Thoughts on Model UN: Evolution or Devolution?

Picture from my favorite committee, Indian Premier League 2015 in ChoMUN XIX

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A few weeks ago, I made the short trip to Union Station right next to my office to get Chipotle for lunch. The line was long and I wasn’t in the mood for anything else, so I sucked it up and waited. Since the line moved so slowly, I did the most “millennial” thing I could do. I got my phone from my pocket and gazed at the screen.
I had a notification from one of my Groupme's; specifically, one from a sophomore year Model UN Conference I attended with the Rutgers team. Someone in the group had posted a funny picture with some very serious throwback value, which in turn sparked a discussion on the conference, the committees, the party, the good times, etc. Everyone needed a feel-good factor after the results of the election, which left the vast majority of people that I knew distraught.
As I ordered my burrito bowl I found myself thinking about my Model United Nations past. Over the course of my 4 years at Rutgers, I had been involved in about 20 conferences as either a delegate, a staffer or an adviser for my team. Every step I took back toward the office resonated with a pang of nostalgia. I wished wistfully to go back to any of the conferences I had attended and relive the old days of debating, caucusing, writing resolutions, facing question and answer sessions and so forth.
I sat down at my desk and decided to temporarily ignore the massive amount of work for a blissful, Chipotle-infused lunch break. I put a bit more thought into my Model UN days. Sure, I enjoyed some fun times during conferences, which were being brought up right now in the Groupme, but I had faced some experiences that were far from enjoyable. As I munched on lunch, I grappled with a simple question: was it worth it?
The answer to that question is not a simple yes or no; although, I would say that I lean more on the yes side of Model UN being worth it. The reasons why I believe doing Model UN was worth it were both the skills that I acquired doing Model UN as well as the people that I met. The experiences of dealing with people, working with people, partnering with people to create solutions in the form of resolutions and directives is something that definitely correlated with the real world where teamwork is key. Collaboration in Model UN is something that I greatly enjoyed and it also greatly enhanced my skill in group projects in school, work projects and many aspects of my life.
I firmly believe that a combination of strong and persuasive public speaking, principled teamwork and partnership along with a healthy dose of research is the perfect recipe for delegates to follow when going to a conference. Not only will a combination of these factors allow for a delegate to gain real world skills and knowledge, but these skills will also lead you to gain the respect of your peers and lead you to recognition in the form of awards. Awards are nice, it’s exhilarating to walk to the front of the closing ceremony dais and pick your honorable mention, outstanding delegate or best delegate awards.
Halfway through my burrito bowl, I came to the realization that Model UN had changed a lot from when I had started doing it my freshman year to when I had graduated in May of 2016. My first couple of conferences in Model UN were the ones that taught me that cooperation and research accompanied by meaningful speaking would result in awards and respect. I followed that formula to a very fulfilling Model UN career while at Rutgers. However, as the years rolled around I came across some rather disturbing and frankly tasteless practices in Model UN which give me great concern for its long-term prospects and reputation.
Everyone who has done Model UN is aware of the delegate who will do anything to win an award by hook and crook, a person we've classified as the “Power delegate”. I have personally dealt with power delegates in every single conference that I have competed and staffed in, as has almost every other person who has been to a Model UN conference. What troubles me about recent power delegates is that they are different from their previous power delegate peers in some crucial ways. The power delegates that I encountered in my freshman and sophomore years were delegates who came with extensive research as well as an ability to give a sharp yet insightful retort to your speech and directive. It was the type of delegate who worked hard and outworked delegates who hadn’t done their homework. One felt a degree of begrudging respect for the hard work that these delegates put into the conference and could agree that the awards and recognition they received were well deserved.
Alas, as I mentioned before, the new power delegate has devolved from its previous hardworking and, at times, overzealous self to a more devious form. I have encountered vast numbers of dishonest tactics which include a combination of academic theft, larceny, sabotage, conspiring to misrepresent other delegates to the dais members etc. These delegates are trying to win awards without utilizing the elements that make Model UN a great extracurricular activity. I like to say that this strain of artless delegates in modern-day Model UN is suffering from the "Frank Underwood Complex". These delegates adhere by one of Frank Underwood’s more memorial quotes when he says “I may lie cheat and steal; but I get the job done”. Substitute the job done part of the quote with winning awards and that will add context to the Model UN part of what I am trying to get across. These Frank Underwood type delegates signify everything wrong with Model UN. Not only do they not do the hard work of researching and writing directives and resolutions, but a number of them will also slander well-meaning delegates whilst kicking them to the curb. I am not a fan of these Frank Underwood strivers who are ruining Model UN and the fundamental message that it ought to provide.
I attribute this growth in the number of this type of power delegates due to the advent of various new rankings to measure team performance off of individual and delegation awards. While the intention of the rankings may not have been to increase Model UN to its incredibly hyper competitive and Frank Underwood-ish manner, it has definitely played a part in making it thus. Schools are more concerned about their ratio of students for a delegation award rather than giving newer delegates a shot at a conference as well as a possible award and good time. Increasingly cash-strapped schools fighting the rising costs of participation in Model UN conferences look at the rankings as a way for them to appeal to their schools for increased funding. All of this has led to a less than cordial atmosphere for Model UN that I am very disappointed to see. Subtle changes have occurred which now make for a hyper-sensitive and competitive environment. Teams are busier counting other team’s awards rather than applauding their peers’ achievements, a shift away from camaraderie that I once enjoyed. I noticed that my conversations with delegates that had once centered on IR, sports, school, interests and ideas to solve crises had slowly become vain and bootless conversations about how to pip other delegates to awards and other saucy topics. This is a sea-change from what Model UN used to be in my days and was what made it worthwhile for me. 
As I finished my bowl and walked to the trash room I came to this conclusion: Model UN is changing from a collegiate extracurricular activity to a bottom-line-based competition. This is a stark change from my Model UN days that gave me so much to be proud of and happy about. While I have achieved an increased degree of separation from Model UN since graduating, I can’t help but make my feelings be heard in my own blog. I hope people get more out of Model UN than I did and enjoy it for the fullest that it is meant to be. I also hope people make more friends than enemies when go to a conference and exit it with more knowledge than they entered the conference with. The circuit needs less craven behavior and hubris; it needs delegates who are enrapt with the good side of Model UN.