Hunter Model UN Team Spars in Historic U.N. Security Council Chambers

The Hunter College Model United Nations Team, fresh from taking home honors at the national competition this fall, was given special permission to conduct a nuclear non-proliferation simulation on Iran in the actual U.N. Security Council chambers in New York.

Audrey Stienon, a sophomore at the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter said, "There is nothing that prepares you for a career in policy more than sitting, literally, in the seat of the policymakers." Fellow Macaulay Honors College student, Aleksandr Akulov added, "This was an amazing experience. To be able to craft a resolution, you need to do an intense amount of research, and then negotiate with allies and adversaries."

The simulation came at a time of increasing tension, following the publication of an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report on Iran's nuclear ambitions. In keeping with the unpredictable nature of geo-politics, just as the Hunter team began its simulation, news broke of a downed U.S. drone recovered on Iranian soil. The team was able to take this new development into consideration throughout their negotiations.

The Hunter Team represented the nations on the U.N. Security Council: Aleksandr Akulov (Germany), Josephine Djonovic (South Africa), Yevgeniy Feyman (Chair), Jarrett Freeman  (China), Antonella Jimenez (Brazil), Andrew Joyce (Portugal), Diana Mays (Colombia), Olya Nesterova (United States), Jessie Ng (U.K.), Ciaran Reidy (Bosnia & Herzegovenia), Jeffrey Ruiz (Director), Livia Solustri (Lebanon), Inhae Song (Russian Federation), Katherine Salinas (Chair), Keri Sinclair  (Nigeria), Audrey Steinon (France), Kathleen Touset  (Gabon), Eden Volkov (India), and Emanuelle  Zagoria (non-Security Council member, Iran).

Preparation for the simulation included a briefing by Dr. Geoffrey Shaw, the Director of the IAEA, where he discussed the recent report on Iran and other areas of concern, including Syria, as well as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Shaw delivered the briefing at Hunter College's Roosevelt House along with fellow IAEA colleagues, Tracy Brown, Francine Lontok and Evelyn Prinz-Ortiz.

Hunter students Yevgeniy Feyman and Katherine Salinas directed the simulation. Also on hand at the U.N. Headquarters were several advisors, including Christine Battiloro, as well as Hunter alums David Hunter Walsh and Meri Gurgenidze Ross.

In the end, it was Hunter sophomore Jesse Ng who summed up the proceedings best by declaring, "This is the world stage, and we were able to make our voice heard."