KSU-A plays host to Model UN Conference

By STACY MILLBERG - Staff Writer - smillberg@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

March 18, 2008 06:20 pm

— ASHTABULA — More than 300 students from 15 different schools are debating world issues over the next three days during the 29th Annual Lake Erie International Model United Nations Corporation's (LEIMUN) Northcoast Conference at Kent State University-Ashtabula campus.
The students are coming from various schools across Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario. They are assigned to 10 different committees. The conference began Tuesday and will conclude Thursday with an awards ceremony, said Rita Drew of LEIMUN.
“The main goal of the conference is for students to learn debating skills, writing skills such as writing resolutions and of course international affairs,” she said.
The students compete for individual medals and the schools compete for team awards. The students debate international issues from the perspective of different countries in various international organizations.
High school groups and staff volunteers come from across the U.S. and Canada to attend the conference, Drew said. Many of the participants are local high school students and alumni.
The staff is one of the most experienced of any conference nationwide, with some members serving more than 25 years, she said. The vast majority of staff volunteers have also served as either high school or college delegates or both.
LEIMUN is a non-profit corporation based in Ashtabula. LEIMUN is an outgrowth of the Kent State University Ashtabula Model United Nations Conference (KSUAC-MUNC) created in 1980 by KSU professor John Hammond. LEIMUN also sponsors a conference for college students in the fall in Cleveland.