Drawn in by their passion for international policy and debate, hundreds of high school students arrived in downtown Philadelphia, transforming the Downtown Marriott into a hub for international negotiations. Among these arrivals were eight Mount students: Annhika Bhadra ’26, Emma Meng ’26, Olivia Roman’ 26, Claire Furletti’ 27, Evie Lauinger’ 27, Ava Franzen ’28, and Gabriela Solimeo’ 29. These students attended the Forty-Second Ivy League Model United Nations Conference in downtown Philadelphia. The Ivy League Model United Nations Conference (ILMUNC) is an annual conference drawing hundreds of high school students worldwide to participate in Model United Nations conferences.

Despite a snowstorm ending the conference’s assembly schedule a day short, ILMUNC was still a resounding success, complete with three days of rigorous debate, a Tik-Tok making contest, and even a delegate dance party.

The conference centers around individual committees which range from The Office of Outer Space Affairs (a futuristic space research delegation) to a mock Met Gala, where students are tasked with portraying real-life figures such as Kim Kardashian. University students coordinate the event and serve as committee chairs to moderate debate. Julia Fremberg, a senior and computer science major at Penn, acts as one of three chairs for the Social and Humanitarian Council, also known as the SOCHUM committee. She says her favorite part of ILMUNC is making connections with people along the way.

“. . .the people you meet in the Secretariat literally become your best friends. You organize this conference all year and it really pays off.” Fremberg said.

This sentiment was commonly shared across a number of delegates, who all seemed to enjoy the aspect of meeting and collaborating with new people.

Within the SOCHUM committee (the Social and Humanitarian Council), two Mount students, Evie Lauinger’ 27 and Gabriela Solimeo’ 29, partnered to represent the country of Liberia. They were tasked with debating how to combat gender-based violence. They participated in five total sessions over the course of three days, and to end the debate, they joined a block which passed a successful resolution abbreviated as the LIVELY plan (short for learning, innovating, voicing, enforcing, legislating, and yielding).

For a resolution, groups of delegates unite to draft solution frameworks encompassing their specific objectives and present it in front of the chair and other delegates.

Some solutions which the LIVELY plan included in their framework were the development of 24/7 hotlines, the establishment of safe-houses in high risk communities, and mandatory gender-based violence training for law enforcement workers. All three resolutions stood out as having one thing in common: catchy abbreviations. This is because many students seek to find creative ways to begin their speeches, often using hooks relating to their block names to harness attention. One block named the POP group even began one of their speeches by singing “Soda Pop” from the movie K-Pop Demon Hunters.

However, the process to draft resolutions is not always simple. It can take hours, as it can be difficult to agree on which solutions to include, delineate how they will be implemented, and make sure that all goals come with feasible funds and resources which would be within the control of the actual UN.

It can also be intimidating to present in front of a large assembly, which in the case of SOCHUM (the Social and Humanitarian Council), involves seventy-something students.

“I’m pretty nervous to go out there and speak, but I think it’s very fun. Writing the resolution papers and when you get to come together as a group, I think that’s one of the best parts [of the conference].” SOCHUM delegate Aiden Garcia said.

It is safe to say that almost every delegate agrees that writing and presenting speeches can be frightening but also incredibly rewarding. ILMUNC is an enriching conference as it provides students with the opportunity to develop confidence, while also learning through first-hand action how global affairs work.

“I think it’s important for Mount students to attend [Model UN] because you get to meet so many different people and practice public speaking. It’s also cool to learn about other countries because you need to know about the world in order to make change”, Gabriella Solimeo ‘29 said.

Some other highlights from the conference included the delegate dance held on Saturday night and the introduction of “potato grams”. Candy grams, teddy grams, and potato grams are gifts sent between delegates to help raise money for the year’s conference charity, the Ronald McDonald Foundation. Some committees even raised enough money to earn special prizes, including the opportunity to pie a chair member. For a lot of the students who traveled from other cities and states, touring Philly was an exciting aspect of the trip. Hannah Mento a delegate from Westchester, Pennsylvania, said one of her personal highlights was “going to Reading Terminal Market.”

Overall, despite facing obstacles such as a record-breaking snowstorm hitting the city, the forty-second ILMUNC was an eye-opening experience for Mount students to gain insight into the workings of the United Nations and interact with other like-minded students.