Great Job Chargers!For this blog, answer the following questions: (remember to make no disparaging comments about any delegate!)
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
Due Monday 2/23/09
44 comments:
I really liked a lot of things about the Los Alamitos conference. I liked how the chairs were from Edison and I thought that they were really fair and they gave everyone an equal oportunity to speak. I also liked how I was in a small committee which gave me many oportunities to also speak. One of the challenges that I specifically faced was not having researched the topics that we discussed in committee; my partner researched the topics. Another challenge that I faced was having one of the topics be Darfur and I was China. Nobody wanted to caucus with me because we supported the genocide in Darfur. My partner Elizabeth did well. She made better comments than I did becasue she knew the topic that we were discussing because she researched it. She was also a very good caucuser and was the leader in our caucus group. One of the challenges that I faced with working with her is that I did not know anything about the topic while she knew everything, though she told me what our policy was and then we did better. My easiest thing in MUN would definitely be speaking; those are almost free points for me. My challenge still remains in caucusing because I need to be more agressive during caucuses.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
What I really liked about the conference was that the chairs were really fair about who they called on. Also, they made sure that everyone who wanted to make speeches had the same amount. I also really liked that the chairs made the conference fun and the crisis was really fun and halarious.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
I faced many challenges at this conference. Since we did the two topics my partner did I didn't really know what the two topics were about. Another challenge was getting my voice sometimes heard during caucus. The last challenge I had was thinking of comments to say.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
I think my partner was really good. He made great comments and his speeches were also really good. Also, he really knew about both topics so it was easy to ask him questions if I didn't know if our country wanted that or not. I think I only had one challenge working with my partner. Since he had researched the two topics that we did in committee, I did not know anything about them. However, he helped me whenever I had a question about policy or solutions.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
I think the easiest part of MUN for me is making speeches. I think what remains still my biggest challenge is making comments.
The last post was Emily Weitzman
1. I really liked the partner committee, how there were tables instead of desks in my committee and how instead of a speaker's list it was alphbetical, making vietnam last and therefor able to suggest solutions people have not even heard of after so many other speeches.
2. One challenge included the tabeling of doing Somalia as a topic and changing it to Nuclear weapons in general.
3. Brianda was a great partner because she can answer questions on the spot a lot better than I can. One challenge was deciding which cacus to go in, seeing that we had both been working with tow different ones.
4. The eaisest thing for me in MUN is thinking of random hooks and making comments. The hardest chanllenges are cacusing and making creative solutions.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I think Los Alamitos Conference was the easiest conference I've ever been in. It was easy to hear myself speak and get my ideas through. In addition, dominating the other delegates. I believe that there was a real clear difference in the level of debating between each delegate.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
I don't think there wasn't any challenges from this conference.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
My partner did well. The challenge would be our speeches. I believe it didn't really flow as well.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
It's easier to hear myself talk during an unmoderated caucus. There wasn't any intense delegate challenging me. Basically, besides from that, I still feel that I need to try to find more time to research.
I liked the small committee, the SC format (round robin!), and that the chairs worked hard to make things fair, e.g. ruling an informal caucus dilatory when it was moved for when only one country had yet to speak.
It was challenging because neither of my position papers was on a topic that we did.
Megan was really great, especially at caucusing. She also went up to present for both of our resolutions, and was excellent at answering questions.
The main challenge for me was that Megan had written the papers on the topics that came up, so I had to work on things that were less familiar to me. But she made sure to give me a copy of her position papers beforehand, and we worked well together writing and giving speeches since we both knew the material.
I am good at giving impromptu speeches and comments, but I need to work on taking control in caucus.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I liked that there was a desert table and that you could get as much food as you wanted. I also liked that the conference was only one day and only lasted until about 4:00. Also, I liked that the committees were very small. The last aspect of the conference I liked was the round robin speaking format. This way, everyone in the committee got an equal opportunity to speak.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
Some challenges I faced were convincing people to let me go up to present the resolution and trying to speak for a long time since the speaking time was unlimited. I was also unsure about if my country would actually support some of the ideas in our resolutions.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
My partner did well. Some of the challenges of working with a partner were coordinating speeches and making sure to stick to the same policy when going in different caucus groups.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
Caucusing is the easiest aspect of MUN for me while sticking to my countries actual policy is probably the hardest part.
