T H E
decemBER
V o l u m e LXXXIX - I S S u e 3
highland/ F L I N G
2015
It’s always SSUNS-Y Clockwise from top: A couple sophomore and junior girls pause for a selfie; Mr. Gold pretends to stomp on Chris Nolan’s head while Julia Brennan looks on; Farhan Rozaidi and Julia Brennan smile at the top of Mont Royal; the entire SSUNS team does silly poses at the night of laser tag; Irene Westfall, Olivia Estes, Noah Callahan, Adelina Branescu, and Julia Liebell-McLean pose at the Saturday night poutine restaurant.
F
or the students of Highland Park High School, school trips are a common occurrence, as music students participate in adjudicated festivals and DECA members attend multiple competitions. However, for a school as small as Highland Park High School, foreign trips are quite literally foreign as few to none of its students have ever been on a school trip abroad. This past November, however, select students on the high school’s Model United Nations team were able to attend Secondary Schools’ United Nations Symposium (SSUNS), a conference in Montreal. Each aspect of the trip had many unique and interesting parts.
INSIDE
Travel: SSUNS delegates kicked off their trip bright and early on Wednesday morning, a full day and a half before the conference started. Unlike usual conferences, the delegates traveled together on a small bus for SSUNS, ready for the long drive to Montreal. With comfortable seats and plenty of free time on the bus, most delegates ended up sleeping, watching films, or working on homework. The only major setback occurred at the border between the United States and Canada as delegates were stuck waiting for an hour as the bus ahead of them went through customs. Everyone made it through customs without
complications (to the great relief of Mr. Gold and Ms. Wilson) and continued on their drive to arrive in Montreal just in time for dinner. The return trip was even smoother with no hold up at customs. Altogether, traveling as a team was rather amusing, especially watching delegates use their phones as flashlights in the dark on the return trip in the rush to finish projects and assignments due the next day. Conference: Upon seeing the itinerary, the first reaction from many delegates was, “Why are committee sessions so short!?” While the Rutgers conferences Highland Park High School delegates usually attend run until almost midnight, SSUNS finished around 10 PM, leaving delegates with plenty of time to explore or grab a midnight snack in Montreal. Despite the shortened schedule and large committee size, delegates were still able to successfully represent their country, with individuals such as Chris Nolan ’16, Julia Brennan ’17, and Noah Callahan ’17, bringing back honorable mentions and awards for their diplomacy and drive. Food: Poutine is perhaps the trademark food of Canada and upon ordering the dish for the first time, there was a distinct divide between delegates who found poutine
to be rather tasty and those who couldn’t figure out why soggy fries and gravy would ever be a good combination. Other than poutine, delegates were also able to taste authentic French crepes (yum!) and experience amazing homemade mac and cheese with ham. Rather than immediately dining at their favorite restaurant as delegates would have done in New Brunswick, being in Montreal meant delegates could explore a variety of new tastes while also practicing their French when ordering. Activities: In Montreal, the activities seem to be endless! Despite only staying for four nights and four days, the Model UN team not only visited a number of edifying locations, but also relaxed and had fun together at local sites. Delegates received a taste of Montreal’s beautiful architecture and culture as they visited Basilique Notre-Dame and Mount Royal. Delegates further explored the city, touring local shops, Chinatown, and the Underground City where visitors could go shopping or even ice skating. The joy only continued as delegates visited otters and puffins in the Montreal Biodome and played laser tag on Saturday night.
differences from New Brunswick, the two most obvious being the significant presence of French and the usage of Canadian currency. However, during their stay in Montreal, delegates also learned more about the city and social issues as they witnessed major protests on multiple days and spoke with local students. Even in committee, delegates picked up a number of cultural differences, such as knocking on tables to show agreement with the speaker—the Canadian equivalent of America’s “snaps” to show approval. All of the delegates present can agree that SSUNS was an amazing foreign trip! It definitely achieved the goal of one—to continue educational pursuits while experiencing a new culture—as not only did delegates debate world issues in a significantly larger setting, but they also immersed themselves in a new city and encountered numerous new elements of the world. With such success in Montreal, it would be greatly beneficial (and exciting!) for both Highland Park High School and its students to see an increase in foreign trips and clubs attending foreign trips.
Culture: Upon arriving in Montreal, delegates immediately noted a number of
Tia Wangli
NEWS
opinion
feature
arts
sports
who is ben carson? 2
take a chance on me 5
rutgers as a last resort 6
game review: don’t starve 10
kicker spotlight 11