On Saturday, April 1, Floral Park Memorial’s MUN team participated in the 24th Lee Marcus Sewanhaka Intra-District Model United Nations conference (SIDMUN) at H. Frank Carey High School. Each year, Floral Park’s Model UN advisor Ms. Francis and a team of the district’s best delegates orchestrate the conference. This year, Sophia Ramcharitar served as Undersecretary-General for the Security Council and Crisis Director, and Victoria Lopez served as Executive Director. Emma Azizo, Raquel Agudelo, Lauren Jounakos, Katrina Gliszczynski and Diana Santoro served as “chairs”, or moderators for debate.
​At this year’s SIDMUN, delegates from all five schools heard from several significant community leaders. Lee Marcus, the founder of the district-wide conference, emphasized the significance of Model UN in our world today and the impact it can have on one’s life. A representative from Senator Elaine Phillips’ office discussed the importance of programs such as Model United Nations and its necessity in today’s society. Ambassador to the International Human Rights Commission Malik Nadeem Abid shared his experiences and encouraged delegates to make the world a better place at a grassroots level.
​Floral Park’s younger delegates represented a variety of different countries: Russia, Japan, Hungary and Belgium. They debated humanitarian topics such as the gender gap, genocides and pandemics. The team’s advanced delegates debated intricate topics such as NATO’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and the Syrian Civil War in more fast-paced committees.
​“It was a great end to a great year,” said Emma Azizo, a sentimental senior.
Freshmen Roopanshi Rampal and Jamie Liesner received Honorable Mention for their representation of Japan in the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee and sophomores Danielle Ashbahian and Clare Duthie won Honorable mention as Japan in Security Council.
Next year, the twenty-fifth SIDMUN will take place at Floral Park Memorial and Victoria Lopez will serve as a Secretary-General.
​
​
​