I really liked the Los Alamitos Conference because it was my first open agenda Security Council Committee and I thought that it was really fun. I also really liked it because my partner, Ales Pappas, was a really good on and I would love to work with her again. I also thought that their campas was really nice and the room that we were in was not too hot or too cold which was nice. One of the challenges that I faced was pretty much one country who was not very nice to anyone. Personally, I think that MUN is all about compromise to find a solution to a problem. These two were very rigid in their country's policy which made it very hard to work with them. I think that another challenge was the fact that on the second topic, we loners in the fact that there was not another country who shared our views so we were alone. But other than those two things, I think that the conference went pretty smoothly. I think that my partner was great. We sort of made a pact. Alex would write the speeches and I would make the comments. It was a really good arrangement and I am pretty sure that she thought so too. The only challenge was during caucusing. We would split up and talk with different groups and at one point in time, our country was a part of two different resolutions but that turned out to be fine because the two groups merged. I think that my partner did very well with speeches. I have only had one other partner and she was also a good partner, so I do not really have anything to compare her with. But overall, I think that we worked well together. I really think that I am better at making speeches. I was not reading from my paper in front of me and I was able to add information to my speech without stuttering too much and being too nervous. I also think that I go better at making comments for the same reason. I do not feel the need anymore to read from my notes. The main area for improvement for me is caucusing because I still feel too guilty to cut other people off to make my point even though it was done to me. I think that I will get over that next conference and I will be better. Haha its still kind of sinking in that I got Best Delegate. I have never done better than a commendation and I have only gotten one other award this year so I am pretty shocked. If there is a partner committee at WICIMUN, I would love to work with Alex again and I hope she feels the same way.
I liked how they already had assigned seating, because I was China and got to sit right next to the chairs, which was kind of nice. And I liked their dessert. Usually conference food is pretty bad, but I liked their cherry pie. One of the challenges is that we weren’t prepared for Darfur, and when our committee had that for a second topic, we didn’t know our policy at all. But Matt was nice enough to help us. I think my partner and I worked really well together. I was able to write the resolution while Kristine made comments and stuff, so I thought that was really helpful. One of the challenges is that neither of us was that good at making comments, so I don’t think we got a lot of comment points, but at least we tried. I think making speeches off just a few bullet points as compared to writing out my whole speech got a little easier for me. At the beginning of the year I couldn’t do that at all, and now I kinda can. I think being confident in my solutions is my biggest challenge. I’m still afraid to say anything beyond the “usual” solutions because I’m afraid they might be wrong.
Hi everyone it’s Alexandria. I would like to start off by saying this was the best
conference ever! There are so many things that I liked about this conference. First of all Rachel and I are so excited that we got best delegate. Second our committee was small but very competitive which was thrilling. We were the United States and it was awesome being able to veto resolutions and having people rely on you for solutions. It was so phenomenal that we ordered the topics Gaza Strip then Somalia because everyone wanted Gaza and the Somalia crisis is such a complex topic so a lot of delegates brought up different issues that we had solutions for. I also loved having Rachel as a partner because we wrote speeches the night before and she would write comments/questions while I wrote operatives and more speeches during committee. Our chairs were also very organized and committee went very smooth. We also got to speak about our resolution which had so many organizations that the U.S.A. sponsored so we had wonderful answers to the questions asked on our resolutions. Some challenges in this conference were that we were in the back because the seating goes in alphabetical order so we were worried we wouldn’t get called on that much. However few delegates raised their placards so we got called on sometimes three times in a row to give a comment. Another challenge was trying to form a caucus group because there were only two caucus groups so we had to pay real close attention to specific solutions we didn’t agree with. I was so lucky to have such an outstanding partner because Rachel was very organized, focused and dedicated during committee. She was also very knowledgeable of all four of our topics and I must give her credit because she did research on Mumbai and Myannemar (excuse my spelling) which were both challenging topics. Our only challenge was communication because we are both in different M.U.N. periods and we couldn’t find each others numbers. But luckily we found them, and got together Friday night to write speeches. We made up for that though on Saturday because we both worked together as a team and truly did our best in committee. I hope I have the privilege of working with her in the future because we made such a dynamic team. My speeches are very powerful and my comments are great in committee. However caucusing is still a challenge for me and I will improve on it with more practice. I’m also very pleased with myself because I took on this committee for a second time. I had open agenda at Santa Marguerita and I didn’t receive an award. This time I worked harder than before to prove to myself I could take on this committee and was fortunate enough to have an outstanding partner and to have be given a second chance to be more researched and powerful in committee. This Los Alimitos conference gave me an opportunity to excel at something I truly love and the confidence to believe that the sky is the limit!
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I liked how small committee was and the round robin format. It gave everyone more chances to speak and not cheat anyone out of their time to speak by cutting off the speakers list.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
It was very difficult to get everyone to agree on a topic to talk about. My committee proposed about 20 topics, most of which were very unreasonable (AIDS, US economy, demilitarization of space) Thus, we had to think on our feet and make up our policy.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
My partner did very well. I thought we worked great together. She told me she hadn't made very comments in the year so I tried to get her to make more comments, which worked out good. We made sure to check up with each other about our policy so we didn't tell people different things. There weren't very many things that went wrong with my partner and I except the fact that we were freaking out when our second topic was demilitarization of space. However, it got changed so we calmed down. I thought we had good teamwork and I would be partners with her again.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
I think asking questions is easier for me this year compared to last year. My biggest challenge is thinking on my feet and straying away from reading the paper. Usually i have my speeches practiced and polished, but this conference was hard to do that since we didn't know our topic yet.
