By Amanda Korb
Staff Writer
In 1945, 50 countries gathered to form the United Nations (UN) with the objective of preventing future world wars. Multifaceted, the UN brings unanimity to economics, social policy, human rights, and culture. Mainly the Security Council, or countries that have the ultimate say, which include Russia, China, the United States, Britain, and France, dominate the UN.
Elizaveta Dyatko ‘17 is an international student from Belarus who also studied in Hong Kong before attending St. Lawrence. When Dyatko came to SLU, she recognized America’s vast knowledge in domestic affairs, but lack of insight in international affairs. When asked, Dyatko commented, “A lot of Americans just don’t know about the United Nations. U.S. politics are more focused on domestic rather than global issues.” She came to SLU as a freshman and served as a Senator on the international committee for Thelmo. Dyatko established the Model UN club based on the outcome of the international committee interest.
Model UN is a mock version of the United Nations. At SLU, the club is on a minor scale due to the smaller population size. One person, rather than an entire committee, serves as a country to work to resolve common global issues. Each person is responsible for one topic area and, meeting once a week, the group strives to find a resolution to the dilemma.
Each semester, a conference is held at SLU, which is what the club prepares for throughout the year. The goal is to convince the Security Council to side with the issue at hand. This year, however, Dyatko has a larger picture in mind. SLU Model UN still plans on doing conferences on campus, but in the spring, the club will travel to New York City to act as delegates for the annual NYUMUN conference. Model UN is not only ideal for economics or government majors, but also for those seeking to “learn about the world and to learn how to persuade people about a certain issue.”
The application for the big trip will be available by late February and due March 1st. 17 delegates are allowed to attend, with a dedicated ten as a minimum. All club members will be preparing for the big event; however, the trip is not mandatory. The SLU conference is for the willing, in addition to extra practice for the members attending. The NYUMUN conference will give the discussion topics in advance and the same issues will be discussed at the SLU conference, which is held approximately two weeks prior.
Simply founding the club, actively participating, and moving on after graduation are not Dyatko’s intentions. She claims, “Leaders have to be inspirational,” and certainly, as she explains her future, she intends on doing just that. Initially, she would like to build community interest, possibly involving Canton High School and/or Clarkson. This year the progress is going to NYU, but next semester Dyatko is thinking variety. She is working towards attending a conference in Columbia in the fall and Harvard National in the spring with the club. Her ultimate long-term goal is to host a large-scale conference at SLU; similar to the ones the current group will be traveling to.
Like many SLU students, Dyatko has large goals. In terms of Model UN, she stands firm with her vision. “Until it reaches what I’m planning, I’m not going to give it up.”