The time has come for The Quill to address an age-old question: How does one choose between Model United Nations and Model Congress?

If you are interested in international relations, public speaking, and thinking on the spot, Model UN is perfect for you.

On the other hand, if you are interested in Federal politics, writing and enacting policy, public speaking, and informed debate, Model Congress is the club for you.

In your first Model UN club meeting, you will learn more about the planning and conference. Bryn Mawr goes to the Ivy League Model United Nations Conference at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in Philadelphia. During each meeting, you will hear from the club leaders, Yulie Kim ‘25, Alkinoey Tsapatsis '25, and Ryan Myers '24. Alkinoey notes that “as an American, you're raised to have certain views, but representing another [country], you are forced to change your mindset.” A key aspect of Model UN is that it gives students the opportunity to learn about different nations and see world politics from new perspectives.

Bryn Mawr Model Congress attends a conference led by Princeton students, which takes place in Washington, DC. The club leaders, Olivia Zissel ‘24 and Abby Bouyea ‘25 are very welcoming to new members. Ms. Letras, a co-faculty advisor, remarks that Model Congress is a unique forum for students to share “fresh takes on what would make our society better.” Model Congress is uniquely formatted so that students are challenged to design solutions to real-world problems.

As you plan for the Model UN conference, you will be paired with another student and assigned a committee and country to represent. Some of these committees include the High Commissioner for Refugees, Legal (focuses on developing international policy), Committee on Agriculture, Disarmament and International Security Committee, Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and more. There are also special committees, which are not directly representative of United Nations committees, but follow the same procedure. Some of these are the Fashion Board, Smithsonian Board, Press Corps, and the International Court of Justice. These committees vary greatly in size, from ten representatives to one hundred fifty. 

For example, if you and your partner are representing Germany in the World Trade Organization, it is your role to learn as much as you can about Germany’s stance on this topic and then write a position paper addressing your current feelings on how to address the problems assigned to your committee of ten to fifteen people. 

Model Congress committees include Armed Services, Education and Labor, Small Business and Entrepreneurship. There is also an opportunity to join the Supreme Court and even be President of the Model United States. Similarly to Model UN, committees are usually ten to fifteen people.

For example, as a Model Congress member, a possible assignment is the House Committee on Government Reform. This committee oversees the government’s effectiveness and cybersecurity, and you decide that since you are passionate about reducing bias in criminal justice, you will write a bill on this topic. You write about the use of Artificial Intelligence in Criminal Justice and find lots of information to back up your arguments and solutions. Your bill aims to limit uses of AI, and you form a plan for funding and putting your ideas in action. 

It is time for the Model UN conference. You share your position with your peers, and you work together to bargain for a finished bill that aligns with your combined interests. The committee meetings run late into the night, but you spend your breaks touring Philadelphia and spending time with your new friends.

In DC, Model Congress members are presenting their bills at the conference. The other members of her committee read your bill, and after some heated debate, your bill is passed. Additionally, you have almost a full day within the conference time to explore DC. You and your friends go shopping in Georgetown, and the Bryn Mawr group takes a tour of the Library of Congress.

There are common misconceptions about these clubs, which dissuade students from participating, but hopefully, those can be answered here. Firstly, there is a common idea that Model Congress is too much work. Fortunately, the workload for Model Congress is meant to be manageable, and it is easier than it looks. And besides, students have a team of other club members to support them. Another idea is that Model UN and Model Congress are only for people who want to be politicians. This is absolutely untrue, because the conferences would be very uninteresting if only the same people went to the conferences. It is best when people from many different backgrounds participate. These clubs are for people interested in expanding their worldviews, or just those who want to go on a fun and educational trip. Similarly, there is a misunderstanding that you have to be perfectly politically literate to be successful in one of these clubs. Most of the members in both clubs reported not having absolute awareness of political events, but instead having an interest in learning more. And finally, the most common misconception is that both clubs are only for extroverts. In truth, these clubs can be experienced in many different ways, and although public speaking is involved, it can also be an introspective venture as students reflect on their ideologies.

The most notable difference between the two clubs is that Model UN favors team collaboration, while Model Congress favors individual success and competition. The two clubs form an interesting comparison of what we value globally, as opposed to what the United States values. But at the end of the day, both clubs are great choices for Bryn Mawr students who are interested in making a difference, and wasting no time in getting involved in the world they live in.