1. What I really liked most about Los Alamitos was that the chairs were very very amusing. When the crisis committee thing took so long to start, we asked our chairs to try and think of our own crisis.. they failed horribly at thinking of their own though but a few minutes later we got our own crisis with North Korea messing up big time.
2. Some challenges I faced were my partners strange comments to me, the random topics we were setting the agenda at, such as the riots in greenland..., and having my partner answering the questions.
3. My partner was Mike Porter, I'd write the comments/questions/speeches for him to present but he would still butcher it in someway but I still love him...kinda. Some challenges with working with Mike were our contradicting thoughts, when North Korea blew up a nuclear facility as our crisis, Mike kept saying "We will not help the dying citizens of North Korea unless Kim Jong-Il would agree to stop testing nuclear weapons." He still made it somewhat fun.
4. It was actually easier because you can have one person concentrating on one thing and another on something else. My biggest challenge still in MUN is concentration.
1.i liked a lot of things about this conference. I really liked how the committees were small. Also, the round robin format and how we went in alphabetical order.
2.Some challenges of this conference were not knowing the topics before it started and also getting my voice herd in caucus.
3.I thought my partner, Joohi, did a great job. I thought she did a great job giving comments, asking questions and we worked well together. I thought our speeches went really well.
4. What is easier for me in mun are speeches and comments. But it is still hard for me to get my voice heard in caucus.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I liked that I knew the chairs so it was a bit more relaxed. Plus, I don't think a lot of the people in my committee were really intense so that added to it, too.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
Oh jeez, well, a number of delegates tried to throw us under the bus which I think was a really cursewordadjective thing to do. They said that I was going up, but then when I was helping to write the resolution they went behind my back and asked the chairs they could have two delegates from one country plus two delegates from two other countries go up instead of just having 4 delegates from 4 countries go up. They probably lost diplomacy points for that which is why they got commedations, probs. (None of the people in our group went to Edison so that's probs why they were so mean. Haha.) Oh, and the second topic we did (Nuclear Proliferation) neither of us had any idea about so that was definitely a challenge.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
I think Cecilia did really well for not knowing both of the topics that well. She was able to adapt, which was good. Plus, she was paranoid that the chairs hated us the whole time which allowed for 5 hours of entertainment. Hahaha.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
I think the easiest thing is making speeches, I suppose, but I don't think that's too difficult for anyone. Researching isn't too difficult, but getting 92% or higher on the position papers is almost impossible for me, but I did manage to do it once! Caucusing with non-Edison people has gotten a lot easier for me, especially at HBHS cos everyone was just YELLING AT EACH OTHER THE WHOLE TIME, which was the case sometimes at this last conference. So, yelling at people is easier for me?
1. The best aspect of the Los Alamito conference was that each committee was small so each person was able to speak, I also found the unlimited speaking time to be immensely useful.
2. The worst part about this conference was that there was this one delegation who would ask our ideas about a topic during an unmoderated caucus and would act like they were useless and later in her speech use the exact ideas that we presented during the caucus acting as though it was her own. Another horrendous aspect of this conference was that after awards, I was told by my chair, Emily Nguyen that we tied the person who got the gavel, however they wanted to be "fair" so they chose the other people.
3. My partner, Alina Carnahan, did very well, she excelled in controlling a caucus group and ensuring that our ideas were heard. The biggest challenge of working with a partner was making sure we stayed on the same page and reiterated the same things during caucuses, since we were separated.
4. The easiest part of MUN conferences for me is being able to quickly formulate new ideas on the fly, as well as making substantive comments and speeches that truly showed our knowledge on the topic. My biggest challenge, at least at this conference, was remaining true to the policy of the United States during the Gaza topic, especially during unmoderated caucuses, since I personally am an immense supporter of Palestine.
-Matt Nguyen
1. The Los Alamitos conference was really enjoyable especially since it was only one day. I felt like it was much easier to stay focused for only 6 hours of conference time. My committee also had really good chairs. It seemed like they really knew what they were doing and they knew all about the topics especially Amy Lee. Also, I enjoy dual delegate committees. One, because then you don't have to speak every time and two, it's just more fun especially with Katie. :) It was also good to be sitting at tables instead of desks because it made it easier to work with our partners.
2. Some of the challenges of this conference was that it WAS a one day conference. You only had one chance to impress your chair. Also, open agenda is tough because you never have any idea what to prepare for.
