Rider Model United Nations
"Together we aspire, together we achieve"

Evaluation of the 1980 NMUN Experience
Country represented: Zaire

 The benefits I received from NMUN were many.  The one obvious benefit I got out of NMUN was a better understanding of international politics and the way it actually works.  In these mock sessions I began to realize the real problems in the world and the difficulties that arise in trying to solve them.  Also I learned how to look at the worlds problems through an international eye whereas before I could only conceive world events from an American standpoint.

 Some other benefits I reaped from NMUN were learning how to speak in front of a large assembly with  confidence, and also learning the art of compromise which everyone knows is an important aspect in human interaction.  Overall I consider NMUN to be the best learning experience I had so far at Rider.

 NMUN required just as much if not more time than my other courses.  Reasons for this lie in the fact that preparation was required for each mock session.  This preparation often required doing research at Princeton's library.  Another reason is in the fact that a position paper on your committee was mandatory.  This paper required extensive research. The most effort, however, occurred at the convention itself where 13-hour days in committees were commonplace.

 This has been my third year of participation in NMUN.  As expected, it was a totally new experience.  This year my committee assignment was one outside the United Nations structure.  Working on this committee, which was the O.A.U., gave me insight into a previously little known topic area.  In addition to learning about the O.A.U., its history, and function, I also gained a good deal of knowledge on Africa and its problems.  This is not to mention that I did intensive studying on Zaire itself.  I feel I am very well read on Zairian politics and foreign relations.

 In addition to the factual knowledge I have had the pleasure and the grief of leading this year's team.  The experience gained by this venture is perhaps my  most beneficial single experience here at Rider.  For better or worse, I prospered from this year's NMUN team.

 In the overall time that I spent in class, doing research, preparing for meetings, and just plain worrying, model UN took up as much time as at least two other classes.  Our stay in New York took up over 100 hours in NMUN related activities.  Our class began meeting in October and met through spring break.  These meetings lasted 2-3 hours each.

 Research at Princeton each week took up a good deal of time.  So did planning the meetings and setting up and organization.  The effort demanded of me by NMUN seemed engulfing at earlier points of the semester.  Even though it has ended a month before other classes, it takes up the effort of two three-credit courses.

 Each course has its own unique and specific benefits.  This year's NMUN team's benefits include:  a practical view of international politics; a realistic look at the rules, procedures, and the role of the United Nations in the world community; an intensified study of African and Third World politics and policies; and a personal research of present and future new and renewable resource alternatives.

 The NMUN gives the participant a smorgasbord of international events; topics are covered from apartheid to Zionism. The NMUN participant also learns of the varied roles the United Nations plays in international politics from an organization with its hands tied unable to do anything of substance; to a powerful international police agent.  An absorbing and realistic study was taken of African politics which included a look at the role of the Organization of African Unity in African politics.  In my research on New and Renewable Energy Resources I touched upon a number of alternatives and topics such as geothermal, wind energy, tidal energy, solar energy, controversial nuclear energy and a host of other topics.

 N.M.U.N. was the single most rewarding and academically invigorating experience that I have encountered at Rider.  It gives the members of the Rider College community a chance to compete with other colleges and universities on an equal level.  It also proves to the student the academic equivalent between himself or herself and other students from various educational institutions.

 The benefits of this course are enormous.  The team member receives the following:  valued leadership experience, techniques in negotiation and compromise, knowledge of how to follow rules and use rules to your advantage, and receives a deeper understanding of the problems of the world today.  When the N.M.U.N. team travels to New York, the team members are wary of what lies ahead, but the team returns with a sense of confidence and fulfilment which is hard to describe and which seems near impossible to gain through many other activities at Rider.