The Model United Nations community at Gunn has just expanded from a club to a full-fledged class. Already an established program in southern California, Gunn has added honors United States History and Model United Nations (USH/MUN H) to the course catalog. “In this class, students learn how to be a diplomat in the world,” social studies teacher Lauren Cory said. “They learn about the role United States plays in global politics, and the perspectives of different countries pertaining to international problems.”

Unlike other history classes, USH/MUNH focuses primarily on international politics and global issues. “I think students want to learn about international politics,” Cory said. “It is just that sometimes it is hard to get the information.” Students taking USH/MUNH are required to attend three meetings designed to model real United Nations meetings.

The meetings, which are hosted by MUN clubs, run from Friday to Sunday at colleges around the Bay Area. These conferences replace final exams, but students do not have to win an award to receive a high grade. “To receive a good grade, students must be cooperative, sincere and be able to present the issues of their country well,” Cory said. Some students may find going to the conferences a better experience than taking a final exam. “We get to test our skills and what we learned in class in a challenging situation,” junior Isabel Giovacchini said. “It is not just like memorizing facts for a final. Conferences force us think on our feet.”

At the conferences, students are divided up into different committees such as UNICEF and the World Health Organization. In these committees, students are given a problem, such as stopping cyber violence or arms trafficking, and they search for a solution. “At the club, we only met once a week to discuss problems, so we did not have much time to prepare for conferences,” junior Sam Rusoff said, “However, with the class, we get four days to meet and more time to prepare.”

To understand current international and domestic problems, Cory has her students look at different points in history that addresses the topic, and wants her students to obtain information from multiple perspectives. “I am trying to teach [my students] that they can get information from different international sources so that they understand that there are different perspectives expressed and learn to put themselves in another person’s shoes,” Cory said.

Despite being an honors class, there are no prerequisites for USH/ MUNH. “This class is for kids who want to participate, enjoy role-playing and public speaking and have a desire to make the world a better place,” Cory said. The class does charge a fee of $50 for costs of the mandatory conferences. “I did consider the fee, but I later felt that [the experience] was worth it,” junior Catherine Wu said. Students find the difficulty of the class just right. “The class doesn’t have as much of a workload as APUSH, but it’s just as challenging,” Giovacchini said.