Mississippi State University held its annual Mississippi Model Security Program Feb. 13-15. The program is one of the region’s strongest regarding international politics and global issues.
During the course of the program, MSU students and faculty hosted approximately 300 high school and college student representatives from 19 high schools and the Mississippi University for Women.
The department of political science sponsors the program annually, receiving support from several institutions on campus, including the College of Arts and Sciences, the University Honors Program and the Stennis Institute of Government.
The program involved simulating the proceedings of the United Nations Security Council. Students assumed the roles of ambassadors from the 15 countries that make up the Security Council.
Dr. Hannah Britton, a political science professor, served as director of the program for her first time.
“It was a great honor to direct MMSC 2003,” Britton said. “This program is important not only to MSU but also to the region because it strengthens the study of international issues at the college and high school levels,” Britton said. “The program is intended to reflect the spirit of the United Nations’ pursuit of international collaboration, deliberation and compromise. Given the current political climate, this is a particularly vital time for the United Nations’ Security Council. The participants of MMSC clearly reflected this fact in the thoughtfulness of their debates this year.”
During the two-and-a-half-day program, students debated issues involving terrorism, nuclear proliferation, banning landmines, territorial disputes and armed conflicts. Students learned to represent their countries’ positions during council simulations and negotiated with other countries in an attempt to resolve disputes in a diplomatic manner that was suitable for the interests of their respective countries.
Students used research, writing and debate skills to compete for Outstanding Delegation awards. In addition, this year’s MMSC was the first to include awards given for superior written resolutions.
During council simulations, students research and debate resolutions on issues that they feel are important and need to be addressed by the Security Council. Each council consists of 15 countries, including five that hold veto power to immediately fail any resolution that the Security Council addresses. The other 10 members are elected to serve on the Security Council for two years.
Students also had the opportunity to meet and address diplomats from the United Nations. Past diplomats have included Ambassador Qin Huasan, China’s first Ambassador to the United Nations, and Prakash Shah, Ambassador from India.
U.S. Ambassador Gerald Wesley Scott visited during the course of the 2003 program. Ambassador Scott’s career in the U.S. Foreign Service has carried him from cities such as New York, Washington, D.C. and Rome countries such as Morocco, Zaire, Kenya and Vietnam. He retired from his position in 2000 but has remained in the international arena by serving as the senior advisor to the U.S. permanent mission to the United Nations.
He participated in a question and answer session during Thursday’s opening program in which students asked him about current issues such as North Korea and Iraq. Ambassador Scott also spoke at a banquet Friday night, in which he further discussed the United States’ role with the United Nations for the past, present and developing future.
“In many ways I fear that the future will be much more difficult than it was during my generation,” said Scott during the banquet. “How the United States handles it will be very important and will be determined by you, not me.”
Counselor Vincent Floreani, who now holds the office of Foreign Affairs Counselor of the Permanent Mission of France to the United Nations, was also scheduled to visit, but was forced to cancel his attendance of the program due to his need to attend the report regarding Iraqi disarmament that was given by the UN’s chief weapons inspectors that Friday. According to Britton, Counselor Floreani agreed to reschedule his visit of MSU to Feb. 27-28 to speak with the campus and community. He has indicated he will have even more insight on France’s position on Iraq when he arrives that week.
MSU student Frank E. Smith Lilley Jr. served as Secretary-General for MMSC, while Emily Sandford, Jennifer Philips and Parker Smythe helped serve as the Legal Counsel. Dr. Rick Travis, who directed the program for the last eight years and will do so again next year, served as co-director.
Other faculty involved included Dr. Debbie Davenport, who served as assistant director, and Col. Jeffrey Donald, the program’s International Diplomacy Consultant. Mandy Mitchell, graduate assistant, also assisted with the program.
For more information about the program, contact Dr. Hannah Britton at 325-7854.