(Posted November 12, 2007)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Area high school students will debate and discuss United Nations Disarmament Commission strategies to rein in the nuclear program of Iran, Monday, Nov. 12 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in various campus locations, as part of a Model United Nations conference for local high school students sponsored by Juniata College. More than 200 students and more than a dozen teachers on teams from Huntingdon Area High School, Bellefonte Area High School, East Juniata Senior High School, Hollidaysburg Area High School, Lewistown Area High School, Indian Valley High School, the Milton Hershey School, Juniata Valley Junior-Senior High School, Northern Lebanon High School, Octorara High School in Atglen, Pa., Juniata High School and State College Area High School will attend the one-day event. Emil Nagengast, associate professor of politics and adviser for the college\'s Model U.N. club, says a Model U.N. conference gives high school students and their teachers a chance to participate in simulated international negotiations and diplomatic role-playing. Students in high school United Nations clubs are given background briefing materials 30 days before the conference. Each club is assigned a country or countries to represent and given assignments to participate in other United Nations organizations such as the Security Council or UNICEF. \"The conference is really a learning experience for both our students and the high school participants,\" Nagengast explains. \"The Juniata students will practice management and presentation skills, and the high school students see a slice of college life.\" The Model U.N. conference will include a session of the National Security Council addressing \"The Situation in Iraq,\" with Juniata junior Kenneth Tomlinson, of Westmont, N.J., standing in for Pres. George W. Bush. Other sessions and topics include: the UNICEF & UNAIDS Special Committee, \"HIV/AIDS Orphans in Sub-Saharan Africa;\" the General Assembly, \"U.N. Reform;\" the African Union, \"Darfur;\" and the League of Arab States will meet on \"The Situation in Iraq.\" The General Assembly will meet on \"Women\'s Rights,\" and the organization od American States focuses on \"Cuba\'s Admission to the Organization of American States.\" There will be a U.N. Development Group meeting on \"Addressing the Millenium Development Goals.\" The conference is sponsored and staged by the Juniata College Model United Nations Club. About 35 Juniata students will participate in the events and oversee the various committees and sessions. The United Nations Secretary General will be Jigar Patel, a senior from Jonestown, Pa. The regional Model U.N. conference is in its ninth consecutive year at Juniata. The Juniata students serving as committee chairs are: Disarmament: Brenda Tyler, a sophomore from La Puente, Calif.; UNICEF: Veronica Prush, a senior from Brooklyn, N.Y.; General Assembly: Bridget Hughes, a freshman from Troy, Pa. and Krystal Maier, a senior from Poughkeepsie, N.Y.; African Union: Shiloe Mokay, a senior from Treadwell, N.Y.; Arab League: Subhi Abu Abbas, an international student from Jordan; National Security Council: Philip Copley, a junior from Paradise, Pa.; United Nations Development Programme: Shawn Rumery, a senior from Dayton, Maine; Organization of American States: Marina Royo, a junior from Lancaster, Pa.; and United Nations Security Council: Mike Chirdon, a senior from Huntingdon, Pa.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.