3. Katie Koppes was my partner and she did so well. It worked out that we kind of switched off jobs as to who wrote comments and who was writing the resolution or even preparing for future speeches. She also saved me from completely failing at the nuclear proliferation topic considering I had no idea what to talk about but she did. The one disadvantage to a partner is finding a good caucus group because both of you might have decided to settle in on a caucus group only to find your partner is also working in another one.
4. The easiest part about MUN is either caucusing or comments. Speeches are a little bit harder because then you either have to answer peoples questions. It's also just a long time to be standing up there with people judging everything you say. My biggest struggle is probably focusing for so long. This conference was easy, but coming back for the next day gets a little dragged on.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I really enjoyed the Los Al Conference. I believe the discussions in our committee were very intense and I really enjoyed the first topic of committee.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
Some challenges of this committee was being picked on for comments. Sean and I were not picked on as much for comments but we made up for that by being involved in caucus.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
I believe that Sean and I were the best matched partners yet. We both are very noticeable delegates that are very involved in committee. I felt comfortable talking to my delegate and I believe together we were able to be creative in creating solutions that were efficient towards the topic. My partner is a great delegate and I am so glad I got to work with him!
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
In MUN it is easier for me to present information about a topic and creating resolutions. It is harder for me to write position papers. In time I hope to improve on writing my ideas formally.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
Well, going into the awards ceremony i was extremely satisfied with the conference in general, as the committee went well and allyson and I were both extremely prepared for any of the topics tha couldve happened, even with the sudden change of topics that happened after lunch. However, it was clearly not considered outstanding by the chairs.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
The main challenge of the conference was the fact that it was open agenda, but Allyson and I seemed to cope with that well.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
Allyson was just about as great a partner as anyone couldve asked for. She was definitely much stronger than I was and honesty I felt like I was dead weight holding her back. The only challenge to working with a partner is making sure you are on the same page, which allyson and I were good at communicating.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
In MUN I have gotten exponenially better at caucusing since the beginning of the year, which I am happy about as it was one of my goals. My biggest challenge remains "getting over the hump" of only getting commendations, however, I, along with several other delegates from my committee, feel as if Allyson and I deserved better than the commendation we received. Sorry if this offends anyone, but blogging is all about speaking one's mind.
At the Los Al conference, I am proud of how I did. I was able to achieve a lot more than I expected. I think that this is mainly due to the fact that it was a partner conference. I felt more motivated to try due to the fact that I wasn’t only doing it for me. I enjoyed the Los Al conference because it was shorter than normal and the committees were very small compared to my other ones this year. I felt it was easier to get noticed in committee and it was easier to know everyone else’s policy. Some of the challenges were that there were people in my committee that had no idea what they were talking about. This made it harder to discuss solutions and policies. Also, there were very similar policies, so there was less of a discussion and more of just writing resolutions. My partner, Brittany Pham, did really well. We worked together very well and were able to work the room well. We gave our first speech together and she gave the second speech. I made most of the comments. I felt that we evenly divided the work. I don’t think that working with a partner is a challenge, but an advantage. Throughout the year, I have been able to improve my skill of making comments and writing speeches. Something that still remains a challenge for me is asserting myself in a caucus group.
I like the way the speeches were ordered, because it is easier to figure when you were going to speak. It also showed you how long you have to prepare for your speeches. One challenge was creating a caucaus group, because the committe ,to me, was too small.(even though it is SC) Another challenge was paying attention, because I was too tired. My partner did really well; he helped me with speeches and comments even though the topic wasnt the one he reaseared. The only challenge was deciding which caucas group to go to when we were split between two group. The easiest thing for me in MUN is relating the topic to other events. The biggest challenge for me is to stand out.-Andy
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I liked how it was more relaxed and the people were friendly and nice. I also liked that it was only a one day conference. I also liked that we were the U.S. because it made us stand out in committee and a lot of people wanted to caucus with us. Most of all, I loved the Edison chairs because they were able to help us have a fun time while still keeping order.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
This was my first partner conference of the year, and at first I wasn't sure how to collaborate with another person for speeches, but it turned out just fine.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
Monica was a great partner. I had no challenges working with her. She was prepared, delivered her speeches well, and we complimented each other in committee very well. She is good at the things that I am not good at.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
I think that working with other people is a lot easier now that I know it can be done. Also, it is easier for me to come up with solutions quickly and think of ways to back them up. The biggest challenge will be trying to control committee while being diplomatic and planning speeches with partners.
1. I liked that the Los Al conference was pretty laid back, at least in my committee. While we all still worked hard and did our bests the atmosphere was not super intense. I also liked that the other delegates were very respectful to one another.
2. Some of the challenges were that it was an open agenda conference so you really had to be prepared for anything. Also it was some delegates first conference but they were in an advanced committee so we had to explain procedure sometimes.
