FEATURE | clubs
Secretary of Model UN brings awareness to members Sahana Rajagopalan takes on leadership role By Olivia Archer
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magine researching any country in the world. There are so many to choose from, and many people do not know about countries such as Estonia, Guyana, or Nauru. Model United Nations Secretary Sahana Rajagopalan helps people do just this and is ensuring that the club runs smoothly and according to the schedule for the school year. Model UN is a club that researches countries around the world to understand their social injustices, culture, and economics. Students then answer and debate questions regarding topics of their country. The club travels to different competitions where participants take turns answering questions and are graded against other schools. Model UN has gained a lot of new members, especially underclassmen. According to Rajagopalan,
there are not many upperclassmen who are in leadership positions, such as herself. “I just kind of expressed my interest,” Rajagopalan said. “[Mr. Swartzloff] asked me if I wanted to do it.” Of course with her response as “yes,” Rajagopalan had some new duties to accomplish. “I update the Haiku page, make sure everything is moving along, organize what’s happening, [and] keep track of who was there and who isn’t attending the meetings,” Rajagopalan said. “[It’s my job to] make sure everyone knows what they’re doing.” The Secretary of Model UN club is an important role to fulfill. It is challenging to fill the shoes of a leader and become someone who can guide their peers toward success. Some of these outcomes are not so recognizable. There are competitions and live debates, and Model UN creates well-spoken students and keeps them mindful of current issues around the globe. “[Members] debate, speak up, and demonstrate their opinion on it,” AP U.S. History teacher Todd
Sahana Rajagopalan works on her own research for her given country, India. G. Watt
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Swartzloff said. Rajagopalan, with help of the club president and vice president, is teaming up to create a fun environment to learn and speak their minds. In fact, according to Model UN member Anthony Ciuleba, many participants bring food from different countries to share their culture and eat a treat. “Every meeting, someone comes in with food. Most of the time it’s usually food from a specific country of origin,” Ciuleba said. “[At] the first meeting, we had food from Mexico.” Everyone agrees that bringing cultural foods is beneficial and fun for club members. In addition, it continues the research of backgrounds for different countries. Model UN is also planning a holiday party for festivities to come together with more foods from across the world. Besides the tasty treats, Model UN is a great opportunity for students who are looking to improve their presentation and speaking skills, coupled with debate and research. Rajagopalan ensures that members are included. Though she plans on pursuing medicine, her newly learned skills will become useful for her in the future. Model UN is accepting new members. Rajagopalan, Swartzloff, and Ciuleba all agree that more members would create more dynamics and new learning experiences. “It’d be cool to fill up an entire classroom with representatives,” Ciuleba said. The awareness of what is happening in the world beyond America is an important part of living among multiple cultures. With the help of Model UN and Rajagopalan as secretary, HHS students can stay up to date with worldwide issues. HUNTLEYVOICE.COM
