By Rabita Aziz (October 25, 2003)

Twelve George Mason students took part in one of the many activities of National United Nations Week when they traveled to the Pan American Health Organization building in Washington, DC for an United Nations simulation last Wednesday, Oct. 22.
 

These 12 students were representing 12 different countries as delegates. These countries were the United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, Cameroon, Bulgaria, Syria, France, Ireland, China, Japan, Mexico, and Russia, all of which are currently on the United Nations Security Council. In addition, three other countries were not represented in the simulation due to a shortage of student participation in the event.  The simulation concerned post-war Iraq, which the real United Nations had voted on the previous week. Students were allowed to pick which country they wanted to represent, and were given a packet of information concerning their country, with such information as the rules and procedures they will need to follow at the simulation, and what their country’s foreign policy was concerning post-war Iraq. Students were to act and debate according to the foreign policies of their chosen country.

Senior representative Rawan representing Mexico,  junior representative Rabita of Syria, and  sophomore representative Laura of Singapore, try  to convince the delegation from Cameroon to vote  for their resolution.

The simulation took place in true United Nations fashion, with a round table and even microphones. Students from three schools were invited to attend the simulation. George Mason was the Virginian school invited. Flowers High School of Maryland was also invited, along with the School Without Walls High School of DC. Students from these schools were also given similar packets of information concerning their chosen countries, and each student from the three schools were to work with the students that represented the same country. Not only did these future United Nations delegates see what a real United Nations conference was like, but they also gained valuable experience by working with other people they had never met before. 

Five George Mason students, representing the countries of Mexico, Singapore, Syria, France, and Ireland, came up with the final and most popular resolution, which was vetoed by the Permanent Security Member of China. Therefore, in the end, there was no final resolution decided upon. But George Mason students were not discouraged. Junior Jasmine Lief, representing France, said, "It was a good learning experience. It was nice to work with other people and see what a real UN conference was like."