Over the weekend of February 19th, the SHS Model UN (MUN) team participated in the Princeton Model United Nations Conference (PMUNC), their first virtual MUN event. PMUNC usually occurs annually in November, but it was pushed back this year to better adapt to the current circumstances. The conference was held over zoom all weekend in two hour blocks, with people participating from many different states. The participants, also known as delegates, represented different countries and were tasked with working with one another to create comprehensive solutions to real world problems.

Lindsey Smith ’22, a MUN officer, participated in her fifth major conference this year at PMUNC. She represented the United Arab Emirates in the committee, tackling the problem of the Palestinian refugee crisis. Normally, delegates would be able to walk around, while discussing issues and sharing ideas. While Zoom presented a challenge, “it was definitely a very similar experience and I got the same out of the committee session as I normally would,” said Smith. This year, there were polls set up on Zoom for delegates to vote on certain stances, after which they would use the Zoom chat to communicate or join breakout rooms to deliberate with other delegates.

However, there was a key aspect missing: the community. In the past, traveling to PMUNC was a very big event. People would get to room with teammates in a hotel, they could get dinner together, go shopping, or hang out during their downtime. However, with this year’s PMUNC being online, socializing as in previous years was not possible. That was slightly disappointing for many because making new friends was such a fun part of the experience. “I think the community as a whole this year is not as strong….which is a little worrisome because they are the future of this club but they did not have the same experience as we did when we were freshmen,” said Smith.

Among the newest members of MUN Kyle Pidedjian ’24 attended his first conference with SHS at PMUNC this year. He represented Argentina in his committee, which discussed government-sponsored human trafficking. For him, it was more difficult to talk to people on Zoom because the delegates would be in larger groups, and there was less one on one interaction. “I think it’s less interactive…it’s not anyone’s fault really, it’s just because there are restrictions we have to have….there really isn’t [a social] aspect here because everyone is on their computers” noted Pidedjian. As a freshman, he has not yet experienced the in-person community of MUN at Scarsdale, but his first year started on a high note as he and Oliver Levy ‘21 both won awards in their committee. Pidedjian won verbal commendation, an award given to people who actively speak, give independent ideas, move forward with the resolution, and try to help the committee in some way.

While there was not as much in-person community bonding in this year’s PMUNC, delegates were still able to meet people, not just in America, but also around the world. Discussing and finding solutions to important issues is what MUN is all about, so being forced to adapt to the virtual conference did not stop Scarsdale students from performing well and having an amazing experience.