Security Council discussed the ongoing War in Ukraine and other conflicts around the world. The IAEA discussed repurposing atomic and nuclear energy.
Cherian and Pisano, a 2022 Westminster graduate, said students have to put aside their own opinions and solely speak on how their chosen country would debate and present.
Cherian joined the UN Club during her freshman year. The club won awards at the American Model United Nations Conference in Chicago last fall.
Aleprete said the event is an opportunity for students to develop skills in research, negotiation and public speaking.
Pisano served as the college club’s treasurer for two years before graduation. A political science major, he said he has used the skills he learned with the club with his current job as an attorney.
Cherian, Pisano and Tanyel said the club broadens their worldview on how other countries view different topics.
“It’s a transformative skill that you will use for the rest of your lives,” said Michael Conglose, Wilmington special education director.
Students tackle global politics at Model UN
