Weighing the world's problems

04/01/03

DEE ANNE FINKEN

VANCOUVER U. S. and British actions in Iraq reach all the way into a Skyview High School classroom, as students fret over the United Nations' role in keeping the peace yet praise its ability to feed and heal.

"I would like to hope there is hope for the United Nations," said Chris Whitling, 18, a delegate to the Washington State Model United Nations Conference on Friday and Saturday in Seattle.

"During the Cold War, the United Nations averted numerous wars, so I think the United States abandoning diplomacy is a dangerous way to go," Whitling, a senior at Skyview, said of the U.S. and British decision to attack Iraq without clear U.N. backing.

In past weeks, as U.N. delegates debated Resolution 1441 -- which threatened Saddam Hussein with "serious consequences" if he did not give up his weapons of mass destruction -- and the question of Iraq's compliance, Model U.N. students at Skyview discussed reform of the Security Council and other world events.

"The students have always been troubled that only five countries (United States, Britain, China, France and Russia) have veto power" on the Security Council, said Bev Questad, Skyview's Model U.N. coach since 1997. "They wonder why only five countries get to decide."

But students hail U.N. humanitarian muscle. "On a daily basis, it provides food and health care to millions," Elias Gilman, 15, said, "even if we don't see the effect here in the United States."

The world body has made significant contributions in the battles against HIV and AIDS, said sophomore Natalya Skiba, 16, who is preparing for the Seattle debate with research about the World Health Organization, an autonomous agency with a working agreement with the United Nations.

Yet, a lack of teeth is troubling, students said.

"The U.N. has a purpose of feeding people," sophomore Ryan Knight, 16, said, "but it has no army and so it can't enforce things."

Just as in New York, where the United Nations has its headquarters, the debate in a Skyview classroom in preparation for the Seattle trip can get heated. Skyview, in the Vancouver district, is the only Clark County school that is sending a team to the competition, according to a state official.

"The minute we set foot on Iraqi soil, the U.N. became obsolete," said Skyview sophomore Alex Rodewald, 16.

Freshman Corbin Smith, 15, took a broader view. "It has always been obsolete," he said. "Iraq has broken its resolutions since forever."

Model U.N. programs in middle and high schools throughout the world are designed to give students an opportunity to examine global issues and express their ideas in a structured forum, said Ralph Emerson, Model U.N. coordinator for the Vancouver district.

On June 5 and 6, more than 200 students from Skyview, Columbia River, Hudson's Bay, Fort Vancouver and Battle Ground high schools, and Gaiser, Jason Lee and Alki middle schools are expected for the district competition, which will be held at Skyview.

Emerson said participation in Model United Nations indicates students support the concept of a formal global body for discussion of issues, but, "They become aware of both its potentials and limitations."

"They find out that there aren't any simple solutions and that it's very complex," said Emerson, a Skyview social studies teacher.

The students -- many of whom plan careers in international business or world affairs -- aren't ready to dump the United Nations, however.

"The U.N. has always worked in its slow, diplomatic manner," Gilman said.

Skiba called for continued support for the world body.

"Not all of the countries will listen to the United Nations," she said, "but I feel if countries unite, they will achieve better goals."

Just as delegates did in New York, members of Skyview' Model U.N. squad expressed mixed feelings about the U.S. and British decision to attack Iraq.

Five participants supported the coalition's move, seven called for more diplomacy and one abstained from balloting.

That's what participating in Model U.N. is about, Questad said. It teaches students to question what they hear and to think for themselves.