Mikaela Rabizadeh media editor
The Model United Nations club (MUN) is starting off their new season as they prepare for their first conference of the year, UCLA’s BruinMUN.  President Kimia Azad and Vice President Julie Park look to end their senior year with MUN with a successful competition year.
“We are focusing on leaving a strong foundation of a program for years to come, making sure students are learning and having fun along the way,” Park said. “We had to rebuild our club a few times in the past four years due to changes in mentors, but I’m so proud that it is finally coming together and that we will get to leave a nice legacy behind for others to build upon.”
Focusing on global affairs, MUN covers topics such as wars in the Middle East, the refugee crisis and water development in Saharan Africa. However, Azad and Park try to incorporate current news involving the UN into their curriculum and what they can learn from it.
“I think that what we can learn from Trump’s moment at the UN is that there is nothing more important than cold hard facts-it’s a lesson we learn early on in Model UN,” Azad said. Trump began his speech boasting about the ‘accomplishments’ of his administration, but of course his claims lacked factual evidence, leading to a comedic reaction from the UN body.”
In response to Trump’s speech during the UN conference, Azad emphasizes the importance of properly cited evidence.
“MUN styled debate can be very cutthroat. Delegates are not shy, and they will call you out for the usage of false information. When delivering speeches or presenting resolutions, delegates are often required to cite sources as well,” Azad said. “As an advisor, I encourage members to always print out or store any evidence they may use during debate. This way, when asked to cite sources or fact check, they have everything at hand.”
MUN meets every Friday in room 281. UCLA’s BruinMUN conference will be this Saturday, Nov. 3.