FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MANHATTAN COLLEGE MODEL UNITED NATIONS TEAM ENJOY SECOND-YEAR WIN AT SPRING NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Top School of Arts students snag honors for outstanding knowledge of issues.

RIVERDALE, N.Y. – Manhattan College’s Model United Nations team recently won an Honorable Mention award for their efforts at the National Model United Nations Conference in New York City held March 22 through March 26, 2005. This is the second consecutive year the Manhattan team took home the award. The annual national conference is the world’s largest university-level United Nations simulation. This year, more than 3,300 students from more than 200 colleges and universities from 40 countries participated in the conference.

The College’s delegation of 19 students represented the Republic of Greece during the four-day competition. Dr. Pamela Chasek, assistant professor of government and director of the international studies program at the College, has served as faculty advisor to the Model U.N. program for the last eight years.

At the conference, the College was recognized by having two students selected as rapporteurs for their committees. Marissa Gross ’05, a senior international studies and Spanish major, was selected to be the rapporteur of the General Assembly Sixth (Legal) Committee and Blair Lampe ’05, a senior international studies major, was chosen to be rapporteur of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Both students helped direct the work of their respective committees and were chosen from many applicants at the conference.

The Manhattan College Model U.N. team represented Greece in 10 different committees. Led by Head Delegate Gross, the team negotiated resolutions on such diverse topics as preventing HIV/AIDS, United Nations reform, legal aspects of war and occupation, poverty eradication, narrowing the digital divide and environmental issues.

Model United Nations is an authentic simulation of the United Nations General Assembly, United Nations Security Council and other multilateral bodies. Model U.N. conferences allow students to step into the shoes of ambassadors of U.N. member states to debate current issues affecting the world. Student participants prepare resolutions, plot regional strategies for development, resolve conflicts and navigate the U.N.’s daunting rules of procedure.

Manhattan College was founded in 1853 in the Lasallian heritage of excellence in teaching, inspired by St. John Baptist de La Salle. Manhattan is an independent, Catholic, coeducational institution of higher learning offering more than 40 major programs of undergraduate study in the areas of arts, business, education, engineering and science, as well as graduate study in education and engineering.

MANHATTAN COLLEGE MODEL U.N. PARTICIPANTS

Heather Anen, Senior, International Studies
Tony Azios, Junior, International Studies
Michael Brady, Senior, English/Government/Urban Studies
Erez Cohen, Senior, Government
Nadia Djebaili, Foreign Exchange - France
Annamaria Eder, Sophomore, International Studies
Berengere Fuoc, Freshman, Government
Marissa Gross, Senior, International Studies/Spanish
Nataliya Hafiychuk, Senior, Economics
Cari Hourigan, Senior, International Studies
Suzy Kenly, Senior, English
Nick Kyriakakis, Junior, History
Blair Lampe, Senior, International Studies
Timothy Larsen, Sophomore, International Studies
Peter Laserna, Sophomore, Government
Marina Liander, Junior, History
Chris McShane, Junior, Government
Deirdre Mertens, Freshman, Government
Nicole Polio, Senior, International Studies/Communications

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