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Information on Debate and Office Hours

  Hi delegates! I hope you have had a smooth research process thus far! As we count down the days until BMUN 71, I wanted to check in to remind you of some important dates, announcements, and opportunities we have for you. Debate As we near the start of BMUN 71, I wanted to refer you to our Conference Policies page. Here you will find all of our policies on awards, plagiarism, pre-written resolutions, electronic use, dress code, and harassment . Please take the time to read through this page as the maintenance of these policies is critical to ensuring a positive BMUN experience for all– and be sure to email us any questions you may have. I will also link th e Procedure Guide once again in case you have any questions on the way our committee will flow! Office Hours Last but not least! Office hours!! In case all the blog posts and emails have been daunting, we hope you will sign up for office hours to chat with us for a bit! Office hours are a great opportunity to ask us any questions
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Speeches and Speaking Tips

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  Hey guys, here are some tips to prepare you for debate leading up to BMUN! Know your senator and their position: Before conference, research the senator you'll be representing and familiarize yourself with their stance on the topics to be discussed. This will allow you to speak with authority and conviction. Prepare an opening speech: Write out a short speech that you can use to introduce yourself and your senator's stance on the topics being debated. Rehearse this speech several times to make sure you are confident and comfortable with it. Engage in active listening: During the conference, it's important to listen to what others have to say and respond appropriately. Showing interest in others' perspectives will help you build relationships and find common ground. Use formal language: MUN conferences are formal settings and it's important to use appropriate language. Avoid slang or casual language and instead use proper English. Be persuasive: The goal of Senate
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Procedure Guide + Committee Flow

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Hi Delegates! I wanted to check in with you to provide some more insight to how our committee is going to work at BMUN 71. Senate will be using Senate BMUN Procedure .  Our committee will begin by opening a running Speaker’s List (Senate speaking time is 2 minutes) and those speeches will be followed by 2 30-second comments by other delegates. This is the default timing for the Speaker’s List and can be amended if agreed upon by the committee. The Speaker’s List can also be interrupted by Moderated Caucuses, Informal Caucuses, and Party Caucuses that give delegates the opportunity to exchange opinions on policy, solutions, and more specific aspects of the topics at hand. In our committee, our dais plans on leaving the flow of committee up to you delegates, so we suggest you come prepared with specific subtopics and policies you hope to discuss! During Party Caucus, discuss your party's plan of attack, then in Informal Caucus, delegates are expected to draft and write Resolutions w
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Key Terms & Takeaways: Topic A

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Hey delegates! We wanted to highlight some of the key terms and takeaways for topic A, to make researching a little bit easier and help you familiarize yourself with the topic. Topic A is about protecting American democracy which differs greatly from senator to senator. Overall, there are some keywords that all delegates should be familiar with before attending conference.  Democracy - a system government that represents the entire population of a country through elected representatives Electoral College - a complex method of indirect popular election of the president of the United States  Voting Rights - a set of legal and constitutional protections designed to ensure the opportunity to vote Enfranchisement - the giving of a right or privilege, especially the right to vote. You’ll often hear this contrasted with the phrase “Disenfranchisement”, which is the removal of a right or privilege, especially to vote.  Filibuster - a purposefully long speech that obstructs progress in a leg
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Topic B Discussion

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  Delegates! Less than a month away from the conference and super excited to see y’all. In the interim, I wanted to take a deeper dive into our second topic, American Leadership of the Global Stage , specifically looking at its role in next-generation networks through the article “ The Strategic Imperative of U.S. Leadership in Next-Generation Networks ”. Some key takes brought up in this article include: Telecommunications regulations should be used as a tool against powers like China and Russia which use the flow and transfer of information to maintain control and authority Delays in making 5G accessible in the US could slow innovation, analogous to what happened in Europe where over-regulation resulted in a slow rollout for 3G, 4G, and now 5G “...the United States should double down on its 5G leadership so that the innovation-oriented values of democracies prevail over the PRC’s control-oriented authoritarianism and government-dominated industrial policy.” 5G development in the US
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Position Paper Tips

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Hi delegates! Just wanted to check in and offer a bit more guidance on your position papers. As a reminder, Senate will be using standard Position Paper format detailed in the Position Paper page on the BMUN website . Besides the general format, we wanted to offer some tips on the research process and the formation of your paper.  Research The biggest favor you can do for yourself in the writing process is to really apply time and effort into understanding the topics beforehand. Luckily, your generous dias has written to key to beginning this process: your synopsis! Not only do we recommend reading this synopsis, but we hope that you will interact with it. Ask questions, make connections, reflect on what you learned. Familiarizing yourself with the synopsis is the key to a smooth research experience.  After reading the synopsis, don’t stop there! This piece is just a stepping stone for the research we hope you will complete. Maybe read some additional case studies, look at some curre
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Topic A Discussion

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  Hey delegates!  I was reading a little bit more about Topic A: Protecting American Democracy and stumbled upon this article I think you would find interesting: How Mass Incarceration Shapes Our Elections . Feel free to give it a quick read, but to aid in your research I’ll also summarize its main points below. An estimated 4.6 million Americans were ineligible to vote in 2022 due to laws banning people with felony convictions from voting. Many who wrongfully vote are unaware that they are breaking the law, though convictions for voter fraud require criminal intent. The demographics of those incarcerated indicate that voter laws “narrow our electorate by barring people from exercising fundamental rights and are used to…marginalize communities of color.” By refusing to count incarcerated people in their homes, the census compounds this vicious cycle by marginalizing communities most harmed by mass incarceration. “Gerrymandering disincentives prison closures. When rural communities der
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