Wright State’s Model UN team shines at annual Dayton conference

Wright State University students won nine committee awards, two best-in-committee paper awards and the best overall conference paper at the Dayton Model United Nations Conference.

Wright State University students made a strong showing at the 32nd Dayton Model United Nations Conference at Sinclair Community College, earning an impressive 11 awards.

Competing against four other Ohio universities, Wright State’s Model United Nations team showcased diplomacy and leadership as they represented various nations in three committees.

Wright State students received nine committee awards:

• Murphy Van Balen — Outstanding Delegate, Simulated Security Council
• Chloe Johnston — Distinguished Delegate, Simulated Security Council
• Liene Craft — Distinguished Delegate, Environment Assembly
• Preston Holton, Connor Wilson and Katelyn O’Connell — Honorable Mention, Environment Assembly
• Siobhan O’Boyle, CC Davis and Ala Hagi — Honorable Mentions, Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

In addition, Abrar Salem and Chloe Johnston were recognized for their research and writing, winning best-in-committee paper awards. Johnston was also recognized for producing the best overall conference paper.

The team’s head delegates are graduate students Eliza Hendrix and Brad Klingbeil and its faculty advisors Vaughn Shannon, Ph.D., professor of political science and director of the Master of Arts in International and Comparative Politics program, and Liam Anderson, Ph.D., professor of political science.

“The Dayton Model UN Conference offers invaluable experience for our students as we prepare them for the national conference in New York in April,” Anderson said. “It was challenging for our first-year students this year as we had only two weeks of preparation before the Dayton conference. But we are proud of the way the team as a whole responded, particularly our first-year students, several of whom came away with conference awards.”

Wright State students and alumni often play a role in staffing the Dayton conference. This year, Hanzade Aslan, a graduate biomedical engineering student, served as the secretary general, and Wright State graduates Lilith Holloway served as the deputy secretary general and Rama Shtaieh was the conference coordinator.

The Dayton conference serves as a warmup for the National Model United Nations Conference in New York City from April 5–11, where Wright State’s team will represent the Russian Federation. The team has won a team delegation award at the National Model U.N. Conference for 44 consecutive years.

“We continue to be proud of our students, especially this year with such a short window between the start of the semester and the early conference,” Shannon said. “Our students are eager to take their experience to the National Model UN Conference with the challenge of representing Russia.”

Wright State’s Model UN program will host a High School Model United Nations Conference on Saturday, April 19, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Gandhi Auditorium in White Hall on the Dayton Campus.

Led by Wright State’s faculty, students and alumni, the conference is open to area high school model United Nations clubs. The conference will feature one General Assembly and one Security Council.

Registration information is available on the Wright State website.