LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - Over 184 high school students gathered on the Lock Haven University campus for the annual Model UN on April 16 and 17.

The program is a two-day event in which delegations draft and debate resolutions on contemporary international issues. The schedule of events includes a series General Assembly plenary sessions, committee meetings and caucuses. The students follow the Lock Haven Model United Nations Rules of Procedure.

“The Model UN encourages high school students to study history, politics, economics and geography in the context of real and contemporary world problems,” said Dr. Lawrence T. Farley, former director of the program. “The parliamentary nature of the Model UN helps the student participants to become more familiar with official gatherings, such as city council and school board meetings. They become more assertive as citizens because of their experience at our Model UN. The student delegates come to see that orderly and courteous debate is an important learning process and is central to being an effective citizen.”

The LHU Model UN ended with an awards ceremony. Several awards were presented in each of five categories, with first-place winners receiving trophies to take back to their schools. The top award winners were Alexandria Aloia, Michael Wilson and Nicole DelGiorno, St. Joseph High School, for Best Online Resolution; Seth Elder, Bellefonte Area High School, for Best Delegate; Darcie Shaffer, Chestnut Ridge High School, for Best Parliamentarian; Joshua Davis, Delaware Valley High School, for Most Accurate Presentation; Ashley Moss and Irene Hernandez, Bellefonte Area High School, for Best Delegation; and Hannah Weber and Munjireen Sifat, Williamsport Area High School, for Best Drafted Resolution.

The Lock Haven University Model United Nations program is the largest academic outreach program to the high schools in the region conducted by the university. The program was begun by Dr. Jorge Mottet, a professor in the history department and later a director of international education at LHU. Farley, professor of political science, took over the program when he arrived at LHU in 1979 and directed it until 2007, when Dr. Andrew Musila took over the program. Musila, a native of Kenya, is an assistant professor of political science at LHU. Farley continues to be actively involved in the LHU Model UN program. This year he did the online moderation and selected the Best Online Resolution. LHU political science students served as hosts and facilitators.