Question 1

Which days does your club meet? I would like to mark it down so I can schedule around it.

Accepted Answer

Historically, McMaster Model United Nations' "meetings" have always been in the form of In-House Mock Committee Sessions, information sessions, or workshops, and these one-off events were always scheduled at different times each time to accomodate as many general members as possible, since we are a bigger club. While we will likely continue with having one-off events such as these, which won't necessarily all occur at a consistent time, we have heard the vocal demand for set times and are currently in the process of addressing this need when planning for the 2019-2020 school year. We will continue announcing dates and times as far in advance as possible, and you can always keep updated via our social media, newsletter, and new event calendar.

Question 2

How do I become an 'official member' of this club?

Accepted Answer

By signing up for our mailing list, you're already a general member of our club! (Congratulations!) We are a bigger club that holds a multitude of different types of events year-round, for a big membership list, and we understand that everyone has different levels of commitment as it pertains to attending these. Though we do treasure all of the members that consistently come to these events and play an active role in this community, we also don't want to discourage club members that may feel uncomfortable regarding certain types of events or may not be able to participate in all of them. As such, there is no 'bar' you must meet to be a member of our club; just sign up for our mailing list and stay tuned to learn more about the multitude of opportunities you can get involved with, from speakers to in-houses, external conferences to workshops.   If you would like to get more involved beyond these events open to club members, especially on the administrative side, you can apply to be an Executive member or conference staff member when those applications open. Applications to hold dual roles as an Executive member of the club and an Under-Secretary-General to the conference usually open late into the second semester, after President/Secretary-General elections are held. Applications to be a staff member of our conference, which include positions as chairs, crisis analysts, and media team members, typically open during the summer. We will announce these opportunities as they come on social media and email, so stay tuned!

Question 3

I am interested in one of your upcoming events and require accommodations. Who can I approach?

Accepted Answer

If comfortable, please email macmun@mcmaster.ca, an address that goes to our Club President and Vice President of Communications, who if needed will then pass this information to a relevant member of the Executive, for example the Vice President of Internal Outreach if it is an event that they are organizing. We are committed to accessibility and we will try to best accomodate you with the resources we have available.   For digital files and posts, accessible formats and communication supports are available. Please contact usgcommunications@macmun.org.

Question 4

Can high school students get involved with Model UN at McMaster?

Accepted Answer

Unfortunately, bar special circumstances, high school students cannot formally be a part of our club nor conference. Due to past interest from local students, we are working towards high school-specific opportunities for the future; in the meantime, our Executive and Staff members have historically had a relationship with the Model UN Conference held at Columbia International College every year, filling many of their staff roles. They work with UNAC, the United Nations Association in Canada, who may be a resource to you. We are also always happy to electronically answer questions from high school students.

Question 5

Can graduate students get involved with Model UN at McMaster?

Accepted Answer

Yes, graduate students are welcome to come to our club events and apply to be a part of our conference. Please note that as an MSU-ratified Club, we have a cap on the fraction of participation grad students can account for in our club activities. Due to our large club member list, the percent of grad students that participate in our general events has never been an issue, however for the conference, please note that this could limit the amount of graduate students we are allowed to accept after we have reviewed all applications.   It is always especially heartwarming to see former undergraduate club members maintain their interest in MUN even as they continue to pursue higher education!

Question 6

There is an external conference that I would like to attend but it doesn't look like McMaster is sending a delegation there. How do I proceed?

Accepted Answer

We try to organize delegations to send to a great variety of conferences, however with the MUN world ever expanding, there's always conferences that we miss or don't have the time and resources to formally organize a delegation for. If you'd like to attend a conference that we haven't announced that we'd send a delegation to, please still let us know so that we can support you in any way that we can! Furthermore, if we get enough interest in a particular conference, we can also consider organizing a group more formally as a club, or at least getting the word out about the external conference in case there are other students that would want to join you to help share costs like transportation.   Please contact Dia, our VP External, at usgdelegateaffairs@macmun.org for everything concerning external conferences.

Question 7

I've never done MUN before. Is that okay? Can I still get involved?

Accepted Answer

Of course! We have had super-active members coming from all experience levels over the years, and even our leadership has always had a diversity in prior MUN experience. The comMUNity at McMaster has always been exceptionally inclusive to newcomers, and we try to offer opportunities that are friendly to MUN newbies and opportunities specifically designed to challenge, workshop, and train for MUN-specific skills. You can check out our Rules and Procedure documents on our Resource Page for some preliminary information on MUN procedure, but our inbox and social media channels are always open if you have any specific questions and there aren't any upcoming meetings or workshops.   But, really, you can just relax and come out to an event with nothing but your enthusiasm; the 'rules' to MUN can be intimidating, but you can pick them up quickly by trying it out or even just watching a committee session take place. Don't forget that we always allow sit-ins and observers at in-houses if you're not comfortable participating as a delegate yourself.

Question 8

I don't have a political science background/I'm not overly interested in global issues nor the UN. Is MUN still for me?

Accepted Answer

It totally can be! While MUN committees do traditionally deal with global issues and put an emphasis on politics and diplomacy, it has evolved to the point that it is more of a debate format for discussing any particular subject or issue. In both our club and conference, we try to design sessions that are as multidisciplinary as possible; one week, we may be discussing the economics and health policy surrounding diseased states, the next, we may be reenacting a Game of Thrones war council. MUN, at its core, is a vessel that allows people to act as states or characters debating and reenacting any particular subject, whether it's a current global issue, a historical event, or a fictional situation.   If you're not currently into global affairs but would like to be, MUN is a great environment for you to branch out and learn more about specific issues outside of the classroom and in a fun, interactive, and unconventional way. You may find that your current field of study is more connected to these global issues than you'd thought! If you're not interested in branching out, however, you can always just try the in-houses and conference committees that are interesting to you personally. If you don't see topics that interest you, let us know; we're always looking for new ideas for future events!   Another common misconception is that MUN exists as an endorsement of the current UN as an organization. While committees may share topics with situations that the current UN is involved with and may involve the current UN's actions into the 'canon' of the committee, you do not need to come in with an extensive background on nor approval of the UN itself. MUN tends to be more of a thought exercise in how the UN or similar organizations may hypothetically operate.

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