3.I thought my partner and I did rather well, we worked as a team and supported each other. Some of the challenges were having researched different material it was difficult to both know the topic extremely well and also making sure you always stayed on your policy so one partner did not contradict the other.
4. Making comments is easier for me because now I know how to put a lot of substance in my comments and to promote my ideas. Research remains my biggest challenge.
I liked how overall the committees were pretty small and the desserts were legit. Some challenges were the topics first up was gaza which i didnt research so i kinda winged that one and let nathan take care of most of the stuff also we were unable to talk about the us econ even though i convinced the comm enough that it won the vote. Nathan my partner was great especially on the first topic and we did well overall so i was pretty disapointed we didnt get an award cause this was my last conf really getting caucas points has gotten easier cause now i can ramble longer than i could before my greatest challenge is research because im lazy
Dane DeLany:
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
-I liked a lot about the Los Alamitos conference. Especially how it was only a one day conference and I won an award. I also though committee was more fun than usual.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
-One particular challenge was caucusing. I seem to always struggle with caucusing but I always get a little better!
3. Discuss how your partner did. -What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
My partner was very helpful and I depended on him a lot because he had researched our first topic. Me and my partner both struggles caucusing because its a challenging part of MUN for both of us.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
-Making comments and speeches without really writing anything has become much easier for me and caucusing still remains my biggest challenge.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
The Los Al conference was good for the most part. I enjoyed learning about all the different current world topics.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
Los Al was kinda hard because it was open agenda so we kinda had to do things on the fly and i was sort of confused some of the time.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
David did great I think. He was very debateable, always active in cacus and was good at figuring out some of the key points in our topics.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
The speaking has obviously become much easier that it was before but I think my biggest challenge is still preparation.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I liked my chairs. They were easy-going but still knew our topics and ran the committee well. I also like the desserts because they had a large variety and the pie was good.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
It was challenging that I didn't have a partner. During caucus I could only be in one group at a time and I probably received less points during caucus because of this. Also, the majority of my committee were seniors and they were really good. Finally, there were only 8 countries (i think) in my commitee so there weren't many awards given.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
I didn't have a partner but I felt I did well on my own. I spoke well and gave alot of comments.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
It is easier for me to caucus and give comments. My biggest challenge is to speak without notes.
-Sydney Lara
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
What I liked the most was how it was only a one-day conference. I also liked how I had partner because I don’t get as nervous with a partner. Additionally, I liked how I was a big five in the Security Council. This helped me attract other delegates during caucusing.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
One of the challenges I faced was the topic selection. The first topic was the Gaza Strip conflict, which I was well prepared for. However, the second topic was nuclear weapons in Iran. I did not know very much about this issue so it was difficult to caucus and give speeches. I also faced the challenge of
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
My partner did very well at this conference. He made very good comments and delivered great speeches. In addition, he made us stand out during caucusing. One of the challenges working with a partner was how we disagreed on some issues. For example, there was a resolution that I did not like and wanted to veto, but he did not want to. Also, it was difficult creating speeches together since it was open agenda and there was no way of preparing them.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
What is easier for me now in MUN is caucusing. During this last conference, I spoke up during caucusing and contributed a lot to my group. When it came time to present the resolution, there was no question as to if I was going up. However, giving comments still remain a big challenge of mine. I gave some very good comments, but then I stummbled on others. In order to get more awards, I need to make every a comment good one and summble less often.
1. it was fairly orderly, and no single one delegate was completely powerful, and all delegates were fairly serious.
2. competing with Abby, she is a fantastic delegate. also was having it fully open Agenda, as the second topic we were not fully prepared for.
3. Shannon did extremely well, a good speaker,and a very energetic person. I have preffered partner committees in the past, so the only challenge was the exhcange of information as we had prepared for a differnt topic then the second one which was proposed.
4. I believe speaking and caucusing are my main strongpoints, also my knowledge of military equipment (primarily cold war era soviet equipment) and tactics, aids me greatly on armed conflict based topics. I believe that my biggest challenge lies in my performance in terms of writing decent position papers, and finding appropriate data for notebooks.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I really enjoyed the Los Alamitos Conference. Olivia was a great partner, we had really good chairs, and we were very prepared. The fact that we were prepared helped us to stay on policy, and I think that the chairs recognized this and it helped us impress them. We were also able to be the leaders of our caucus group and go up while presenting our resolution. All of this helped us to win a gavel!
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
One challenge at this conference was the fact that some delegates had no idea what they were talking about which made it difficult to caucus with them. It was also frustrating because many of them did not know their policies and presented solutions that did not make sense with their countries policies. This also made it frustrating during formal caucus when delegates would talk about information that had nothing to do with our resolution.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
My partner Olivia did a great job! We worked really well together and we definitely made a great team. Olivia was the one who had researched this topic so she helped me fully understand it before the conference. She worked really hard and I would love to be her partner again!
