Model Arab League members win first place award at Nationals

Last week, four members of CSC’s Model Arab League (MAL) set “unprecedented history” for the social science department by attending the National University Model Arab League (NUMAL) convention in Washington, D.C., and winning a first place award for their representation of Kuwait in the Special Council on Poverty and Unemployment.  

 The team was invited to the conference by the Bingham-Young University (BYU) team, located in Provos, Utah, after receiving a distinguished mark for its representation of Qatar at the Rocky Mountain Regional Conference in Provos, Utah, in February.  

Alongside BYU, CSC represented Kuwait at the national convention, with Hend Elnady, sophomore of Cairo, and Andrew Corbine, senior of Rapid City, South Dakota, sitting on the Special Council on Poverty and Unemployment and Wyatt Fiscus, junior of Bayard, and Laura Clay, senior of Colorado Springs, sitting on the Arab Heads of State Council.  

 “We only had a couple weeks to prepare for the trip,” Clay said. “We all met together and went over the agenda items for our councils and discussed our country’s position on each topic. Most of our preparation involved researching each topic and determining what we would discuss in our councils at the conference.”  

The conference, which was held Thursday through Sunday, plays host to about 25 colleges and universities and approximately 400 students every year, ncusar.org stated, with almost every state of the Arab League being represented.   

From 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., students spent time in council meetings debating the other delegations and trying resolutions to the issues discussed, which didn’t leave much extra time for sight-seeing, Elnady said.  

“We debated, debated… and debated,” she said. “I personally would’ve liked to go out and do other stuff in D.C., but I didn’t have the time. It wasn’t all bad though, we did go out for dinner and sightseeing which was nice.” 

Clay said that, during their brief bit of extra time, the team was able to see the Washington Monument, the White House and Capitol Hill.  

Elnady said that the national conference was “a lot more stressful” than the regional conference.  

“The reason competing against more states is stressful is that you have to convince each and every delegation of your resolutions/ideas and have them work with you as well as vote for your work at the end of every session,” she said. “All state representatives are expected to come up with a solution or a compromise that is effective enough to get everyone on board.” 

One of the best parts of the conference, according to Clay, was getting to meet more people from around the country that are involved in MAL.  

“My favorite part of the trip was getting to know some of the students from other schools,” she said. “At the regional conference we got to know some people from Brigham-Young University and University of Wyoming, and we got to hang out with some of those people again at this conference. Part of the reason for the conference is to build relationships with the people you’re debating, and we were definitely able to do that.” 

Justin Curtis, social sciences associate professor and MAL adviser, attended the convention alongside the team. 

“I could not be prouder of the way these students represented CSC at NUMAL,” Curtis said. “They worked brilliantly with the most established MAL programs in the country; they gave impassioned speeches, worked within the constraints of parliamentary procedure, and collaborated with their fellow participants to design creative solutions to pressing international problems.” 

He added that the Social Science Club is already planning on participating in the Rocky Mountain and National conferences in 2023 and encouraged anyone with an interest in politics, economics, the environment, social affairs or national security join the team. 

“I hope that our participation, and the team’s success at NUMAL, can produce a lasting plan for CSC to be in D.C. every spring,” he said. “This event was dynamic and a lot of fun. I also hope the prospect of going to D.C. can be a meaningful incentive for students to join our program!”