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Summer Edition |
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Goodbye
Seniors – Hello New Staff Applicants! It
seems like only 56 days, 3 hours, 17 minutes and 52 seconds since we last
saw you graduating seniors, and now we’re getting very sentimental about
the Old Days when you were just a couple of wee whippersnappers, changing
the speaking time and limiting debate to three follow-ups like there was
no tomorrow. You can’t go
home again. However,
you can Apply to Become a MAGEC Staff Member for the 2003-4 school year!
If chosen to join the heralded ranks of the unpaid, unwashed and
undaunted Mid-American Global Education Council, you will be allowed to
offer your time and energy to help us promote, organize and execute our
three annual conferences, not to mention the upcoming pre-MAMUN Workshop.
MAMUN, CASC and TCHSC don’t simply “happen” on their own –
We need excited delegates to come prepared, and we need clever and
dedicated staff members to keep the trains running on time.
All aboard! The staff application is available elsewhere on this website. Find it; that’s your first test. Kofi,
No Kreme DISCLAIMER
FOR THE ONLINE EDITION: This
is not really advice from Kofi A. Annan, the much-respected
Secretary-General of the United Nations, who hails from Ghana and looks
darn good in a blue suit. Instead,
this is advice from Fred Loudshirt, professional Kofi Annan impersonator,
who hails from Waterford and is often seen wearing cheap baseball hats
declaring such clever mottos as “I’d Rather Be Fishing”, and “If
You Can Read This, I’m On Your Couch.”
It’s all in good fun, so please don’t sue our pants off, Mr.
Annan. We really do have
great respect for you. Dear
Kofi, MAMUN
2003 has been over now for a few months.
Are you and the rest of the MAMUN Staff getting bored in that great
big hotel with no one to keep you company?
Are you getting sick of the food at Barleycorns yet?
Have the maids been bringing new towels every day?
What’s happening in General Assembly?
My friends and I can drop by for the afternoon if you need quorum
to vote on something and you’re stuck. -
Help From The Hague Kofi
replies: My
sweet flying tomahawk, you are a generous and thoughtful soul.
However, your concern is misplaced, for we are not presently
lodging at the McCamly Plaza Hotel in Battle Creek, Michigan.
We left the hotel only hours after you did, though the details of
our “removal” from the premises must remain unpublished pending an
investigation into some monkeyshines which required the services of a
professional dog-groomer to correct, and those guys ain’t cheap.
Twenty-two bucks an hour my eye...Until the CASC conference in
December, we find that it is most practical to live in separate cities so
that we are unlikely to be photographed together.
Not a legal concern; we’re only thinking of the children. Cautiously,
Kofi Dear
Kofi, Why
do you have the Canadian-American Security Councils (CASC) Conference in
Canada? Wouldn’t it be
easier to hold it in an American town, like South Lyon or Dearborn? -
Homesick for the Heartland Kofi
retorts: Well,
young minty-wings, if we didn’t have it in Canada, it wouldn’t be the
CANADIAN-American Security Councils, would it?
As your generation might say, “duh!”
On a more nuanced note, Canadians are quick to point out that they,
too, are Americans, as in North Americans, and they become cranky at the
border when you say “American” instead of “U.S.”
Of course, I always have to say “Ghanian”, and they say “God
Bless You,” and then they hand me a tissue and wave me through.
I suppose being the Sec-Gen has its privileges I even get a discount at Timmy Ho’s. Joy! Smiling,
Kofi Dear
Kofi, What
happened to the 2003 Traverse City Historical Security Councils (TCHSC)
Conference? I got all ready
to represent the USSR, practiced banging my shoe on the desk and
everything, and then it was called off.
Now I’m left with nothing but a dirty spot on my desk.
Why, Kofi, why? -
Living in the Past Kofi
laments: My
sentimental borscht-bowl, that was truly a great educational opportunity
lost, but alas, some years we have enough available delegates to make this
conference work, and sometimes the proms and AP tests and fund-raisers win
out. But do not despair!
We have a whole year ahead of us to get ready for TCHSC ’04.
As long as you and your friends don’t forget that it’s
happening until the last minute, there is hope.
We have secret plans to make a more aggressive push for attendance
next year – and it has a little something to do with balloons.
Tell no one. Furtively,
Kofi Got
questions for the faux-Kofi? Send
them to us at kofi@mamunonline.com
and maybe they’ll be answered. Great questions require great answers, so take it easy on us
and ask some stupid ones. Garbage
in, platinum out. The
MAMUN Lottery: Nothing
At All Like The Story Where Everyone Throws Rocks At That One Lady Ready
to sign up for MAMUN ’04? Several
schools already have! In
fact, over forty nations have already been assigned.
Those who got in touch with us before the deadline were entered in
the MAMUN Lottery, where we somewhat randomly (but professionally) decided
which countries would be assigned to each participating school.
It was much cooler than that lotto machine with the numbered
ping-pong balls. It was so
cool, in fact, that none of us are ever allowed to watch the process. It’s all blindfolds, sharp darts, and pure mathematics (and
sometimes, a little first-aid. Oweee!) Don’t
be left in the dust! Bug your
advisor today to get in contact with us for your school’s country
assignments for next year. Got
preferences? Feeling a burning desire to represent Niger?
Croatia? New Zealand?
Pittsburgh? We don’t
promise anything, but the earlier you get your requests in, the more
likely you are to get what you’re after.
