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Prepping for a Model UN Session and A Special Request
The Holy See and the State of Palestine flags flying outside of UN Headquarters.
A couple of interesting questions, which led to this request from Civitas, were brought up from two separate delegates on Saturday. As some of you may know, the Holy See (the central governing body of the Catholic Church, including Vatican City State) and the State of Palestine are the only two permanent observer states in the United Nations. They have the right to attend and speak at all sessions of the UN General Assembly and many other committees, but they cannot vote. There are additional organizations and entities, such as the European Union, who have observer status, but are not permanent observer states like the Holy See and the State of Palestine. One delegate is writing a resolution about a religious state in another country, similar to the Vatican City in Rome, Italy. The Holy See might have a strong opinion about the idea! Another delegate is writing about refugees from Gaza. Actually several delegates have shared interest in writing about the current Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Clearly, having a voice from Palestine would be advantageous during discussion on those possible resolutions. So we are asking for students to consider representing one of the two permanent observer states at the Civitas Model UN sessions. If someone from your school would like to represent the Holy See or the State of Palestine at your session, please contact Stephanie at gavinstephanie89@gmail.com. We have added them to the list of alphabetical countries per session, at the end of the lists. As is true for their flags that fly separately outside of UN Headquarters, they are not alphabetized with the 193 official members.
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What should delegates continue doing to prepare for Model UN (other than looking through the presentation slides from Saturday)? Hopefully you know what country you will be representing for your Model UN session by now. At this time, learning about your country is the most important task. The Civitas website has excellent resources to help you get started. Click here to reach the Resources page of our website. Scroll down to Civitas Materials and you'll see #3 and #4 to help begin the country research process. You will be speaking and voting from the perspective of your country, so the more you know, the better you can role-play. It's also a good idea to keep up with global current events leading up to your session. Learning about your country should continue indefinitely!
The next step of preparation is to write a resolution. That's optional, but strongly encouraged, especially if you enjoy speaking at Model UN sessions. Again, there are a wealth of resources to help you get started, including an archive of past resolutions, on the Civitas website and the presentation slides from the workshop on October 26. Since we can only accept two resolutions per school per session, you might want to collaborate with others in your school group and co-sponsor a resolution.
Please sign up for your Model UN session as soon as possible. Every student participating needs to sign up, even if they are sharing a country with others.
Click here to see the Country Draft results on the Civitas website.
Click here to sign up for your Model UN session (once you know your country)
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See and hear Christiny MIller, Policy Consultant with the European Union, discuss international issues and MUN preparation with Civitas students last Saturday. Christiny is a 2009 graduate of Webster Groves High School and was a delegate in the Civitas Model UN.
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Whatever you want to talk about -- Sat., Nov. 16
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We're talking a lot about 'us' now as we are in the middle of campaign season. Under normal circumstances, when an election is held on Nov. 5, as it is this year, we know by Nov. 6 who the winners were. This year we run the risk of not knowing, even several weeks later. We invite you to come to Crossroads on Saturday, Nov. 16 to not only discuss where we are politically then, but also what's going on in your personal lives, how you're dealing with the possible stress of upcoming holidays and perhaps college admissions. Is peer pressure at school an issue? What about bullying? Is climate change affecting your life, or is that someone else's problem, or no one's? What's the cell phone policy at your school? Is it a good one?
Come join us at Crossroads that morning and we'll talk about whatever is on your mind as well as those of others. Click here to sign up!
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Six Statewide Ballot Issues on Nov. 5 Ballot
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The League of Women Voters of Missouri Education Fund is providing Information on Six Statewide Issues on the Nov. 5 Ballot. The issues are:
- Amendment 2 -- Legalize Sports Gambling
- Amendment 3 -- Reproductive Freedom
- Amendment 5 -- Lake of the Ozarks Casino
- Amendment 6 -- Proposed by by the General Assembly -- Court Fees
- Amendment 7 -- Block Ranked Choice Voting and Other Alternative Election Systems
- Prop A -- Missourians for Healthy Families & Fair Wages
We want to advise you that the "official titles" of these measures can sometimes be misleading.
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Election Day is a week from today!
How is everyone feeling?!!
Even if you aren't old enough to vote (maybe because you aren't old enough to vote!), this tumultuous election cycle has generated some strong feelings. Chances are slim that final results will be announced a week from tonight, but the end is definitely near! How are you feeling? Are you just ready for it to be over? Worried about the outcomes? Does one race or amendment or proposition concern you in particular? Consider taking a moment to reflect on how this election is affecting you and/or your friends and/or your family by writing something for us to share in next week's newsletter. You'll have the option of remaining anonymous in the Civitas newsletter when you fill out the form. We'll post more thoughts in the November 12th newsletter for those of you who want to write about the outcome of the election. Feel free to write something now about the anticipation and again about the results!
Click here to share your election thoughts now and/or later.
(And don't forget about our Roundtable Discussion on Sat., November 16 where we can talk in person about the election results, if students show interest!)
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MO Senatorial Debate this Thursday
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This Thursday evening, yes Halloween, there actually is a televised debate between the two major candidates for the US Senate in Missouri. Democrat Lucas Kunce and Incumbent Republican Josh Hawley will face off at 7:00 PM local time. For those in St. Louis, it will be televised on KTVI-TV Channel 2.
Maybe they should each show up with a mask of the other!
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Tuesday, November 5, VOTING DAY!
Share your thoughts, before and/or the election, with Civitas.
Click here to share.
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Saturday, November 16, 10:00 am until 12:00 pm at Crossroads College Prep (MAP)
Anything Goes Roundtable -- Whatever you want to talk about; the agenda is yours to set!
Click here to sign up.
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Saturday, November 23, 9:00 am until 12:00 pm at Webster University (MAP)
HSMUN Session A
Click here to sign up for Model UN (please know your country and session!)
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Saturday, November 23, 1:30 pm until 4:30 pm at Webster University (MAP)
HSMUN Session B
Click here to sign up for Model UN (please know your country and session!)
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Saturday, December 14, 9:00 am until 12:00 pm at Webster University (MAP)
HSMUN Session C
Click here to sign up for Model UN (please know your country and session!)
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