The MSMS Mississippi Model Security Council (MMSC) team competed in their yearly competition in the Union on the campus of Mississippi State. MSMS teams represented the countries of the United States, Japan, France, Russia, Sweden and more.

The MMSC website states the goal of MMSC is to expose “high school students to the world of international politics through stimulating debate centered around solving world issues.”

The students represent different countries of the Security Council of the United Nations, the primary body that maintains international peace for the world. The represented countries then debate resolutions submitted by the different delegations. The teams follow Robert’s Rules of Order in the debates and argue over resolutions.

“The debate follows Robert’s Rules of Order, so the debate is definitely done in a pretty formal setting. With that being said, it still is such an entertaining experience, as debates get heated quite often,” junior Lori Feng said.

The teams debated in the numerous panels of the competition. Each panel held about 15 different countries. There were seven panels, and all of the MSMS teams were split up among them. In the panels, students follow parliamentary procedure where amendments are submitted to the resolutions and the students are able to question other delegates about their resolutions.

Awards for the Best Delegation, Best Resolution and Most Improved are handed out at the end of the debate by the council president who evaluates the delegation’s performances. The president can decide to give out other awards as well. Numerous other awards were given out including Best Dressed, Most Knowledgeable and Most Likely to be a UN Delegate.

“MSMS showed up, sweeping both the competition off their feet and the awards from their hands. All awards are thanks to a lot of hard work and guidance from Ms. Heintz, and the competition was great to be a part of,” senior Cody Welborn said.

“I really enjoyed MMSC because it allowed me to debate foreign policy issues in a semi-formal environment with really cool people,” junior Hamilton Wan said.

“Model security has been such a journey. The senior officers definitely spent much effort and time in helping juniors, and we have been holding mock debates since last year. It was definitely such an enriching experience, as I expanded upon my knowledge on foreign affairs and improved my public speaking skills. I was also able to meet with talented individuals from Oxford, Madison Central and Gulfport high schools, and that only added to the experience,” Feng stated.

“The MMSC competition was really fun. The atmosphere was just so much different than our traditional practices, and it encouraged everyone to diplomatically speak on the matter at hand,” added junior Josh Seid.