On Jan. 25, over 220 Model United Nations (MUN) competitors from various schools in the Greater Boston area came to Lexington High School to participate in LexMUN. Students from middle school and high school played the role of delegates in the UN and presented policy proposals.
Model United Nations is an extracurricular activity that simulates the operations of the UN. In a conference, students take the role of different actors on the world stage. They advocate for policy proposals that are then discussed, debated, and turned into resolutions.
LexMUN is a student-organized event run by the MUN club at LHS. The club has been planning this conference for almost a year, and it is the biggest one yet.
“The reason we’re able to expand so much is because we have so many members invested in the club who dedicate their Tuesday afternoons to participating and helping plan LexMUN,” Mrigank Dhingra, a senior and a president of the MUN club, said.
After hearing good reviews for the LexMUN they hosted last year, the club worked hard to ensure that this year’s conference could also run smoothly.
“LexMUN’s always on the mind, regardless of what time of year it is,” Asa Mele, a sophomore and a vice president of MUN, said.
Budgeting for the event was especially important, as profits made from LexMUN can support the club’s trips to other conferences in and out of state.
“LexMUN is our fundraiser. There’s a delegate fee and a delegation fee; this is also how we’re able to subsidize trips for future people because we do overnights,” Aditi Nagaraja, a senior and a president of MUN, said.
During preparation, the club experienced many challenges, especially with managing and coordinating tasks throughout the process.
“All of us have things to do outside of Model UN, and we totally understand that. Making sure everything got in on time was another thing that we had to really hammer in,” Nagaraja said.
Although challenging, the process of preparation can also be rewarding.
“It’s very, very much developed my leadership skills. When you think about running something this big, it’s not that bad. But the moment you’re actually in it, there’s so many different logistics and different aspects that you never thought of,” Nagaraja said.
LHS’s MUN leaders further emphasized that LexMUN is a great opportunity to practice students’ MUN skills.
“We have the best chairs, the best crisis staff, and fun committees. We got it all,” Jai Bhalla, a junior and a vice president of MUN, said.
Overall, Nagaraja believes that the amount of effort they have put in will result in an excellent conference.
“Take the overachieving community of Lexington and roll it into a conference, that’s us,” Nagaraja said.
