 Patrick Henry College |
WASHINGTON – Patrick Henry College, the 350-student Christian college catering to homeschoolers, has made headlines in the past for being the little college that could.
In 2004, PHC’s moot court team beat Oxford University’s Balliol College in an exhibition competition in England. PHC students proved, once again, they could excel among their international colleagues at the National Model United Nations conference last week.
PHC in Purcellville, Va., was presented the award for Outstanding Delegation, the highest award given at the United Nations simulation conference. The award is given to the top 18 colleges competing from across the globe.
Jennifer Olmstead, a PHC graduate and former Model UN competitor who oversaw the college’s team members and assisted them in preparing for the competition, explained why she believes they were successful.
“I believe our students have an incredible ability to create empathy among their peers and form relationships. Whereas most other schools quickly made enemies by being bombastic and argumentative, our students realized that the goal was not to win arguments, but to persuade others about their point of view so as to form symbiotic working relationships,” Olmstead explained.
“They didn’t talk over others; they listened, and soon, everyone was listening to them.”
Nearly 2,500 college students participated in the 2009 Model UN conference, representing more than 300 colleges from across the world. Other competing colleges included: the University of Cairo, the University of Munich, the University of California Sacramento, California State Polytechnic University, The Catholic University of America, Goethe University, National Taipei University of Technology, Istanbul Bilgi University, Syracuse University- Maxwell School, Sarah Lawrence College and Germany’s University of Regensburg.
Model United Nations is an academic simulation of the UN, which aims to give students first hand experience in multilateral diplomacy. It brings together students from a variety of different countries, backgrounds, and political views to discuss solutions to global issues such as nuclear proliferation and human trafficking.
Olmstead noted that most other colleges competing have much more extensive preparation than PHC.
“More than 300 delegations attend this conference – many after taking a 3-9 credit course often taught by actual NMUN diplomats who assign incredibly heavy preparatory work loads,” Olmstead said.
“These schools have been attending Model UN for decades. The idea that PHC can take away this award (which is given to only 18 universities) for their student-run club of only four years is absolutely incredible and speaks volumes of their raw talent and abilities to persuade and influence their peers,” Omlstead said.
At the Model United Nations conference, American students as well as international students represent delegations from all different countries. They are placed in committees within the UN, such as the Security Council, the World Trade Organization, and the General Assembly.
At the fast paced conference students are expected to remain in character, as foreign diplomats, referring to each other only by country name. Prior to the conference students spend months researching the history, alliances, conflicts and economy of the country they represent.
“As the conference wore on, I was approached by numerous persons absolutely flabbergasted by our students’ leadership abilities,” Olmstead said. “They were able to rise to the top in a crowd of very motivated, very prepared, very informed competitors and create consensus – which is paramount for the UN.”
In the past five years, Patrick Henry College has won the American Collegiate Moot Court Association’s national championship three times. The school also holds national titles in the National Educational Debate Association.
The college’s goal is to train up tomorrow’s leaders to influence the culture “for Christ and for liberty.” Producing students who are skilled in diplomacy and international relations will help to extend this goal beyond the arena of domestic policy, into the realm of international affairs.
PHC’s core curriculum educates students in government with classes in the freedom’s foundations, international relations and economics.
