I was a member of ARM, so our one and only goal was to protect the rights and improve the living conditions of the refugees. Going into the simulation I felt prepared enough to make our argument, but the second day I was definitely more comfortable speaking after seeing how everything had to be done. I think my group accomplished what we wanted to because the end result was mostly in favor of providing aid to the refugees.
I enjoyed the simulation because it was completely different from a typical day in class. We were able to apply the skills and knowledge we have been learning all year so that was cool to see everything coming together full circle. I also liked how independent this activity was; aside from you being our moderator the discussion was mostly student run. I liked getting to hear other people points of view (even though we were talking about fictional countries) because the issues we discussed were still real world problems. I also just enjoyed being a part of this simulation because it was unlike any kind of debate I’ve ever seen before so it was fun to do something totally new.
I think the one thing I struggled with most was formatting what I needed to say during the formal discussion parts the right way. This activity was definitely a lot easier for the people that have done or are in Model UN because they have practiced formal debates like this. If I were to change anything about how this simulation was done I would have to say brief everyone on the style of debate we had to do so everyone knows what to expect and can prepare. Personally, I had no idea that it was going to be that way. I would also give more time to prepare beforehand. Not just since so many people were missing and had to get caught up, but also because I felt rushed when prepping for the first day of the simulation. The first day I felt a little underprepared until after the first half hour or so.