MUN students host silent auction fundraiser

SANDPOINT — The Model United Nation students of Sandpoint High School are looking forward to attending the world’s largest MUN conference in the spring.

“It is a very prestigious conference,” said Debbie Smith SHS teacher and MUN advisor. “Thousands of kids go to this … students from all over the United States, and there are students from every country usually there too.”

SHS senior Makayla Chapman said the MUN program is an interactive way for students to become more engaged in current events, international issues, global politics as well as local politics, and how the United Nations works. The conference, held in New York City in March, will mock the real United Nations, as they will have to represent a country and solve world issues, she said.

Chapman said she is one of four students in this year’s MUN program at SHS, and she joined in June to get more experience in the area of politics.

“I do not feel very adequately educated in the world of politics, so through this program I’m hoping to further my knowledge in not only local politics, but on an international level as well,” Chapman said. “Achieving this goal is important to me because I will be able to vote in the next election and I want to be able to make a more educated decision.”

This is the 13th year of the program for Smith, who said it is an “amazing” experience for the kids. In November, the students will be assigned a country to represent at the conference, and will be given two topics to research of world issues affecting their assigned country. They will write a paper on those topics from the position of the country, collaborating with other students who were assigned different countries, with the ultimate goal of finding solutions to the problems.

The students will spend five nights at the New York Hilton Midtown, in the heart of Manhattan. The first full day in the city they will get to see some sights. While they will get to choose the majority of the places they want to visit, Smith said she takes her students every year to the 9/11 Memorial. The second full day, they will tour the United Nations and do a training session. That evening will be the opening ceremony, and the conference will commence the next day.

Smith said one of the things that makes this trip possible for students every year is grants she receives from local organizations such as Panhandle Alliance for Education, the Equinox Foundation and Bonner County Human Rights Task Force.

“Those guys always support us, which really help defray the cost,” she said, adding that it is about $2,300 per student.

The grants do not cover the entire cost, however, so Chapman and the MUN group have put together a silent auction fundraiser this Saturday to raise money for travel expenses.

The silent auction is helping the students to raise money toward the students’ traveling costs. Some of the items include a basket of 31 products, a $50 gift card from the Alpine Shop, baskets donated by Litehouse and All about PAWS, and a half-page advertisement in the Daily Bee, Chapman said.

The event will be held from 4-9 p.m. Saturday at Matchwood Brewing, 513 Oak Street, Sandpoint. Bidding will begin at 4 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. Winners will be announced at that time, and must be present to win. A portion of all beverages purchased at Matchwood between 4 and 9 p.m. will be donated to the MUN program as well.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.