Scott Stewart Commentary on MUNUC2001

Commentary on MUNUC 2001

By: Scott Stewart (Civitas High School; Hazelwood Central High School, 2003)

When thinking on what to write for this commentary, I am almost overwhelmed by topics and memories that I could go on for days at a time to talk about. Fortunately for most, I won’t. I simply have never had an experience quite like the trip to MUNUC 2001. I wish the trip was much longer because it was unbelievably, for lack of a better word, awesome. I enjoyed it very much.

The trip started on Thursday and only got better from there. The train ride was a good six hours of hanging out and eating food. I was introduced on this train ride to various people I had not yet memorized the names of. Some of which were Tihana, Annette, and Marc. I talked with people I never really talked to before. The train ride was a long series of small discussions and getting to know acquaintances better and possibly turning them into friends. During the train ride we picked up a very cool man named Mike (Butler) who was supposedly more mature than us. It is to laugh. He was an excellent chaperone. We arrived in Chicago in the late evening while I was talking to Andrew, Nora, and Maria. The night was young and we missed the opening ceremonies.

Our first order of business was checking into the hotel and skipping another ceremony to enjoy dinner .I felt rather out of place considering it was the first time I wore a suit in eight years. The meal was exquisite, but we were forced to attend our very first committee meetings of the weekend. I entered my committee with the Armenian delegate Andrew McMahon. We were seated and it was brought to our attention along the grapevine that we missed about an hour of bickering for what to discuss in our Eco\Fin (Economic & Financial) committee meeting. The meeting dragged on for sometime before we decided on free trade as our topic.

Leaving the committee meeting, I met the rest of good ol’ “Civitas High” up on the thirteenth floor. After being briefed by Arthur on the first day, we all went separately to our own rooms for the night. It was a good nights sleep. It was needed and well deserved.

I awoke the next morning before the wake up call, and marveled at how our room had two bathrooms and two showers. I went to my corner and Andrew went to his. Not being familiar with a shower with a curtain, I accidentally left the curtain on the outside of the bathtub. I left the shower minty-fresh to discover all my clothing left on the floor was soaking wet. (personal note: Laura, that’s why my boxers were hanging from the door.) That morning, we ate a lumberjack breakfast in the restaurant on the lobby floor of the hotel. After the delicious meal, we all went off to explore Chicago. I went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. Since half of the museum was under construction, it was a waste of good old Abraham. Afterwards, we went to the Water Tower Place, a huge mall in Chicago. We then left to eat at the famous Cheesecake Factory. I, like the blundering idiot that I am, ordered a HUGE burger. It was good.

We left in a hurry and returned for committee meetings. Returning late to the meetings, I, the delegate of Cuba, was seated in the very back row and held down the current position. I was pleasantly surprised when a fellow Cuban delegate transferred from the Legal committee to our very own Eco\Fin discussion. It was Laura; she proved a ruthless, tyrant of a woman suitable for the likes of Castro himself. She added spice and entertainment to our dull meeting. She was the greatest master of top ten lists I’ve ever met. After that afternoon’s committee, we took a dinner break at the Burger King across the street. On the way back to the hotel, our small group stopped by Osco’s Drug Emporium. Inside, we met delegates who traveled all the way from New York. We later found out that they caught the store on a technicality on one of the price tags and purchased forty-eight sodas for six dollars. They sold them later for two for three dollars. After another committee meeting, the night was through.

Saturday started with a highly enjoyable meal in Mike and Carl’s room. They had the basics such as cereal and pop-tarts, but NO bacon! After the two meetings that day, the night was open to do as we saw fit. The first stop of the entire group was again Mike and Carl’s room, but this time it was for the best pizza in Chicago. Genuine Chicago-style pizza from Gino’s East. The group then traveled to a small comedy club that is most likely nationally renown due to the number of famous comedians who passed through it on their way up to the top. The club was Second City, and it was hilarious. I loved most all the jokes and the hot fudge Sundays were to die for. My only statements on the comedy club are: I’m Marc Brown, and I’m an ASSHOLE!

After the amusing trip to the comedy club, which, by the way, was very niggalicious, The Civitas group of delegates returned to the hotel. There also happened to be a delegate dance that night which I chose to attend. At the dance that night, the music was loud and the room was packed. Overall, I’d like to say the dance was really good, but I’d be lying. I left at the end and hung out in Nora and Maria’s room with Andrew until a tad after curfew. Fortunately, the Name Tag Gestapo did not catch us on our way back to the room.

Sunday was sort of a sad day for me because I knew I was going to miss MUNUC and I still do. After another breakfast in Mike and Carl’s room, with NO bacon, we attended our final committee meetings of the weekend. Out of the entire meeting, only a good 65% was actually used on work. We passed one resolution and had time left over for a little fun. The delegates from Cuba presented some top ten lists to the dais for their opinion. Others tried to spice it up as well. I would like to take this time to say that I feel bad because the dais accredited me for the top ten lists when it was actually the hard laboring of fellow Cuban delegate and good friend Laura Casey. She is responsible for most of the lists and I just want the good people to know.

Sunday was rather uneventful until the train ride home where many things took place that are definitely worth discussion. It basically started like a normal train ride but ended as something else altogether. During the ride home, Arthur and Gloria got funky and filled our minds with unnecessarily nasty thoughts. Eew. Andrew and Nora hung around one another the whole ride while being berated by fellow delegates. Annette obsessively wanted to talk about sex like it was going out of style. Hee hee hee. I personally got to know Laura more and we talked about the play she was in for Rosati-Kain High School entitled Tom Jones, which is on March 1, 2, and 3 of this year. The train ride seemed to simply fly by due to everything going on. Near the end, a few delegates (Kenny and Andrew) received manicures and lipstick. I, on the other hand, was too tired to realize what I was doing. I received a full makeover from Annette, Iulia, and Norah including blush, mascara, foundation, lipstick, eye shadow, fingernail polish, and glitter on my face. I figured I would make the best of my situation so I stuffed my shirt. I received many questions from my mother.

The train ride ended soon thereafter but the night will live on in my own memory for some time. I look back and laugh and sigh. I miss MUNUC so much and the times that I spent up in Chicago. The experience opened my eyes fully to the world of MUN and I’m now exploding with ideas for resolutions. I made a promise to myself that I will return as many times as I can to once again taste the sweet wine of the pure soul of the Model United Nations. I would to personally thank the people who hung around with me the whole time, namely Laura and Andrew. And of course, the man with the plan and real labor behind it. Thank you Arthur and Gretchen.

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