Government and Debate Club Tackles Crises at Texas Model UN State Assembly

The Frassati Catholic Government and Debate Club attended the Texas Model UN State Assembly, April 12-14 at the Dallas Marriott in Plano, Texas. The three day, two night immersive conference, themed “Our Health is in Our Hands,” was hosted by the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas and served not only as a UN simulation, but also the culminating event for Model UN clubs across Texas. Frassati Catholic delegates were active throughout the assembly passing resolutions and serving as parliamentarians and committee chairs. 
There was no break in the action during the weekend. The Security Council, including Frassati Catholic delegates Emma Okruhlik and Eliana Cordova, were summoned at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to deal with an oil spill in the Arctic Circle. After spending most of their morning containing the fallout of that major disaster, they were then greeted with another crisis – spies found carrying bio-weapons in Maryland. Once the capture of the spies and sanctions were addressed, the Security Council got back to passing resolutions on food security.

Other Frassati Catholic delegates were engaged throughout the conference as well, working hard with their colleagues to pass committee resolutions to General Assembly. Frassati Catholic delegates who passed resolutions to General Assembly included Zachary Harrison and Grace Ann Fruge of the Social and Humanitarian committee, Anna Lackner of the World Health Organization, Gaby Yabut of UNESCO, Kathryn MacMillan of the Economic and Social committee, and Eliana Cordova and Emma Okruhlik of the Security Council. Emma Okruhlik was also chosen out of more than 300 delegates as the recipient of the Character Award.

Government and Debate club advisor Mr. Stephen Schmidt was pleased with the performance, “The MUN team had an excellent weekend. I was most impressed to see Frassati at the forefront of every committee they were a part of. They came in with a plan and executed. In almost every committee, Frassati delegates were able to pass resolutions to General Assembly, and several passed in General Assembly. They took the same vigor for their resolutions into debating other resolutions, and worked throughout the weekend on forming coalitions to support their cause.”

The conference wasn’t all work. Frassati Catholic students visited the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas, a museum commemorating President John F. Kennedy’s life and death, and attended a conference banquet highlighted by a guest speaker and a cultural German dance and performance.

 “All in all, it was a very productive conference,” Schmidt said. “In our third year with Model United Nations, we are also grateful from the seniors who pioneered the program at Frassati and have been a big part the last 3 years, as delegates, parliamentarians, and committee chairs: Eliana Cordova, Emma Okruhlik, and Patrick Weisbrod.”

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About Frassati Catholic High School: Founded in 2013, Frassati Catholic High School serves the families and parishes in the north Houston area of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Administered by the Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia Congregation from Nashville, TN, Frassati Catholic High School prepares students to walk on the path of true happiness through a robust college-preparatory curriculum rooted in the Catholic faith. The school currently serves boys and girls in grades 9-12. For more information about Frassati Catholic High School, contact Tim Lienhard, director of communications and marketing, at 832-616-3221.