While you’re in class today, Model UN students will be continuing their three day conference in downtown Chicago which started last night.

“The goal is to get a resolutions passed and to get your fingerprints all over them.” Explained Jay Stanek, history teacher and sponsor of Model UN. “No resolution passes with just one country’s ideas, everybody gets together and what you want to do as a representative of your specific country is to get a resolution passed that is favorable to your country.”

Evanston’s team started their annual Model United Nations of the University of Chicago conference (MUNUC) yesterday afternoon with an opening ceremony followed by their first committee session. Today and tomorrow, students will have two four-hour committee sessions.

The competition takes place at the Palmer House of Chicago, and Evanston will be joined by students from as far as China and many European and Middle Eastern countries.

“It’s given me a chance to meet a lot of people from around the country and actually world wide, I’m still friends with some of the people that I’ve met at these two or three day conventions.” said Rena Newman, Junior.

Elite competition from around the globe will come together to see who can pass the most resolutions. Newman explained how she doesn’t think Evanston’s small team of about 15 people stands a chance against students who dedicate more time to Model U.N.

However, the team aims for smaller individual goals and gains more from the experience than anything else. For instance, Newman has gotten the honorable mention accolade the past two years and claims she’s learned more than she expected she would just from being a part of the team.

“I don’t really look at it as a competition, I look at it more like you’re representing a country,” said Stanek. “You’re learning how politics work and how the United Nations work and if you do it successfully and get your resolutions passed good for you but I don’t really see it as a competition.”