Many competitions took place late last week, among them being Latin Convention and Mock Trial. But other students spent their Thursday and Friday debating international politics at the Mississippi Model Security Council or MMSC competition at Mississippi State University. Thirty students in the club, advised by history instructor Julie Heintz, donned their most formal attire and stepped into different councils to debate resolution submitted by schools from across the state.

Ideally, the competition itself consisted of teams of two that each represented a country on the United Nation’s Security Council. This team would typically take turns researching and debating other delegates in regards to a stack of student-written resolutions. These debates were moderated by students at Mississippi State University who acted as the council’s president and vice president. Other delegations found themselves undermanned and either had to be filled with a student working on their own or with college students who worked to stimulate discussion.

Three awards, Best Resolution, Outstanding Delegation, and Most Improved Delegation, were given in each panel by the council president.  MSMS students representing various nations won numerous awards in each category; the results are listed to the left.

Kameron Chow is a senior who found himself competing for his first time at the competition. “The council overall was good and there were very different perspectives from each delegation. I was kind of nervous because I didn’t want anyone to think I was completely ignorant to world politics and current events,” Chow said. “I’m just glad I had my friend Connor (Bluntson) to help me out.” Chow and Bluntson won their award for best resolution in their council.

Sydney Melton was another senior who competed for the first time, this year. “Half of the people in our council had never done MMSC before, including me. It was rough at first, but everyone caught on to the process soon enough and it was interesting getting to hear everyone’s different opinions on controversial topics brought up in the resolutions.” Melton and her partner Angie Harri also won an award for best resolution.

Overall, MSMS won eight awards, the most of any school in attendance.  Next year, members intend to participate in the annual event with the hopes of continued success.