After seven ISIS-linked perpetrators devastated the city of Paris on November 13 and 14, killing up to 136 innocent civilians in an act of terrorism, Parker’s Model UN club decided to postpone its Paris conference, scheduled for November 17, to a different time and location.

In the deadliest attack on France since World War II and the deadliest attack in Europe since the Madrid train bombings of 2004, terrorists ravaged the streets of Paris. Terrorists used suicide bombs and AK-47 rifles to attack the Stade de France, the Bataclan Theatre, restaurants Rues Bichat and Alibert, Rue de la Fontaine-au-Roi and Rue de Charonne. On November 14, Syrian based terrorist group ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq & the Levant) claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they were in response to French airstrikes in Syria. Shortly after the attacks, France briefly closed its borders and declared a nationwide state of emergency.

Four days after the attacks, PAMUN (Paris Model United Nations) sent out an e-mail to all of the participating clubs announcing the postponement of the conference. “More than ever in the face of unleashed terror, what we do in MUN acquires an additional dimension and a very peculiar meaning,” the message read.  “It is our own small way to make a statement against fanaticism and indiscriminate assassination, therefore, I write to inform you that we have decided to postpone our conference.”

The club’s flight was supposed to leave just three days after the attacks. Sophomore Olivia Levine, currently in the midst of her 5th year of Model UN (having been a participant in Parker’s Middle School program) and a captain of Parker’s club this year, was shocked when she initially heard the news of the attacks. “I was thinking, ‘Wow, this could’ve happened to us,” Levine said, “if it was just a week later,’”

On the following Friday, exactly one week after the attacks occurred, according to Jeanne Barr, Model UN’s faculty advisor, students were to have been on a food-walking tour on the right bank of Paris, which is where the the restaurant shootings and bombings occurred. Barr said, “We may have possibly been on the same streets where the attacks took place.”

“It is very possible that I would have taken the kids to a soccer match,” Barr said, “so the attacks hit really close to home for us, in terms of where we were going to be.”

With France declaring a national state of emergency imposing travel and tourist restrictions, it would not have been the time to take a group of American teenagers to Paris, according to Barr. “To make a comparison, us going to Paris would be like a group of tourists showing up in New York a week after 9/11,” Barr said. “Simply put, it would be too soon.”

Levine was devastated, yet understanding when she heard the news of the postponement. “I am definitely sad that we are unable to go to the conference, as it seemed very interesting,” Levine said, “but I completely understand why we can’t.” Sophomore Josh Marks, who was also headed to Paris. “While it’s sad that we don’t get to go on the trip,” he said, “it’s more important that we’re safe and that as a community we educate ourselves on what’s happening currently with ISIS and other terrorist attacks.”

On November 20, within a week of the cancellation, Barr informed the Model UN delegates that the club would attend the Harvard Model United Nations-China conference in Beijing, China from March 15 to March 22 instead.

Every year, the Model UN organization hosts conferences for high school students located all around the world. Last spring, Barr chose Beijing second to Paris when deciding where to participate in this year’s conference

Captain Rachel Marks, previous captain Allie Bensinger, and seniors Taylor Thompson and Anna Cecilia Rosenkranz, who were all planning on attending the Paris trip, will not be able to attend the Beijing conference because of the musical.  

Nevertheless, she is excited that the trip is taking a detour to Beijing. “Beijing will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the delegates and I,” Barr said. “It’s a top-notch conference in terms of the rigor of the topics, and the fact that the conference is run by Harvard suggests that debate will be of the highest caliber.” This will be Barr’s first time traveling to China.

Sam Winick, a captain of Model UN, is confident that the trip to China will be safe and full of fun. “We understand that each region of the world comes with its own risks and difficulties,” Winick said, “but when taking the current climate of the world into account, Beijing seems to be more than safe enough for our short trip.”

Even though he is sad about missing out on an opportunity to travel to Paris, Winick said that Beijing “is an incredible city to visit,” with opportunities available that are “just as good or better” than those that could have been found in Paris.