Remember: No matter which country you get, your perspective is still very important. All member nations have an equal voice at MAMUN (except in the Security Council, of course. But style almost always makes up for lack of Veto Power, especially if you know what you’re talking about.) Really, go chat with your advisor today and sign up. Go Steelers!
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What’s
News? A
Collection of the MAGEC Staff’s Favorite Online News Sources Though
our Model UN conferences only happen three times a year, the big fat world
keeps on turning, and unfortunately, there is almost always a troubling
situation brewing that the real UN is either already involved with or
still looking at ways to address. For
you, the Model UN Delegate and erstwhile Student of Global Education
(it’s too late now to turn back; you are interested in the world and
there’s no shutting the door now,)
it’s easier than ever before to gather information from around
the globe for cheap – often in the comfort of your own home!
(Yeah, I’m still impressed by the Internet and the Web.
Call me a yahoo and a bumpkin, but being able to get the most
current African newspapers even without putting on my pants is like being
on the Jetsons.) So, since it’s so easy, stay informed! We know many of you are busy with summer jobs and summer fun, but try to look in on the rest of the circus at least once a week. You may find a few stories that will have colossal impact on your life – and perhaps the lives of millions of your fellow space-travelers. We at MAGEC do our best to stay informed year-round, and listed below are a few of our favorite news sources: Canadian-American
Security Councils: Is
it Ever Too Early to Look Forward to the Next Model UN Conference? The
next Model UN conference being cooked up by the MAGEC Staff is the annual Canadian-American
Security Councils (CASC) conference, which is currently scheduled for December
5th and 6th, 2003 at the Cleary Conference Center in Windsor,
Ontario. Though
at MAMUN we can only have 15 Delegates (plus occasional guests) in the
Security Council, at CASC we put everyone into the Security
Council, forming as many councils as we have delegates to fill.
Each council will operate independently from the others, so from
seven councils, we may get seven (or more!) different responses to a
pressing threat to world peace. The
real United Nations should be so lucky. This
conference only lasts two days, and we usually select two topics for the
councils to debate. We decide
the topics in September so that we are sure to provide you with the most
current issues, thus the best opportunity to have an exciting and relevant
debate. Developments in the
real world during the conference can shake things up quite a bit – and
give you the chance to think fast on your feet.
Staying informed, as always, is key. Because
of the small groups and short time-frame, this is a great conference for
those who are new to Model UN to find out fast how great this forum can be
before heading off to MAMUN – and for you experienced delegates, it’s
a chance to show off a little, and get a taste of the Security Council
that you might not otherwise get. Save
the date! Beg your advisor
now! Because we run with as
many 15-member councils as we can fill, the more will truly be the merrier
– and the hairier. Come to
Canada! Spend Twoonies! Chat
some politics! Save the
world. Advisors
– The Rusty Bayonet is Coming For You! The
first issue of our monthly advisor newsletter, The Rusty Bayonet,
is already in production. Within
its pages, we hope to provide further detail on upcoming events, helpful
hints on how to prepare your delegates for CASC/MAMUN/TCHSC, suggestions
from other advisors (and former delegates) on running MUN Club/Class
meetings, fundraising ideas for your students to pursue, and, of course,
some foolishness (though if it turns out to be entirely serious business,
we hope you’ll forgive us.) We
intend to send each month’s issue of The Rusty Bayonet through
the US Mail, and also have it posted online for those who are fond of
pointing and clicking. Naturally,
we are eager to include submissions/suggestions from you folks so we can
spread the wisdom around. We
are currently working out the format, and trying to devise a way to affix
ten jumbo Pats On The Back to the inside pages, which is a very small
fraction of what each of you deserve for your ongoing dedication to the
enrichment of your students’ global education.
We shall keep trying; we only wish it could be more. Calling
All Students and Advisors: Tell Your Friends To Join Us Isn’t
it nice to share something wonderful with friends?
Say, a bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries? Or a bottle of sweet-smelling Kool-Aid on a hot summer day?
Or mayhaps an amusing story featuring baboons?
Or better still – convincing your pals from other high schools to
get involved with MAMUN! Certainly,
this is a gift meant for sharing, and our conferences can only get better
with the addition of fresh faces to our already feisty family.
Model
UN has a proud tradition of being student-centered, so this is really a
call to you students to reach out to those friends you know who are
missing out on one of the best programs a high-school student can immerse
themselves in. This should be
especially easy in those districts where you have nearby schools with that
eastern/northern/central business
going on. And
you advisors: We know you
have teacher-buddies at other schools.
Bring them inside; we’ll make enough coffee for everyone. They don’t even have to be Social Studies teachers in some
schools, so long as they are motivated enough to give guidance to the
inquiring delegates who will be very well-served by our unique forum. It
is nice to share. So get out
there and share, delegates! Bring
the noise. Couch
Boy’s Health Corner: MAMUN
Flashbacks – Not Just Something
Your Health Teacher Warned You About No
matter what happens, remember to hold on tight, relax the jaw (no grinding
of teeth!), and only interrupt a speaker with an actual Point of Order.
Next one of you who interrupts a question with a request for the
score of the Pistons game will wear the Ugly Tie of Punishment for three
(3) hours. This is your final
notification. Word
Puzzles for the Intrepid If
you line up all of the names of the nations in Africa alphabetically, go
over to the third letter and read straight down, you will discover the
answer to last week’s brain teaser.
I can almost hear all of you smacking your foreheads in
astonishment and saying, “A-ha!”
See? You knew there
was some way to fit all those elephants in there, didn’t you?
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