Civitas Associates
Gateway Model United Nations Newsletter )
VOL. II, No. 8 February 25, 2003
In this issue....
  • 8th Grade Teacher Meeting
  • High School Crisis Simulation More Than Simulation
  • Additional MUNUC photos available
  • New Poll
  • UNA-USA Chapter in St. Louis Fades
  • Next High School Discussion Group

  • Dear Arthur,

    We have key information from yesterday's meeting with 8th grade teachers. Special thanks to the teachers who showed up despite the weather. We also report in this issue about last Saturday's high school crisis scenario and how all of our readers can continue to participate in its resolution. We have some unfortunate news about the local chapter of the UNA-USA but a new poll that hopefully will stir a great deal of interest.

    In addition to reading our newsletters, you may also want to visit our web site by clicking here. We have a good deal of current information, and through the year we will be working on building up our archives from previous years.

    8th Grade Teacher Meeting

    We had our final "pre-session" faculty meeting of the year yesterday with 8th grade teachers. Our special thanks to the teachers who were in attendance:

    Mary Jo Barrett (Queen of All Saints)
    John deGuire (Maplewood-RH)
    David Estes (Parkway South Middle)
    Debbie Green (Holman Middle)
    Karen Hubbard (Hixson Middle)
    Sal Mantia (St. Dominic Savio)
    Jo Ann Mattson (St. Gabriel)
    Rick McLoughlin (Our Lady of Fatima)
    Joan Patton (St. Mary Magdalen)
    Debra Waxman (Notre Dame)

    The teachers collectively submitted dozens of resolutions; we will be working over the next week or two in refining them and posting them on the web. We want to give as much input as possible to teachers and students in determining which resolutions will be considered for the sessions.

    If you are a teacher and would like to submit your students' resolutions to us now, please E-Mail them to us at [email protected]. Students may do the same.

    Our wonderful intern from Washington University, Ms. Abbey Hatcher, is also available to make additional classroom visits at all schools. You can contact Abbey by E-Mailing her at [email protected].

    High School Crisis Simulation More Than Simulation
    With the condition of the world being what it is, Civitas staff presented students with the condition of the world as it is today, rather than a hypothetical scenario. The essence of the crisis was the conflict between the United States and the United Nations regarding what to do with Iraq.

    Gloria Bilchik wrote up a summary of the situation as it exists now along with key questions to be answered. She also provided relevant newspaper and on-line articles. All of this material is available to readers by clicking on the link below. Additionally, photos from the session can be accessed from the link.

    Students divided into two groups to consider the issues. One focused on what issues confront the US; the other focused on what issues confront the UN. The work is unfinished, but we have established an on- line discussion board on our intranet site so that students can continue (or enter for the first time) work towards a solution.

    Among the key questions are whether the Bush Administration should go to war against Iraq without the consent of the U.S. Congress, and would a US attack on Iraq counter to UN consent do irreparable damage to the UN. As mentioned previously, you can now address these issues on our discussion board.

    A frivolous Model U.N. was held following the Crisis. The Frivolous M.U.N. lived up to its low expectations.

    Link to Index of Crisis Materials and Photos

    Additional MUNUC photos available
    We have "found" some additional photos from our MUNUC trip. You can check them out by clicking on the link below!

    Link to MUNUC photos.



    New Poll
    Nearly 75% of the respondents to last week's poll on whether or not we should allow identification of the responders to our polls voted "yes." We're going to give it a try for several weeks; if our voting numbers decline or if we get E-Mail indicating real objection to this process, we'll go back to the anonymous method.

    This week's poll relates to our crisis scenario that we had last Saturday and are now continuing on our discussion board. Let us first tell you what this poll is not about. It is not about whether the U.S. should act against Iraq only with the support of the United Nations Security Council. It is as follows:

    Before the U.S. attacks Iraq (either with or without the endorsement of the U.N. Security Council), do you think that the U.S. Congress should take a more firm position on the issue by having an up or down vote on a Declaration of War against Iraq?

    a) Yes
    b) No
    c) Not Sure

    Link to Poll

    UNA-USA Chapter in St. Louis Fades
    The board of St. Louis chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States voted earlier this month to suspend all operations in St. Louis except those done on a voluntary basis. The organization has reached a financial crisis that will preclude further paid programs.

    This occurence will not effect any of the Model U.N. programs this year run by Civitas Associates. We will absorb a $25,000 loss to meet our commitments to the students and teachers. However, we will be looking for additional funding next school year and hope that our loyal readers will help us search for new sources of funding.

    The UNA-USA of St. Louis is an organization that deserves to continue. The U.N. is more in the news now than ever. We hope that our readers will take interest in trying to revitalize the chapter. We include the existing web site of the organization in our link below.

    We would be remiss if we did not thank Dr. Carl Hoagland and Ms. Ginger Imster for the wonderful work that they have done for the organization in the past and their enormous support of the Model U.N. programs.

    Existing Web Site of UNA-USA of Greater St. Louis

    Next High School Discussion Group
    The next high school discussion groups will be on Saturday morning, March 15, at Crossroads School (map below) from 9:00 AM - 11:00 AM. We hope to welcome back many of the students who were with us in the Fall but who did not come to our MUNUC preparation meetings.

    We'll have more information about this discussion group in next week's newsletter.

    Map to Crossroads School

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