OU will host more than 300 regional high school students today for the 50th Model United Nation’s Southwest Conference.

Model U.N. gives college and high school students a chance to understand foreign diplomacy by placing students in mock U.N. councils.

“You learn a great deal about how diplomacy works and how people interact with each other,“ said Keith Brecheen, political science and history senior.

Sara King, international area studies sophomore and Model U.N. of the Southwest member, said she has built friendships from her experience and learned not just about global politics, but how students interact with each other.

“I’m hoping they will enjoy their experience on campus,” King said. “ I also want them to learn about the world around them.”Stephanie Holliman, international area studies and economics senior and Model U.N. of the Southwest secretary general, has participated in the conference for nine years. The program helped her develop a passion for international relations, she said.

Holliman also said Model U.N. helped her develop speaking skills and learn to work with others in a fast paced environment.

King said Model U.N. gives high school students the chance to experience how diplomats and world leaders function in various situations.

“Everyone working together is better at solving a problem,” said Steven Sherber, a former OU student who participated in the Model U.N. in the late 1960s.

Sherber said Model U.N. taught him how to solve problems through teamwork. Sherber is now a clinical social worker and said the skills he learned through Model U.N. have been valuable in his every day life.

The Model U.N. process begins when high schools send in applications for countries they want to represent. The countries that are part of the UN “big five” are the most popular, Holliman said.

After OU students assign each high school group a nation, students have until the conference to learn about their country and submit resolutions that will be debated in committees during the conference.

Students can choose topics like war crimes, illegal arms trade, women’s rights and debt relief to discuss and debate within their committees, said Amy Logan, Model U.N. of the Southwest adviser.

Model U.N. committees follow the real U.N. process; students are placed on committees according to where their nations serve in the U.N., Logan said.

Students will debate the submitted resolutions within their committees today and Thursday, and the committees will combine Friday. The combined counsels will take resolutions passed in each committee and debate them further.

Brecheen runs the crises portion of the conference, which uses simulated events meant to mirror real-life situations the U.N. might have to solve, like pirates off the Horn of Africa or diplomats smuggling weapons in unsearchable diplomatic bags. There are typically seven to 10 crises in a conference week.

These problems exist in the world, Brecheen said. He said the students in the conference need to come together and figure out how to solve them.

“There are peaceful solutions to everything,” Brecheen said.

Holliman said although the Model U.N. of the Southwest Conference’s is marking its 50th anniversary, changes could be on the horizon for the program.

“One thing that we are seeing is a different type of person joining the Model U.N.,“ she said.

The Model U.N. at OU used to be made up mostly of the students who participated in the conference during high school, but now more OU students are getting involved, Holliman said.

“We are seeing more people interested in international issues and who have a diverse perspective on these issues,” she said.

Holliman said she expects the change in participants to bring diversity and new ideas of how to run the conference.

The Model U.N. at OU also is trying to expand its program to include college students in the competitions, she said.