A West Virginia University class and club brought honors from a Model United Nations conference held in Washington D.C. this weekend.
The Model United Nations class and club received three awards and second place overall.
The team of 12 students won the Security Council Outstanding Delegation Award, the Security Council Position Paper Award and the Distinguished Delegation Award.
Representing France, the team had to act as the country would during an actual U.N. meeting, working on resolutions and negotiating with other countries, Storage said.
Awards were based on performance, sustaining character and negotiation, and writing skills, said Jonathan Storage, head delegate to the conference.
"The final award, the Distinguished Delegation Award, was conference wide and meant we placed second overall," he said. "Receiving recognition at conferences like these really puts them at equal standing with other states."
The Security Council Outstanding Delegation Award was given to WVU because they were voted by their peers as the best overall delegation representation to the Security Council. The Security Council is a branch of the U.N. that works to keep peace.
After months of research, the team wrote a position paper that argues a view France might take.
The Security Council Position Paper Award was given to WVU after being judged on clarity, grammar and analysis of issues, according to the Web site.
This was the first year WVU attended the D.C. conference. The class and club will be attending another conference held in New York City in the spring.
The team will represent China in the New York conference.
This is a big accomplishment for WVU because in the past the team has represented small countries, said Clarissa Estep, faculty advisor of the Model U.N. club.
"The New York conference is the largest and most competitive conference, with over 300 schools, half from inside the U.S. half from outside the U.S.," she said. "To represent China is quite an endorsement because it’s a prestigious country to represent."
The D.C. conference served as a training ground for the next conference, she said.
The Model U.N. class and club give students an international perspective, Storage said.
He hopes representing China will increase interest in the program and get students interested in attending the New York conference.
"If studying abroad is not feasible or you just want a general perspective on world politics then joining this class or club will be very beneficial," he said. "China is a very important country."
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