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
The easiest thing for me is speaking. I enjoy giving speeches and comments especially when I feel very confident and prepared. Usually my biggest challenge is being assertive during caucus and convincing the other delegates to let me go up during formal caucus. However I do feel that I am improving because being assertive continues to be less challenging for me.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
The best part of Los Al was the fact that it was Security Council- meaning there were only 15 nations in each committee, which made it easier to get your point across to everyone in committee. Also, I lobbied Gaza and Somalia as the agenda, and eventually convinced everyone to vote in favor of it. That made me really happy because I got to use my handouts for committee.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
Some challenges I faced along with my partner was trying to get everyone to move away from the factthat USA is Israel's ally in the Gaza crisis. I had to comment on atleast 3 speeches that reprimanded the US, and I feel I made the entire committee realize that the US was simply acting as an any nation would in terms of being a good ally. Also it was nice to tell nations that the Security Council's job was to focus on the problem, not put the blame on one nation. :D
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
Given the fact that both the topics we debated over were the ones that I did the main research and wrote papers on, Abby did a pretty fabulous job. She's good at making speeches and getting others nations to like you and want to work with you. Also, she's really good at getting current research- meaning we had info that was updated from the day before the conference.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
I struggle at letting other people talk in caucaus. At conference where I have a bunch fo info and reallllly want to get my point across, its hard letting other delegates talk because I want everyone delegate to hear my ideas-and I struggled with that at High Tech High. However, at Los Al I worked on this a lot and let other people talk, so they would want to work with me. Also, I feel that when I have throughly researched, I do really well in committee. I think finding the time to do is my challenge, given the fact that MUN is not my only time-consuming class. Oh but I have improved a lot in making comments- I have made way more than I used to last year.
Also, and I'm happy Abby and I gaveled. :) I think we proposed REAL solutions- things that were original and would actually work in real life.
1. I liked that the chairs were really fair, and I liked being in a smaller committee, which usally makes it more competitive, but honestly in my committee I couldn't really see too much competition because the chairs were so fair.
2. There weren't many challenges at all actually, with the exception of the whole open agenda thing. We only got through one topic, and it was one of the topics that my partner researched, so that definitely made things kind of difficult.
3. My partner actually did really well. I had never been in a committee with Rick before, let alone partnered with him at one so I didn't know what to expect, but he did really well and it was very impressive. The only challenge was the fact that he knew all about our topic and I had no background info on it at all, but that really wasn't his fault, so I guess there weren't any challenges.
4.I'd say the easiest thing for me in MUN is caucusing, I'm really good at getting my voice heard in a group now, and my biggest challenge would have to be thinking of questions while the resolutions are being presented.
1. I liked the chairs in my committee it were really fair and overrall pretty cool. I thought the Security Council double delegate was pretty fun but maybe thats because it my favorite.
2. Some of the challenges i faced was perhaps trying to teach my partner about the topic being discussed because of open agenda. Also I choked on one of my speeches which i was really dissapointed with.
3. I have never really seen Jess in committee before so i had no clue what to expect from her. She did really well despite the fact that she had no clue what the topic being discussed was about, but its my fault because i didnt fill her in before hand, so i am sorry for that. There were really no challenges in working with her, only pluses it seemed i got inspiration to write my speeches from her. And she was always very positive and supportive which helped immensly when i thought i totally bombed a speech.
4. I'd like to say speaking more on the spot is easier but sorry Mrs. Patch i choked while you were in their. But after i delivered another way better speech. I still need work at caucusing but i did tremoundously better at this conference. Once again my partner was amazing.
One of the things I really liked about the Los Alamitos conference was that Edison was the only large school there and the chairs were really fair and even though they were from Edison, they were really unbiased and gave everyone a fair and equal chance for speaking.
Some of the challenges in this conference was that even though me an my partner tried really hard, our committee only gave out 4 awards.
I thought me and my partner, Shannon worked really well together. We made a lot of comments and speeches, but even though we didn't get an award we knew we had tried our best:)
The only challenge with working with a partner would be that you always have to ask them about what decisions to make, but me and Shannon did not have this problem because for the most part, we thought similarily.
The easiest for me in MUN would be caucusig but the hardest would be making comments, because even though I know what to usually sya, I get nervous, having to address such a big committee!
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I enjoyed that it was a one day conference and overall, it was neatly run.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
Not really any paticular challenges...i actually think this conference was more laid back and less strict when compared to conferences like Surf City.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
I feel that Faris put his best effort into this conference. He wanted the gavel as much as I did. He also was quick on his feet when the topic changed to Nuclear Weapons which neither of us really prepared for but luckily we both have had that topic before so we had a brief idea.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
Speeches and Comments are relatively easier for me. Caucusing is still a challenge yet i feel like i did very well in this area at Los Al. Unfortunetly, both the efforts of myself and Faris are poorly proved in the commendation that we recieved...but better than nothing i suppose.
