Students Learn the Art of Diplomacy at Model EU

The State University of New York Model European Union (EU) Program, held in New York City March 26-28, provided 16 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences majors and minors an opportunity to debate some of the most critical issues facing Europe today and gain valuable diplomatic skills that will serve them through life.

The Model EU is an annual simulation of a European Council meeting organized by the Institute for European Union Studies at SUNY, SUNY New Paltz and the SUNY Office of Global Affairs. Kathleen Dowley, an associate professor of political science and coordinator of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, directs the Model EU, which draws over 140 students annually from the SUNY system and European partner institutions.

Participating students represent country delegations and play the roles of actual political figures from each country’s government. The roles are head of government (prime minister or president), foreign minister, finance minister and ambassador to the EU. This year, the New Paltz delegation served on four country teams: Malta, Ireland, the Czech Republic and Spain.

Students debated the crisis in the Ukraine and relations with Russia, whether or not to adopt an EU-wide income tax, the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean, and the possibility of forming an Energy Union to lessen countries’ dependence on Russian energy.

Dowley said participation in the Model EU provides multiple benefits for students. “It gives them an opportunity to network, to meet students from around the world, to meet faculty and expert witnesses on the topics they are debating (including several from the European Commission) and to learn about the incredibly complex policymaking process in the EU in a fun and memorable manner,” she said.

Students prepared for the simulation by attending information sessions in the fall and immersing themselves in independent research on each country’s stance on the various agenda items.

Briana Suarez, an international relations major graduating in May, participated for the second year in a row as Ireland’s head of government. She researched Ireland’s public stance on the agenda items and enjoyed the process of developing informed, reasoned positions on issues such as migration and alternative energy.

“It really is more of what you put in, you get out,” she said, noting that preparation for the Model EU helps students further develop their research skills. “It really pushes you to learn how to research on your own and how to use that research to build an argument and be able to accurately present it to others – and not only to present it, but to defend it and have conversations about it.”

Suarez said her presentation skills “have really flourished” as a result of her participation, and though not a naturally outspoken person in public venues, she has learned that “if you’re well prepared, it’s incredibly easy to be well-spoken.”

Sampson Oppedisano, an international relations/Asian studies double major also graduating in May, reprised his role as prime minister of Malta. As a sophomore participating in the Model EU the first time, Oppedisano said he was more of a spectator, watching and getting a feel for the process. This year, he was more engaged in the process and recognized where his strengths as a diplomat lie.

“I do better negotiating or speaking in small groups and one-on-one, as opposed to thinking of something formal to say on the spot in front of 500 people,” he noted. “Something I learned about myself was that I could get more accomplished when we had our recess sessions or in informal meetings.”

Oppedisano said he became more attuned to the subtleties of diplomacy. “You learn how to word things, the little things that are important, [such as] how you can say something in what you’re proposing that can alter the whole game at the end of the day.”

The New Paltz delegates enjoyed the opportunity to network with other like-minded students. “It’s enjoyable just to be around people who are as passionate about what you’re studying and what you’re doing,” said Suarez, whose career ambition is to be a United Nations ambassador.

Oppedisano became involved in the nuclear disarmament movement while studying abroad in Nagasaki, Japan in 2013. He said meeting students from around the world who are also committed to positive change gives him hope for a better tomorrow.

“You meet other enthusiastic, pragmatic students who say, ‘We can still change this. There’s still time. We still have a chance.’ It puts my mind at ease,” said Oppedisano, who hopes to work in a humanitarian capacity, possibly with the UN.

Several New Paltz alumni and former participates in the Model EU returned this year to visit their friends and meet the new delegates. Suarez said the program “builds the New Paltz community.”

“It’s great to see them especially because they’re thriving in the field. Plus, it’s very easy to connect with them and have opportunities through them,” she said.

Next year’s Model EU will be held Jan. 5-10, 2016, at Vesalius College in Brussels, Belgium. Dowley said a three-credit study abroad course has been developed around the simulation.