Inflatable sharks crowded the center of the Administration Conference Room table, and paper fish and blue streamers decorated the whiteboards. “Let’s start with attendance,” senior Adele Lowitz

said as the delegates to her crisis committee, “Atlantis: Climate Change Under the Sea,”  prepared their notes. She read down her list. 

“Aquaman.” 

The delegate speaking as Aquaman responded, “Present and voting.”

“Bill Nye.”

The same: “Present and voting.”

“BP President.”

“Present and voting.”

On Saturday, February 1, the fourth ever Francis W. Parker Model United Nations (FWPMUN IV) brought together around 250 Chicago-area high school students in the spirit of debate. Between FWPMUN’s nine committees, delegates proposed solutions to issues fictional and real, ranging from gun control in the U.S. Senate to Chicago tax reform to the impact of climate change on Atlantis.

Since last spring, over 30 Upper School students have worked to plan and execute FWPMUN, serving as members of the Secretariat, Committee Head Chairs, and Assistant Chairs. Junior Julia Marks led as Secretary-General, the highest-ranking administrative position, while senior Lindsay Carlin, the FWPMUN III Secretary-General, was the Director-General. History teacher Andrew Bigelow provided support in organizing FWPMUN IV as the faculty advisor.

Ivo Daalder, President of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs and former U.S. representative to NATO, opened FWPMUN with a keynote speech. He discussed the significance of the United Nations’ 75th anniversary and lessons from his experience in ambassadorial roles, urging students to clearly define issues and take initiative in writing proposals. “When you hold the pen, you have more influence over the outcome than anyone else,” Daalder said. “Always volunteer to draft the first piece of paper — the words you put on that paper are the words that will drive the decision forward.” 

As delegates spent the day advocating for resolutions, Marks observed the different committees. “It’s what I’ve envisioned for so long,” she said. “You can read about the different topics, but seeing people actually debating them and getting excited made the experience so meaningful.” 

Marks was also an assassin. A few hours in, Nerf gun in hand, she stormed into the Atlantis Committee and shot King Neptune. At FWPMUN IV, emergencies arose in committees, changing the course of debate. Some were in response to the committee’s discussion—when a delegate suggested a turn of events on a subtle note to the chairs, they could choose to communicate it to the Secretariat, using the online messaging platform “Slack,” to execute. Others were planned in advance by the FWPMUN team — for example, in the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors Committee, junior Will Ehrlich imitated a newscaster to inform delegates that there had been a weather disaster at a high-level youth tournament, and controversially, the boys teams were relocated to an indoor facility while the girls would still play outside on soaked grass fields. 

To 49 B.C.E. Roman Forum Head Chair Grayson Schementi, a junior, the unpredictability of events enriched debate. “It created another level of negotiation,” Schementi said. “We’re talking about the basic issues, like grain management, and then also, ‘Hey we should kill this person. Oh, wait, they’re talking to this person who’s going to kill me.’”

Lane Tech College Prep senior Lara Manalli was a delegate in the Roman Forum. “The FWPMUN committees are much more creative than committees at other conferences I have been to, for sure,” Manalli said. “So many people dying in my committee made it really memorable. At FWPMUN, people aren’t afraid to be outgoing and have fun with it.”

After some debate, delegates collaborated to draft resolutions on their issues. “When writing resolutions, you may have to sacrifice some of your opinions,” Marks said, “but you also stand for your beliefs. The process teaches people how to have conversations on really important issues.”

At the closing ceremony, delegates were recognized with awards based on evaluations by the Head Chairs. 

“Progress is made by people in teams, whether it’s a nation or a classroom, who identify problems, assess solutions, forge coalitions, and negotiate final agreements,” Daalder said in his morning address. “That’s what you’ll do over seven hours at a Model UN conference, but it’s actually what you’re going to do each and every day as you confront issues in the world.”