Last week marked Yeshiva University's twelfth annual National Model United Nations Conference, which took place for the second consecutive year at Kutsher's Country Club in Monticello, New York. This year's conference has been hailed as the most successful ever, with both organizers and participants pointing to a nearly error-free three days.

YUNMUN, as it is commonly called, brings 700 high school students from all over North America to participate in committee sessions, replicating actual operations in the real United Nations. The students represent various countries, with each of the participating schools allotted a certain number of delegates representing those nations. Students are then selected to participate in one of the 15 committee sessions, which range in size from the 80 delegates in the general plenary, to a concentrated 15 in the International Court of Justice. Since the conference often serves as high school students' first introduction to Yeshiva and its students, it is often viewed as a prime recruitment opportunity for Yeshiva's admissions office.

"The conference was the best ever!" enthused Secretary General and Yeshiva College Junior Shai Barnea. The consensus amongst the delegates concurred with Barnea's assessment. Michael Strongin, delegate from Yeshiva University High School, commented that "[he] was thrilled even before [he] got to the hotel because this was the first year in which Yeshiva provided coach busses for the ride up. That was merely the first sign that this year was going to be different," he concluded.

Many students complained after last year's move to Kutsher's from the highly acclaimed Four Seasons Hotel in Vernon Valley, New Jersey. Moving to a smaller, older, and less attractive hotel had many up in arms. But after concluding the conference this year, and witnessing how smoothly it ran, student sentiment rapidly changed. Jenna Remberg, high school senior and captain of the Ramaz team, decided that she "enjoyed being at Kutsher's more than Four Seasons. Overall, [she] had a much better time this year than in any of [her] previous three years."

Barnea attested to the overall success of the conference by simply observing the second night's committee sessions. In past years, according to Barnea, the final conference of Monday night, the forth conference, usually turns into somewhat of a joke. Chairs and students alike, feel the pressure of the event, and usually decide to relax towards the end. "This year was different. I walked around to each committee and personally observed the seriousness with which they approached even the fourth session," said Barnea. This, in and of itself, testified to the overwhelming accomplishments of the conference. Remberg stressed that "this was the first year in which I actually stayed in my own committee throughout the entire conference -- probably due to the fact that ICJ was the best committee ever!"

There were, however, a few minor complaints that students and chairs voiced throughout the conference. This was the first year in which a third topic of discussion in each committee was assigned. Normally, the chairs of each committee send out information to their respective delegates months in advance of February, allowing them to adequately research and prepare their two topics of debate. This year, approximately one week before the conference, chairs were told to select another topic and quickly send it to the students. "This was originally designed as a back up plan, in case we finished the other two topics very quickly," commented Yeshiva College Junior Jason Koslowe, who chaired the Committee on Disarmament and International Security (DISEC), "but it ended up being the topic which the overwhelming majority of my committee selected to debate first, and I was, therefore, forced to put it first. Apparently, this proved to be an unfair advantage to many because preparation for this was not nearly as time consuming as the other two topics -- which ultimately allowed students who barely prepared to have an equal opportunity at winning awards."

When asked why he thought the conference ran so smoothly, Barnea quickly answered "the unbelievable staff did all the work. They are the ones who really deserve the credit." Even the various faculty advisors, usually highly critical of the event's problems, had words of praise for this year's conference. Danny Morris, Yeshiva University High School Director of Student Affairs, reiterated that "the success of the conference is a true testament to the dedication and efforts of the college students who are the key players in ensuring a meaningful experience for all participants involved.

Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions Ryan Hyman was instrumental in the success of this year's conference. Hyman's departure from Yeshiva subsequent to the conference raises questions of who will guide the event in future years. In addition, this year's Undersecretary Generals will be graduating from Yeshiva. The Admissions Office did not readily provide details of its plans for the direction of future YUNMUNs, but the selection process for next year's Secretary General is already underway, and will be announced sometime in the upcoming months.