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I liked how Leah and I knew nearly everything about our topic. I researched this topic thoroughly and made an eight page position paper so that i knew recent events. When other countries did not know their policy had changed i was able to confront them and help them out by telling them the change. Also, other delegates kept proposing shutting down tunnels used by palestine to smuggle arms but i researched before hand and discovered that Israel bombed this, which the other delegates did not know. Leah and I had many solutions other delegates did not and knew the events and history the others did not.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
The challenges were that the other delegates liked to gang up on me in away and attack my proposed solutions. However, in the end the other delegations realized that my solution was a good one and added it and supported it in the resolution. Also, Leah and I didnt get called on as much as we would have liked. We raised our placard every time and only got called on about 3 or 4 times. But other than that our comments were strong and specific.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
Leah was awesome. We were cooperative and didnt need each other to tell the other what to do. We had a good way of working and each of us caucused on our own. When i caucused i talked to nearly 10 delegates and they listened to my solutions, which was awesome and i felt like i was being heard. Leah then took the other delegates and when they proposed a solution that had roadblocks she would explain the roadblock and propose Croatia way of getting around this. We were a great team.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
In this conference I felt there was not a challenge. I loved Leah as my partner and felt we knew the most about the topic and got to experience knowing the most about a topic. In other conferences it is hard to multitask and write a resolution and do comments at the same time to keep points up. That is why i like having a partner, so one can do comments while the other is writing the resolution =)
1. I liked that the Los Alamitos conference was a duel delegate conference because i like working with a partner. I also liked that the committees were fairly small, which made it easier to get noticed and that it was only a one day conference.
2. Some of the challenges in this conference were that many of the delegated in my committee were very loud and overruling when it came to caucusing, especially when we got a crisis.
3. My partner for this conference was Jenn. we were able to work very well together. We were able to have one of us working on comments/questions while the other was writing the resolution or the speech. She was also very good at caucusing and getting our solutions out into the committee. We were also able to write a good hook together which got people's attention. I do not think we had many challenges as partners. The only challenge might have been us doing my topic in committee and her not have researched it, but the night before we got together and informed each other of our topics and we thought of more solutions. This helped each of us prepare for the topic of Gaza we had the next day.
4. It is becoming easier for me to give comments in MUN. I am able to just write down some points then be able to stand in front of the committee and give a well written speech. I am also getting much better at speaking to people i dont know especially during caucusing. I am able to get my solutions heard in committee. One of my biggest challenges is that i get very nervous before I have to give a speech or comment. I am continuously getting better at it but it remains an issue.
1. At Los Alamitos, i really liked a lot of things. First, i really enjoyed how it was a one day conference. i liked the small committees because you could speak more. I felt that Marie and I were an AMAZING pair. We were the USA and both of us knew our policy and many of the people came to us to caucas which gave us an advantage because we both led the groups we were each in. Our chairs, Kayleen and Jessica were also incredible! They were very fair and made committee fun by giving us an enjoyable crisis!
2. A challenge that i faced was how it was open agenda. i didnt know what topics to prepare for so Marie and I made solutions for 7 topics! Thankfully, we had solutions for Gaza and Somalia, because if we didn't, we wouldn't have done as well. I guess its better to be more prepared than not prepared at all!!
3. Well having Marie as a partner was absolutely AMAZING!!!! We worked really well together and she helped me in the committee a lot because she knew more about Gaza because she wrote her position paper about it. It was also really fun because we had a good time and still gaveled!
4. Personally, i feel like i know how to control a caucus group now and i learned that it is much easier if you know your country's policy inside and out. I still have a problem with giving comments. For some strange reason, i just can never give a good comment. I know what to say but it never comes out the way i want it to.
1. i really liked the los al conference because the my chairs were from edison. this made it more fun and more comforting. also, having lots of edison delegates in the committee also made it more exciting and fun.
2. some challenges of this conference was that is was open agenda and topics that i have never done or researched could be discussed. this made me think on my feet and create speeches without any past research. however, now i am better at making speeches on the fly and creating resolutions for topics i have never done before.
3. my partner yoshi did much better than i expected. usually he does not speak with enthusiasm or any tone of voice. however, i think i set the tone with my over exageratted voice, making him a better speaker. he was also good because he worked on the resolution group and was able to represent the resolution. some challengers working with yoshi was the lack of comments.
4. speaking and making up speeches on the fly remains pretty easy and natural for me in mun. i still struggle with caucaus and research papers. also, i struggle with notebooks.
