Four UT Martin students participated in Southern Regional Model United Nations (SRMUN) on Nov. 20-22 in Atlanta and became the most decorated team in UT Martin’s history.
The annual conference involves three intense days of negotiations, public speaking, diplomacy and drafting resolutions.
The students represented the small island nation of Cabo Verde, off the West African coast.
Junior Ryan Lutes, a double-major in political science and global studies from Milan, and first-year student Brayden Smith, a music education major from Huron, represented the country in the General Assembly Plenary on the topics of the digital rights and privacy of children and sport as a path to sustainable development.
Senior Heavan Raymer-Holt a political science major from Nashville, and junior Laura Stone, an accounting major from Springfield, represented the country in the World Health Organization Assembly on the topics of private sector health care and the opioid epidemic.
There were 476 delegates from 32 colleges and universities representing over 70 countries at this year’s event.
UT Martin brought home five awards in total, making it the most winning team in UT Martin’s history.
Lutes and Smith won two awards in their committee, Best Position Paper and Best Delegate. Their position paper scored a perfect 100, and there is only one award given per committee.
Raymer-Holt and Stone also won a Best Delegate award for their committee.
UT Martin students served on the largest committees, where all countries are represented and only six delegate awards were given out in each committee.
The Cabo Verde team was awarded an Outstanding Position Paper award, with a team average of all position papers of 92%, as well as an Outstanding Delegation award.
UTM was one of only six teams awarded the outstanding distinction, and this marked the first time UT Martin has achieved the highest level of honor.
UT Martin’s Model UN team was established in 2016 and is led by Dr. Carrie Humphreys, associate professor of political science and chair of the Department of Political Science and Global Studies.
PHOTO: Shown at the Southern Regional Model United Nations event in Atlanta with awards earned by the UT Martin team (which represented the nation of Cabo Verde) are (l-r) Dr. Carrie Humphreys, associate professor of political science and chair of the Department of Political Science and Global Studies and UT Martin team members Ryan Lutes, Laura Stone, Brayden Smith and Heavan Raymer-Holt.
