Proposing solutions to quandaries in foreign countries is not a typical topic of conversation for high school students, but members of Model Arab League partake in these discussions on a weekly basis. Model Arab League is a club in which students prepare for a competition at Marist School where they imitate the United Nations, offering resolutions for problems dealing with Arab countries.
In a typical club time, Model Arab League leaders explain how their competition is set up to the club members and what each person should expect. They also have mock sessions to practice for the event. Occasionally, the members lollygag during their club time, but they also learn facts about countries.
Model Arab League went to Marist for two days for the competition, which included a guest speaker and was also supposed to include an Arab lunch; however, the Arab lunch was cancelled due to unforeseeable weather conditions. The main event at this competition is the council sessions where the group breaks up into five different councils and tries so make “draft resolutions” to solve problems and propose solutions for current problems in the Middle East. This ordeal is modeled after the United Nations, only it deals with Arab countries.
Senior Bennett Stamper was a member of Sudan representing Palestinian Affairs with sophomore Kelsey Rappe and junior William Thurston. The different countries perform in the same manner as the United Nations does. Stamper won an honorable mention for being an outstanding delegate. When asked about his award, Stamper said, “I basically just talked a lot and tried to be nice to the smart people.” Freshman, Patterson Beaman also won an award for being an outstanding delegate.
Many of the members of Model Arab League joined for the interesting experience and because it looks good on college applications. Senior, Christopher Walton has been a member for two years and said that he joined because there is, “usually a fun group of students,” and he is a “social studies kind of guy, so this was a good club for him.” As for Senior Megan Williams, she joined because “Walton told her to.”
