Hello everyone! My name is Jaela Alvarez (’23), and I am the President of the Pomona College Model United Nations (PCMUN) team this year. PCMUN is a 4C club of Scripps, Pitzer, Pomona, and Harvey Mudd students. We specialize in global politics, international debate, public speaking, creative thinking, and policy-based writing. Within a Model UN conference, students (referred to as delegates) will do extensive research on a country for a specific United Nations topic (i.e. illicit drug, hate speech, crimes against women, cybersecurity, technological warfare, etc.). Delegates represent themselves as a country and debate with other delegations on how to resolve the issue at hand based on the goals and policy of their assigned nation. These lively debates are a great way for students to explore their interests within law, international relations, or political diplomacy.
Our team, of approximately 30 people, hosts tryouts every single fall semester. Tryouts are open to all 4C students regardless of MUN experience. We look for students with confidence, charisma, execellent oral communication skills, and solid arguments. Traditionally tryouts will reflect a United Nations topics for students to research and get a taste of what Model UN is like.
Every single year we travel across the country to 6-8 different universities and compete with other schools. The most popular conferences we attend are at the University of Southern California, UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Emory University, and UCLA. Not only do we compete in the General Assembly (traditional Model UN), but Crisis Committees, Specialized Committees, and the International Court of Justice as well. All travel expenses are covered by the PCMUN Executive Board making this an accessible and equitable opportunity for all students to participate in regardless of financial background.
Additionally, every single Spring semester PCMUN hosts our very own conference called SageMUN. We invite dozens of different universities across the West Coast to compete here on campus, and the PCMUN team runs the entire event. This provides our delegates with great opportunities to be on the other end of Model UN: choosing committee topics, judging and presiding over delegates, research and preparation on UN topics, and creating an entire conference from the ground up.
Outside of conferences and travel, our team prides ourselves on being a strong, fun-filled community. We have weekly trainings every week, multiple bonding opportunities on and off campus, and a mentor/mentee program for all of new recruits. We have team dinners multiple times per semester, themed parties, and we always prep together for our big trips!
Joining PCMUN has been one of my favorites parts of attending the Claremont Colleges. It has brought me great friends, amazing memories, and really shaped who I am! If you have any questions about PCMUN or debating here at the 5Cs in general please email me at: [email protected] or [email protected] . You can also learn more about the team here!
Thank you!