SBRHS’ Model UN took on the challenge scenario below, written by SBRHS Senior Aidan Montag, with their practice committee held on February 16 in the Distance Learning Center:

You are a passenger aboard the “Pyotr Veliky”, a civilian transport vessel on its voyage from Earth to the newly established colony on Proxima B in the Alpha Centauri system. To compensate for the extreme trip length, all passengers have been put into cryosleep to make the 8 year journey feel like 8 seconds. Only the… crew is kept awake for the entire voyage. It is currently six years into the journey and an unexplained malfunction within the ship’s onboard systems has awoken a few passengers from cryosleep. There are only 5 months of food and water that could be split evenly between all members currently awake. Cryo-Chambers are only designed for a single use, and can not be re-entered after awakening.

Committee members took on roles like the ship’s captain, engineers aboard the ship, spies, and the artificial intelligence (AI) controlling the ship. With only about a 2 hour window to solve this complex issue despite several crisis updates, the committee eventually developed a resolution to ration food and survive the trip to Proxima B. After persevering through surprise murders and ship malfunctions, (most) committee members survived to explore the new planet that awaited them.

Taking part in a Model UN committee gives participating delegates (those involved) the chance to dive deep into complex issues and fully immerse themselves in whatever environment their committee may take place in, whether it be a spaceship or the actual UN. Model UN helps build confidence and public speaking experience while fostering collaboration and teamwork above all else. Being in this environment allows imaginations to run wild as real world skills are developed.