Boston College Model United Nations organized and hosted the third annual Eagle Model United Nations Conference (EagleMUNC) at the Westin Copley Place Hotel this past weekend. Over 500 high school students from around the world participated in a 40-hour simulation of 16 national and global events ranging from the 2016 Presidential election and the planning of the 2016 summer olympics in Rio.
On Sunday, BC Splash—a student-run teaching organization—held classes for students in middle school and high school. Students from around the city had the opportunity to attend a wide range of student-taught classes from Knitting for Beginners, to Bollywood Dancing, to the Cold War.
Programs such as EagleMUNC and BC Splash serve an important function in helping area students (and in the case of EagleMUNC, even some international students) while putting the University on the radar for their young participants. Prospective students from schools in the city might already know about BC because of the school’s proximity, but ultimately, outreach is always an essential part of the University’s role in Boston.
By participating in these programs, students are also learning about BC culture in a way no admission’s video could convey.
The organizers of EagleMUNC gave up time on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and the student-teachers of BC Splash taught their classes on Sunday afternoon. Sacrificing their weekends, however, was just a small part of what went into these events, which took months to plan.
It’s important to view this style of local outreach as an alternate form of service. Though the student organizers aren’t going to homeless shelters and feeding the poor or traveling off to foreign countries, they are still performing service by reaching out to people beyond the BC community. Both are sustainable initiatives, and build long-term relationships between the University and the student participants.
When considering the service culture at BC—which is often extremely competitive to even get involved in—EagleMUNC and Splash stand as great models for outreach and interesting alternatives to more traditional programs.
Featured Image by Amelie Trieu / Heights Staff
I had the pleasure of attending EagleMUNC this past weekend. It was one of the best Model UN conferences I’ve been to. The organizers were very professional and they represented their school well. Congratulations to Boston College Model UN on an excellent event!
http://bestdelegate.com/boston-college-model-un-eaglemunc-2015/