59th NAIMUN LIX Conference, Varsity Model UN 2022

By Bridie Strowe – Bolger ’24

A small group of teens slowly makes their way through the dark, an air of anticipation clouds their vision along with the mist shrouding their surroundings. The only light, and only comfort, they had in their collective direction was that of the moon; a bright wheel of white cheese in the sky. A romantic setting as the poets would say. Death lurked at every corner of their senses. Fear swelled in the hearts of the teens, but was soothed by the sweetest honey of excitement; for these were the reactions to the greatest opportunity of all… adventure and the opportunity to affect the model world’s fortune.

On the cold, misty morning of Thursday, February 17, 2022, a group of Frederick Gunn’s best made their way to the notorious Memorial parking lot; a barren desert of concrete. Led by Edward the Fierce, the mighty librarian whose words could slice through flesh, and the Theobaldian: Karoline, whose pen could trample cities and dismantle governments with a single sentence. The aid of 5 sleepless nights and many mugs of coffee certainly helped in the ruthless struggle for life. This group of 14 individuals would bring a great victory from the shambles of the capital after toppling the status quo of the concerted commonwealth facsimile, or Model UN in the words of a greater simpleton. 

14 members of the Frederick Gunn School collectively represented eight entities across nine committees at the 59th Washington DC NAIMUN LIX Conference from February 17 to 20. They returned with one award, and multiple honorable mentions.

In addition, our wonderful head delegate, EZ Zhang, won an award for his actions as a representative from the NSA in the Qatari Crisis Committee. The delegate reacted with unshared surprise upon receiving the news at the end of a seven hour bus ride back to the Frederick Gunn School.

The Newspaper’s own Bridie Strowe-Bolger represented Croatia on SOCHUM (Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Committee) at her first ever Model UN conference, and returned with a passed resolution regarding refugee safety in conflict zones by supermajority (Over 55 delegate votes), as well as a perfect score on her position paper (An award shared by Robin Wright ‘22). 

After a difficult few days of tense negotiations, the delegates of Croatia, Mali, and Quito emerged victorious from the delegates’ corresponding committees of SOCHUM (Social, Cultural and Humanitarian), DISEC (International Disarmament), and C40 (Sustainable practices in cities). Although peace came with concessions, it remained peace, and over 50 signatories collectively agreed on the draft resolutions written. 

Our delegates (Tim Yu ‘22 , Tim Lacy ‘22, Melanie Villegas ‘25, Adrian Anderson ‘24, Bridie Strowe-Bolger ‘24, Luke Christos ‘24, Livia Correia ‘23, Maria Casasus ‘23, Marty Gant ‘25, Robin Wright ‘22, Alex Guo ‘22, Sayed Alalawi ‘22, and finally, EZ Zhang ‘22) are very tired after the conference, but remain extremely proud to have successfully represented the Frederick Gunn School. As a delegate myself, I can’t wait to do it again!