Marilyn Monroe once traveled back in time to save Julius Caesar from the Senate and failed but persuaded Octavian to decentralize government power and convert Rome back to a democracy. While that may not be historically accurate, Co-President of Upper School (US) Model United Nations (MUN) Club Matthias Paulson ’26 made it happen. Embodying his assigned character of Marilyn Monroe, Matthias worked alongside other MUN delegates-turned-historical- figures to change history.
From Thursday, Jan. 30 to Sunday, Feb. 2, the 71st Annual Harvard Model United Nations Conference (HMUN) hosted more than 3,000 high school students from over 50 countries. The conference was divided into 35 different committees, ranging from traditional categories to more avant- garde ones.
With five years of MUN experience, Matthias chose to participate in the Ad Hoc committee—categorized as an “Advanced Committee.” Themed around “The Magic Tree House” book series, the Ad Hoc committee randomly assigned delegates historical figures from 1960 to represent during past global crises such as the death of Julius Caesar, the start of the Protestant Church, and the French Revolution. Matthias was assigned Marilyn Monroe and the personal objective to avoid Monroe’s pet peeve: being “typecast” as the dumb blonde. Ad Hoc delegates were given roles on the first day and reacted to a new situation each committee session, which was challenging, Matthias said.
“Usually in committees, I’ll go crazy on prep and will have close to 20 pages of notes, but for this committee I couldn’t have anything as I didn’t have any clue what I was going to do,” he said.
The “Midnight Crisis,” which took place on the third night, stood out to Matthias, he said.
“If you’re staying at the hotel where the conference is being held, they barge into your room at 1 a.m., wake you up, and then you have a conference for three hours until 4 a.m.”
While the session mimicking the sinking of the Titanic may have surprised other competitors, Matthias was semi-prepared. Since the US’s MUN team didn’t stay at the conference hotel, Matthias was informed of the session earlier in the day and spent the night sleeping on a hotel couch until it began.
MUN Faculty Advisor and US English Teacher Sharon Krauss explained that given the conference’s proximity to the US, the club chose to maximize delegate participation by attending as day delegates and returning home each night.
“We were able to take 20 students because we did not stay in the hotel, which would have cost thousands of dollars for three nights.” While it allowed for larger participation, the group’s decision had drawbacks, Ms. Krauss said.
“We all experienced the downside to that, which is adding commute times to both the early morning and the late ends of very packed days (8:15 a.m.-11:15 p.m.).”
After attending the Yale MUN (YMUN) Conference for the past seven years and spending $11,000 over budget last year, the club decided to return to HMUN. YMUN is considerably smaller and provides students with more speaking time in committees, while HMUN is local. It will ultimately be up to student feedback to determine where the club will compete next year, Ms. Krauss said.
MUN Club Co-President Maria Zacharia ’25 represented the Republic of The Gambia in the World Conference on Women and wrote a resolution in collaboration with 20 other delegates.
“It was a wonderful opportunity to make friends with and debate people from countries such as Peru, Brazil, China, and more!”
MUN Club member Sanjay Durfee ’25 worked alongside 400 other delegates in the dual- delegate Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural (SOCHUM) Committee. He also appreciated the size of the conference but found it difficult to build relationships compared to YMUN.
“Overall, at Harvard Model UN, we’re not staying in the hotel rooms, and I think that makes it harder to meet people and create those connections that I find so useful and rewarding,” he said.
Representing The Republic of The Gambia and winning a Commended Delegate award alongside Sanjay in the SOCHUM Committee, MUN Club member Keenan Billings ’25 agreed the size of the HMUN conference presented challenges but feels participating in MUN is a worthwhile experience regardless of the conference’s location.
“I think MUN is a super fun and valuable experience. It really gives you a taste of the different opinions that exist not just in America but all across the world,” he said. “It’s by far the most fun intellectual activity I’ve ever done. It’s really made me excitedaboutresearchingtopicsand collaborating with people in a way that would never happen in a typical classroom setting.”
After receiving an I-Grant this fall, the club is currently focused on organizing a MUN conference to be held at the US on May 31.
