Sinclair Community College will host the only community college-sponsored collegiate Model United Nations conference in the country: the 20th Dayton Model United Nations Conference, held in Building 12.
The conference will begin on Friday, Feb. 1 at 9 a.m. with an opening session. Committee sessions will begin at 9:45 and will end at 7 p.m.
The conference will resume on Saturday, Feb. 2 at 9 a.m. and will end around 4 p.m. with the closing session, which includes awards and an opportunity for delegates to “rant.”
The seven participating students from Sinclair will represent Togo, Belgium and Hungary. Student delegates will interact with other Ohio and out-of-state college students and contribute within four Model UN Committees: the Security Council, General Assembly, Economic and Social Council Plenary and Simulated Security Council.
Dr. Tom Martin, DAYMUNC director and Sinclair professor, said DAYMUNC is student-run and that the event is considered a learning conference.
“It teaches negotiation skills and public speaking skills that are useful in any kind of career,” Martin said. “We have engineering students, we have culinary art students— people from all kinds of departments who do this.”
Martin said that the conference not only affords an opportunity to learn about international topics, but raises awareness of what Sinclair has to offer. Jonathan Maze, DAYMUNC secretary-general and Political Science major at Wright State University, said the conference provides students an opportunity to develop delegation skills and helps develop practical skills.
“Its real-life applications carry over to more than just DAYMUNC, national conferences, or international conferences,” Maze said. “The DAYMUNC experience, with its in-depth researching, writing and negotiating, not only brings about a well-rounded and qualified professional, but also an informed and engaged citizen in both the classroom and the workplace.”
Mike Wiehe, director of the DAYMUNC simulated security council and adjunct instructor at Sinclair, began participating in DAYMUNC in 1996, while attending Wright State University and is currently the instructor of Sinclair’s Model United Nations/International Issues class, PLS 2860.
“The Model UN class and [participants] at that conference in Sinclair was, I believe, the best thing I did in college and gave me the most practical experience of anything I did,” Wiehe said.
Wiehe said participating students learn research, technical writing, negotiation and diplomacy, other countries’ policies in regards to a particular topic and “gain a better understanding of the world and how everything is interrelated.”
He also emphasized the great deal of critical thinking that is demanded of students.
“At this conference, critical thinking is a large piece of it,” he said. “Because you need to take the research that you’ve done and then implement that amongst a group of 15 to 100 other students to come up with a document that reflects your country’s policy.”
Although only DAYMUNC-registered students can participate in the conference, Wiehe said Sinclair students and staff have stopped by as spectators in the past. He added that visitors are welcome to observe the Simulated Security Council.
Martin suggested that interested visitors should first stop by Building 12 Room 231 for availability and direction to a specific committee.
For more information regarding DAYMUNC XX, please contact Dr. Tom Martin at director@daymunc.org.