April 15, 2014.

By Alexandria Zamecnik

UW-Whitewater has been one of the only four-year universties in the UW system without a model U.N. program. Beginning fall 2014 that will change.

The new class was the idea of the political science department and Anne Hamilton, former U.N. worker as well as current UW-Whitewater professor.

Hamilton worked as an international civil servant for the U.N. directly out of college.

“We are very excited about the number of opportunities it will give students, not only with communication skills but with negotiation skills and leadership skills,” Hamilton said.

During the semester, students will work on issues assigned to them by a special committee. The students will then attend conferences to compete.

They will be judged on their knowledge of the country and issue along with the knowledge of how the U.N. operates.

“The cool thing about it is that every semester the issues change,” Hamilton said. “It’s possible for a student to participate in this class over a period of time while still learning more and more.”

“There are so many terrible things going on in the world that we just don’t focus on,” Hamilton said.  “It’s a good place for students to learn about the world.”

Shirin Bouzari, international studies major, said she dreams to work at the U.N. someday.

“We live in a world where everyone is connected through the Internet and social media,” Bouzari said. “So I think we need to know what is happening in the world.”

Bouzari said this class will help her throughout her future.

“This class will be great for a person like me,” Bouzari said.

Hamilton said she encourages students from every department to apply for the class. Permission is required, and students can email Jane Gottlick at [email protected] for approval.