John Jay’s Model United Nations team attended the Hunter Model United Nations Conference on Saturday April 1st. The John Jay Model UN Team won first place at the competition and the title of the Best Delegation. Six John Jay students won awards, including three gavels:

Sam Posner- Honorable Mention, Oslo Accords

Mikaela Marcotullio- Honorable Mention, JCC Rwandan Civil War: UN Security Council

Sophia Decubellis- Outstanding Delegate, General Assembly Plenary

Elyse Sherr- Best Delegate, General Assembly Plenary

Lucy Siegel- Best Delegate, JCC Rwandan Civil War: UN Security Council

Daniel Gordon- Best Delegate, JCC Rwandan Civil War: Boots on the Ground

Award winners spanned every grade at John Jay. Sam Posner, a freshman, won his first award at HunMUN 2017. In addition, three sophomore members won awards. Mikaela Marcotullio, Sophia Decubellis, and Elyse Sherr have all won awards before at other conferences and will continue to guide the underclassmen from the club next year in competition. Lucy Siegel has been a consistent award winner this year as she also won a verbal commendation at BosMUN this year. Lucy will be replacing the graduating Daniel Gordon as the next President and Head Delegate of John Jay’s Model UN team.

The six award winners helped JJMUNC to rise to the title of Best Delegation due to winning a plurality of awards in the multi-school conference. Through the commonly used Best Delegation point system, JJMUN gathered nineteen points. John Jay won a gavel in the majority of the committees. This is the second time that JJMUN has won a Best Delegation award in recent years. A new focus on education of members in the intricacies of Parliamentary procedure and public speaking is integral for the rise in influence in the Model UN circuit. JJMUN has been thriving competitively, especially at one-day conferences. The club boasts a top-five finish at UNISMUNC and a first place win at HunMUN. With the large John Jay class of 2017 graduating this year, the underclassmen will look to continue the success.

In addition, this conference marks an important time in the transformation of JJMUN. Just a few years ago, in 2014, there were less than 20 active members in the club. Currently, there are 60 members who have been to a conference this year with the club or who have staffed JJMUNC. John Jay Model United Nations Conference, which was created in 2014, will now be entering in its fourth year. Lucy Siegel will serve as the Secretary-General and Kailas Amin will serve as the Director General. The conference for some time has been the largest conference in Westchester but now boasts over 250 delegates from sixteen different schools across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts.
Model UN Meetings are every Thursday in Q102. The John Jay Model United Nations Club hosts JJMUNC yearly in November since 2014. The club also attends three or more conferences each year.