The Bordentown Regional High School Model U.N. team recently won their seventh Best Small School Delegation award at the Rutgers conference.
Ethan Vedaraj and Riddhi Rajpal won Best Delegate awards in the UN Human Rights Council. Gabreilla Cuccia won Outstanding Delegate for the Der Bund committee, and Kade Sutton won Most Improved in the Transitional Cabinet of Afghanistan.
The purpose of the committees is to reach compromises through a series of negotiations. One-day conferences are a sprint, while the four-day conferences are a marathon according to advisor and social studies teacher John Tobias.
“The Bordentown students know how to pace themselves for both,” Tobias said. “There were many Power Delegates from some of the best programs in the region at this conference and the Bordentown students were always in the mix in every committee.”
Reflecting on her time in the organization, multi-award winning senior Julianna Morolda said, “Model United Nations has taught me how to work effectively with others to craft meaningful resolutions. It has given me the confidence to not only voice my opinions in pressing discussions, but to also defend my ideas which has spilled over into other areas of my life.”
Held in New Brunswick, the conference aims to provide a transformative educational experience to hundreds of students from across the region by providing a platform for high schoolers to represent a member state in the United Nations. They engage in debates about world affairs, negotiate resolutions, and develop solutions to pressing issues. This year had almost 900 students from 50 schools in the tri-state area.
RUMUN is designed to emphasize the importance of critical thinking, public speaking, and collaboration in international relations and diplomacy, and students get the chance to build those skills. With specialized committees, workshops, and engaging activities, RUMUN aims to educate, empower, and engage the leaders of tomorrow.
The BRHS Model UN also competes in numerous one-day conferences throughout New Jersey with over 40 students usually attending one of these events.
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The Bordentown Regional High School debate recently completed another successful season in the Colonial Valley Conference Debate League. The team was senior heavy this year, but they managed to train the newer team members for the future. Senior Kashika Manak scored the most points to earn the team’s Best Speaker award this season.
She was also voted by the coaches as being one of the top three speakers for the whole league. The topic for this season was Arctic exploration.
“Her affirmative plan was thoughtful, developed, clear, and concise. She had excellent delivery and was able to navigate difficult cross examination questions, and support her responses with evidence. She was able to remain poised and collected even when under pressure,” said Tobias, who is also the debate team coach.