1.What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
The thing I liked about the Los Alamitos Conference was the fact that Heather was my partner. It made the overall experience of the conference way better.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
Some of the challenges of the conference were figuring out who was going up in our caucus group for the resolution. We ended up arguing for ten minutes.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
My partner, Heather did an awesome job at the conference. The two topics we discusses in committee happened to be the two topics she wrote the position papers on, so due to the fact that she wrote good backgrounds on the two topics, I new what I was talking about. I didn’t feel that there were many challenges with working with a partner.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
Caucusing actually became easier for me, I realized if you make a list of your solutions you can always refer back to them and appear really smart in your caucus group. My biggest challenge remains giving comments. I just cannot seem to write a good and thorough comment.
I really liked the way our committee was run. It was really laid-back and fun! :) I also LOVED the crisis, because I am just that much of a nerd. Trying to stop cholera was really exciting for me haha. The food at lunch was also AMAZING!
I think it was pretty challenging making sure my partner and I stuck to the same policy. Partner committees are always more difficult, I think. It was also really challenging being Libya, because Libya's opinion inevitably isn't going to matter that much...Plus, we had to be a lot more aggressive in supporting Palestine.
I think my partner did pretty well to be honest. We both spoke well and knew our info. Partner committees are a lot more difficult because there is never enough freedom to ad-lib.
I think speaking and getting my ideas heard in both speeches and unmoderated caucus are pretty easy for me. However, I'm puzzled about what I'm doing that is preventing me from getting higher awards...I think I need to work on making an entrance and establishing myself as a force to be reckoned with among delegates. I need to make myself more easily noticeable so I can stand out, I think...
1. What did you like about the Los Alamitos Conference?
I liked that it was open topic, because then it seemed like everyone was prepared equally for the topics at hand.
2. What were some of the challenges from this conference?
Some of the challenges were that toanh and i tried to pass our own resolution and everyone was against it.
3. Discuss how your partner did. What were some of the challenges working with a partner?
My partner held me back for the second part of the day, even though i think we could have gotten an award if he let me do what i wanted to.
4. What is easier for you in MUN and what remains your biggest challenge?
It is easier for me to speak in front of people i dont know, but my biggest challenge is to relay my research in my speeches.
Sorry, I didn't know it was due Monday.
1. I liked basically everything about the conference, how it was run, the chairs (they were relly fair,almost TOO fair in my opinion), the food, the opening and closing ceremonies, our crisis...
2. Some challenges were trying to get used to a partner, trying to get used to speaking so often, and trying to be diplomatic to France :)
3. Matt Nguyen, my partner, did a wonderful job. He was always ready to make up a speech or comment on the fly, and he did great in caucus. Also, he did a suprising amount of research for this conference. The only thing difficult about partnering is staying on the same page during caucus because you are separated, however, i felt like we did a pretty good job of that and that if all partners are as good as him, that I will love partner conferences from now on.
4. One thing that is much easier for me in MUN that I noticed this conference is that when I act like I know what I'm talking about and speak with confidence (which is much easier to do with a partner to back you up), I can totally control a caucus group and get my ideas out and get a lot of points. I am also getting a lot better at researching and can often get around 10 country's policies as well as every aspect of my own. I need to work on making speeches and comments up on the fly (I did, however, learn a lot from Matt about that) and speaking with more confidence because a lot of times, the reason i don't do as well as I'd like is because I limit myself.
I enjoyed the fact that the topics the Edison delegates in my committee wanted got chosen and that the amount of time spent was just about perfect. The only challenges we faced was the delegates in our committee were very well prepared, especially Abby/Megan Kabre, and Sean/Shannon F.. My partner Andrew Barber did really well, i felt we worked well together, and i enjoyed having him as my partner. I sorta felt that I do not quite get into committee until about an hour or so in, and that is a challenge for me, however when i do I tend to do pretty well. I have to say I think position papers continue to get me though.
I enjoyed the conference. Our chairs were relaxed and made the experience enjoyable. We had many caucuses where we discussed the topic. I was very happy with the food--because of the vegetarian options and the dessert. Los Al had very good food last year as well. We should provide desserts at the Edison conference next year. Our one topic of the day was Gaza. I was somewhat dissapointed by this because I did not know the topic well, luckily my partner had information about it. I believe our speeches were of high quality and our comments were relevant. Veto power was very fun. As China, we converted a caucus group of over 10 delegates to being in favor of sanctions to Israel--against their original policy. However the Russian fed vetoed our resolution. But we vetoed theirs so there was no real issue. Andy did very well. He provided information to construct speeches and made several comments. In caucus groups, there is usually trouble with separating and being successful, but i believe this was accomplished. The let down this weekend was that we did not receive an award. However the awards were turned in before lunch so there was only about 2 hours of committee to judge us so i can understand how the awards may be unjustly not given. I can now speak well in front of an audience, I can also quickly compile ideas into speeches. I still find trouble in researching many topics for open agenda. --Dane B
Sorry it was posted so late, i forgot my password.
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