This mod describes
appropriate note passing. This
description was first developed by Sarah "Kit" Esquela on 2/3/2017.
Part
of the quintessential grade school experience is the thrill of being
put in the same class, near the same seat even, as your friend/s, which
of course goes hand-in-hand with the gravely tabooed passing of notes
during class. Do you throw them? Do you trust your classmates to pass
them down the isles? How do you do it discretely enough that the
teacher doesn't catch you? Make sure you don't write anything you
wouldn't want to read in front of the class if you're busted! And after
all this, it turns out your friend doesn't even read the note because
they're "actually working" the narc.
This is how we were all raised to think
about passing notes, and as hard as it is, put that all out of your
head. this is Model UN, and what a surprise, passing notes is not only
allowed, but expected for being a good delegate.
Pretty
sweet, huh?
Well,
not so fast.
Just
like grade school, this looks like an opportunity for smalltalk, to
catch up with the one other kid from your school in the same committee,
as someone to the dance... Some people just play tic-tac-toe, or send
each other those cheesy MUN pickup lines someone inevitably always
googles on the bus ride down.
Don't
do that. People have been dismissed for harassment for the latter, and
if you splurged on the expenses attending a Model United Nations
conference requires, wouldn't you want to get your money's worth out of
the experience instead of wasting your time on tic-tac-toe?
Note
passing in Model UN is for talking to other delegates about
•
forming alliances/blocs
•
clarifying positions
•
working on your resolutions
•
discussing other blocs' resolutions with your own bloc
Basically,
note-passing is like one conference-long un-mod. However, keep in mind
that you still have to listen to the discussion in the front of the
room.
You
can also pass notes to the chair, for
•
suggesting directives (usually in crisis committees)
•
press releases (if such applies)
•
specific points of order, especially if you have to leave the room
•
clarifications, when a particular delegate can't be contacted
•
Fun MUN at the end, if your committee is doing it on Sunday afternoon.
When
the committee halls are to big, or if the seating is outlandishly
inopportune, the chair will designate a paige or two, a person whose
job it is just to send notes around the room to keep the flow of
communication going strong. Paiges are usually one of the chairs or
their assistant chairs, not delegates.
Remember,
going back to that first paragraph, make sure your note passing is on
topic and not something you'd be embarrassed to hear read in front of
the entire committee, because it is NOT unheard of for a chair to tell
the paiges to send all notes to the front so they can be checked.
Last
Updated 2/6/2017