Crisis Committees

Security Council of the United Nations
ad hoc Committee of the Secretary-General
The Aztec Empire
Anglo / Boer War (Second South African War)
Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Northern Ireland
The Vietnamese Quagmire
Weimar Germany
Drug Cartels
UN Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency                    Response (UN SPIDER)
The Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas
The West Wing

Two of UPMUNC's greatest assets are the creativity and dynamism of its crisis committees, each of which is managed by no fewer than ten staff members to simulate past, present, and future crises. These crises are undoubtedly our most exciting committees. The time-honored Security Council once again headlines our crisis committees, as delegates react to events immediately threatening international peace and security. The ad hoc Committee, a concept pioneered by UPMUNC, continues as one of our staple simulations.

But this year, UPMUNC looks to offer a wider array of committees than ever before. These include the Aztec Empire, set in 1519 and tracing Cortés's Spanish invasion. In Weimar Germany, delegates will have the chance to halt Hitler's rise to power long before he can become a threat to humanity. And meanwhile, up and coming narcotraficantes will have the chance to create a Mexican drug cartel and carve out profits in the midst of constant threats from competing cartels and government intervention. Through the futuristic UN SPIDER program, delegates will face a dying, polluted, and overcrowded planet and look to outer space for salvation. And in the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, politics will rule as South America grasps with a power vacuum.

Letter from the USG: Melanie Bavaria

Dear Delegates,

Hey! Welcome to the forty-fourth UPMUNC! My name is Mel Bavaria and I am one of the Under-Secretary-Generals for Crisis Committees. I truly hope that UPMUNC is everything you want it to be this year. There are hundreds of people in the International Affairs Association that have worked tirelessly over the past year to make sure this conference fulfills all of your expectations and more. I have no doubt that this weekend will prove to be full of quality intellectual debate but also surprises and fun!

A little bit about myself, I am a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences here at Penn. I was born in raised in Philadelphia and am a diehard Philly Sports fan (beware Yankees, Devils, Patriots, or Penguins fans). I am an International Relations major with a concentration in (Middle East) Security Studies and will graduate with a French minor as well as a Legal Studies and History minor. I have been doing Model UN since my freshmen year of high school and I attended ILMUNC (the high school conference that Penn hosts every year) three out of those four years. In terms of other IAA related activities, when I am not being a USG, I am a member of our Intercol team, which is our intercollegiate Model UN traveling team. When I leave the realms of the IAA, I am on the Penn Women's Club Lacrosse team, I figure skate, dance, sing, and read a lot (I was almost an English major).

I also spend an absurd amount of time with my fellow USG Crisis, Jocelyn Perry within Model UN and beyond. We have worked together from thinking up committee ideas, to editing background guides, and finally sharing a hotel room. We have worked hard with the Chairs, Crisis Directors, and Staff to make these Crisis Committees the most dynamic you have seen yet. I hope you enjoy this weekend as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.

I cannot wait to see you all in Philadelphia in November. Feel free to contact me at any time whether it be to answer a question or just to say "Hi"!

Yours Truly,

Mel Bavaria
melanie.bavaria@gmail.com
Under-Secretary-General

Letter from the USG: Jocelyn Perry

Dear Delegates,

I could not be more excited to welcome you to the forty-fourth session of the University of Pennsylvania Model United Nations Conference. The UPMUNC Secretariat and staff have been working diligently for the past year to bring you an amazing conference experience, both inside and out of committee. As one of your Under Secretaries-General for the Crisis committees, I will be helping throughout the conference to ensure that these committees run smoothly and deliver a challenging conference experience for every delegate.

To introduce myself, my name is Jocelyn Perry, and I am currently a sophomore studying International Relations and Hispanic Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at Penn. Originally from Philadelphia, I now live in Haddonfield, New Jersey, but my loyalty remains with the Philadelphia Phillies and Eagles. Apart from my involvement with the International Affairs Association, the organization responsible for UPMUNC and many other events related to Model UN and international relations, I play soccer in my free time and am a member of Chi Omega. I also love traveling and spending excessive amounts of time with my fellow USG Crisis, Mel Bavaria.

A great deal of this time was spent debating and discussing ideas for innovative committees to present at UPMUNC this year. The committee topics that we have chosen are meant to stimulate the creation of original solutions to age-old problems, force you to think on your feet, and keep you entertained throughout the conference. Whether your committee is set centuries in the past, at a distant point in the future, or charged with some of today's most pressing issues, I am confident that your chairs, crisis directors, and committee staff will work to bring you the most realistic and interesting conference experience. I look forward to helping them with all of these goals and meeting you in November!

Sincerely,

Jocelyn Perry
jperr@sas.upenn.edu
Under Secretary-General