UGAMUNC XXI Kennedy's Cabinet 1 Hello, Delegates!
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UGAMUNC XXI Kennedy’s Cabinet Hello, Delegates! 1 UGAMUNC XXI Kennedy’s Cabinet Hello, Delegates! My name is Sophia Crawford, and as your Chair, I would like to welcome you to Kennedy’s Presidential Cabinet: Project Camelot of UGAMUNC XXI. As one of the crisis committees of UGAMUNC this year, I can guarantee you that this committee will engage you in vigorous debate, encourage you to think critically and creatively in order to combat the pressures of a presidential administration, and force you to make decisions in a time of crisis. In all, Kennedy’s Presidential Cabinet will change the outlook of American politics and foreign affairs as we recognize it today. However, before we delve into the structure of our committee, if you have any questions, please email me, Sophia Crawford ([email protected]). Before proceeding, I would like to introduce myself. I am from Columbus, Georgia, and I am currently in my fourth year here at the University of Georgia, majoring in International Affairs and Latin American and Caribbean Studies. My area of interest within my studies are societal and political effects on minority groups and women in Latin America, as well as the effects of Latin American culture in the United States. Through my dual citizenship between the United States and Panama, I’m afforded a unique perspective on U.S. and Latin American relations that allows me to analyze both sides with a critical, yet understanding, view. This is my fourth, and final, year on the UGA Model UN team, and it has been a pleasure to serve such an outstanding organization at the University of Georgia. Last year I served as Conference Director of UGAMUNC XX, and this year I have the honor of serving as Secretary General for the team. Before joining the UGA Model UN team, I participated in Model UN for three years in high school, where my love for debate and international relations prospered. When I’m not working on things for Model UN, my second occupation is as a Peer Mentor for UGA Franklin College. I am also an avid concertgoer and an occasional hiker. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have Robert Noens as my Co-Chair for this Kennedy’s Presidential Cabinet committee. Robert is a senior here at UGA, currently majoring in International Affairs. After college, he plans on attending law school, where he would love to practice international law one day. Besides being on the Model UN team, he is also the Recruitment Chair for the Pre-Law Fraternity here at Georgia. Robert is originally from Allenhurst, New Jersey, but moved to Alpharetta, Georgia, when he was ten. Growing up, Robert played a lot of soccer. He played for his high school and club team, the Ambush. He also was a lifeguard for five years and had four saves during that time. However, Robert is really looking forward to help run the Kennedy’s Presidential Cabinet committee. It is his first year on the Model UN team here, but International Affairs has been a big part of his life. Robert has dual U.S. and Belgian Citizenship. His dad is from Belgium, born and raised. His father moved here in college where he met Robert’s mom. She is an American Citizen, but all of her grandparents were born in Italy, so she definitely still projects that heritage, and it really had a big impact on who Robert is today. Robert has also traveled all over Europe, and he went to Kenya when he was younger too. International Affairs has always been something he has been really into growing up, and he would really like to bring an international dimension to your simulation, which is comprised of you all being mainly domestic actors. 2 UGAMUNC XXI Kennedy’s Cabinet Again, Robert and I are thrilled to chair this committee and are eager for you all to join Kennedy’s cabinet and change the world. Sincerely, Sophia Crawford Chair, Kennedy’s Cabinet Structure of the Committee I want to start off by saying that this is not going to be a traditional high school committee. We’re going to be a crisis committee, meaning that we will not have a speakers list. We will not have topics or be setting the agenda, and you will not write even one resolution. We will be operating with different rules, regulations, and suggestions, which are as follows: 1. We will always be in a moderated caucus unless one of the members makes a motion to break off into an un-moderated caucus, where we can work on individual or group tasks in an unstructured setting. 2. You will write directives, not resolutions, which are quick, concise solutions to the problem at hand. They only need two sponsors and no signatories in order to bring the directive to the attention of other members. The point of these is to address the present issues. And trust me, we will make it perfectly clear which issues you each need to be focusing on. There’s one important misconception with directives: it does not matter who brings them to the table. Oftentimes, I see several different groups working separately on virtually the same directive, and when they each are eventually shared in front of the members, we all look bad for not communicating as a team and consolidating our ideas and directives. 3. Everything up until Kennedy’s inauguration as the 35th president of the United States is absolutely unchangeable. Therefore, we expect every student to research American foreign policy and domestic affairs, as it affected the United States prior to January 20, 1961. Although we decide the future political landscape of American society today (January 21, 1961), the administration of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower played a fundamental role in restructuring the United States’ role in global politics, which will undoubtedly affect our foreign policy agenda. Also, with tensions in the South due to an impending Civil Rights Movement, our administration's domestic agenda remains as equally important as our foreign policy agenda. 4. Yes, everything up until Kennedy’s inauguration happened, however, we are going to take the storyline in whichever way we, as a committee, see fit. Therefore, the only thing I can promise is that we will not be following the exact trajectory of American history, so be open-minded and creative. Hopefully we will not see a World War III within our committee, but again anything can happen! 3 UGAMUNC XXI Kennedy’s Cabinet 5. We expect each and every one of you to interact frequently with our amazing crisis staff. We, as the chairs, will be moderating debate and making the final decision on what crises will happen and when they will occur. However, it will be the crisis staff that tells you the entire behind the scenes information. Keep in mind that the crisis staff will not tell you things you do not ask for. You can work behind the scenes using individual powers and communication with crisis to achieve a pivotal goal within Kennedy’s administration. 6. We would like you to write a position paper, but it likely will not look like one you have written before. Rather than highlighting the history of Kennedy’s administration, we would like you to focus on your individual strengths and what you bring to the table. Furthermore, we want you to highlight how you plan on interacting with the other members and what role you plan on taking within the committee. We understand that this will be easier for some than others, but we just ask you to do your best. The position papers are important to us because your paper will be setting the tone for your character. If you tell us you plan on being a facilitator, and then you blow through the committee, disregarding the way other members feel about things, that is going to be a problem because your actions are contradicting your plan. Before writing your paper, stop and think about who you are in the committee and how you are going to play your hand. I cannot overemphasize how important this is. All position papers are due, in hard copy, the day of the conference. Please remember that position papers are required for award consideration. 7. Finally, I know that each one of you is fixated on awards. I want to be upfront and clear about what we will be looking at when we decide who will get each award. We are looking for someone who is a multi-talented delegate who excels in all forms of the committee. This includes moderated caucuses, un-moderated caucuses, and interaction with crisis. Delegates often think that if they perform well in front of the chairs, they have the award in the bag. This is not so because we will consult with our crisis staff and ask them about each member’s interactions and performance with crisis. We want you to be creative, engaged, and have fun. On the remaining pages of this guide, you will find brief snippets of information highlighting the domestic and foreign affairs occurring before and during Kennedy’s inauguration. You will also find short character synopses written by my Co-Chair with help from myself. Please take the time to read each and every one of them (not only your own) because each member is important and essential. After the following sections, we will provide links to websites and databases to help you along with your own research in preparation for this committee. In the beginning of our first committee session, each delegate will be given a folder of his or her character describing the “powers” he or she has within the committee.