12 University of Maine students to serve on National Model United Nations team

ORONO – Twelve University of Maine students will serve on the Harvard National Model United Nations team, representing the Republic of Turkey at the Model U.N. Feb. 14-17 at the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston.

The UMaine students have been researching Turkey’s position on a number of international issues. That has involved an extensive information-gathering enterprise, tapping into resources from the Turkish Embassy, online sources, books, periodicals and a background information booklet provided by the Model U.N. program.

“It’s certainly been a learning experience, finding Turkey’s opinion,” said Jennifer Estabrook, who researched Turkey’s position on mental health issues and the vaccination vacuum. “The embassy was somewhat helpful, but any other information was very difficult to find.”

Helen Albert of Romania, an international affairs and political science major who researched Turkey’s response to the conflict in Sierra Leone, agrees.

“It was a problem to find the Turkish position on this topic because the embassy didn’t answer. I relied on press releases, their foreign ministry Web page, and Turkey’s prior voting in the U.N. on Sierra Leone to formulate my position,” Albert said.

The students from UMaine will gather with about 2,000 students from 200 universities from six continents at the annual event, which simulates the operations of the U.N. They will present Turkey’s positions and negotiate with representatives from other countries in an effort to draft resolutions.

UMaine has not participated in the Model U.N. since 1993. The program began operations in 1954.

Bahman Baktiari, an associate professor of political science and the director of the international affairs program, was the faculty adviser for the UMaine delegation that attended the event in 1993. Baktiari spearheaded the drive to revive UMaine’s participation in the Model U.N. through the international affairs program, which combines the disciplines of economics, political science, modern languages, anthropology and history.