ONEONTA, N.Y. --
A group of students from the SUNY College at Oneonta was named
"Honorable Mention Delegation" for its representation of the Kingdom
of Morocco at the 2007 National
Model United Nations Conference in New York City last week. The Oneonta
group was led by Dr. Robert
W. Compton, Jr., of the College's
Political Science
Department, who teaches the "Model U.N." course at SUNY-Oneonta.
Through the Model U.N. Conference, more than 3,400 students from
universities and colleges throughout the world gather to represent
countries and non-governmental organizations in addressing specific
global, regional, and crisis issues in U.N. committees. The students,
more than 50% of whom are from abroad, use communication, research, and
writing skills to craft position papers, working papers, resolutions,
and conference reports. The program aims to further understanding of the
United Nations and contemporary problems through experience-based
learning opportunities.
The opening and closing ceremonies of the Model U.N. Conference were
held in the General Assembly Hall at the U.N. headquarters. Dr. Asha-Rose
Migiro, U.N. Deputy Secretary-General, was the opening keynote speaker.
The SUNY-Oneonta students worked with the ambassador and staff of the
Moroccan mission to the United Nations, who provided a detailed briefing
on the politics, economics, and foreign relations of their country. The
SUNY-Oneonta delegation played a major role in the passage of several
key resolutions in the form of sponsorship and signatory.
Two of the delegates from SUNY-Oneonta, Charles Pizzolo and Jason
Gardner, were selected to be on the dais (panel that oversees a
committee's debate) as rappateur (assistant directors).
Students from SUNY-Oneonta who participated in the Model U.N. Conference
were Robert Assante, Kathryn Burkhardt, Casey Cassell, Nicole Catherall,
Edward Clarke, David DeSantis, Robert Franchini, Jason Gardner, Charles
Greco, Ashley Jones, Nora Kelty, Heather Mast, Amritanshu Mukherjee,
Ashley Osborn, Charles Pizzolo (head delegate), and Christopher Rooney.
The SUNY-Oneonta delegation was advised by two legislative fellows
from the SUNY Center for International Development, Mr. Adil Fala Omar
of SUNY CID Morocco and Mr. Amjad al-Fayez of the Parliament of Jordan.
This is the third consecutive year that SUNY-Oneonta students have
participated in the Model U.N. Conference, having represented Zimbabwe
at the 2005 conference and Lithuania in 2006.
More information about the Model U.N. Conference is available from Dr.
Compton at (607) 436-3048.
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