MUNUC participants avert disaster, prevent crisis between Syria, Israel

At the 11th annual Model United Nations of the University of Chicago, or MUNUC, 1,800 high school students from all over the United States, Mexico and Canada averted an international “crisis” Feb. 4 through 7. Consistently ranked as one of the nation’s premier Model U.N. conferences for high school students, MUNUC is operated entirely by Chicago students––150 enthusiasts who spend months preparing high schools to represent their assigned nations.

“Students are awakened at 2 a.m. and told the world is falling apart and they are going to fix it,” said Katie Krueger, a Chicago third-year and Undersecretary General for Information. “The crisis is top secret, and we go all out for it.”

This year, high school delegates prevented a war after armies from Syria and Israel began fighting in Southern Lebanon.

The crisis included “live” television reports, updates from world leaders, heated debate between delegates and coverage in the conference’s newspaper, The Phoenix.