After 41 years, the Department of Defense Dependents Schools-Europe will no longer attend The Hague International Model United Nations, and the decision has caused a stir among parents and students.
DODDS-Europe officials said they are ending their relationship with the program known as THIMUN because too many high school students from around the globe attend and that has diminished students’ chances to participate. They said they plan to continue to send students to other Model U.N. programs in locations such as Prague, Berlin and Dublin for educational and security reasons.
"We have to abide by operational security, and when you get that many people together it becomes a force protection issue," said Margaret Menzies, a public affairs officer for DODDS-Europe. "They get a better learning opportunity (at other Model U.N.s); they get more participation.
"We aren’t saying The Hague isn’t cool. If they were only participating because the activity was at The Hague, that is the wrong reason to participate."
But the president of the Parent Teacher Student Association at Naples High School in Italy said going to Model U.N.s elsewhere is not quite the same as going to The Hague.
"Part of what makes The Hague The Hague is what goes on there and you don’t find that in Berlin or Prague," Monica McCormick said. "It is the difference in learning about Rome and being able to go to Rome."
Students and parents at Patch High School in Stuttgart, Germany, argued that The Hague is the only place the students can also watch the International Court in action and visit other important international bodies. Previous DODDS-Europe participants have watched the war crimes trial of Slobodan Milosevic and heard U.N. secretaries-generals deliver the closing speeches.
"We got to go see the Peace Palace and the International Tribunal; it was just a great experience," Patch junior Will Viana, 17, said. Viana said he attended THIMUN in January and planned to apply for next year until he heard that the school wouldn’t be going to The Hague.
"Being in The Hague ... just the overall atmosphere of it and going to that was such a great experience," Patch junior Zoe Brilakis, 17, said. "I have heard about it (DODDS not participating at THIMUN). It was kind confusing for me and shocking because I don’t understand why."
"We are all in Europe; we all have the opportunity to visit historical places like Normandy and get our children to understand history.… Model U.N., it is a chance in a lifetime," said Claire Schoonover, the mother of a student who attended THIMUN last year. "We are just frustrated — because of the hierarchy it is not going to happen. They are trying to cancel a great experience."
Schoonover’s husband, Charles Schoonover II, wrote DODDS-Europe Education Division Chief Harvey Gerry about the decision. The letter was one of five Gerry said he received on that subject. He said only two people have voiced their opposition to him regarding the decision.
"Each location has its own opportunities," Gerry said. "I would say that Berlin has a rich history and Prague and Dublin and some of the other Model U.N.s have opportunities.
"The venue has become so big that it puts our sponsors in a tough position to monitor and supervise and chaperone (the students)," he said of The Hague.
When asked about DODDS-Europe’s concerns regarding the number of students at THIMUN and the chance for student involvement, Irene Crepin, THIMUN’s managing director, said the program has a capacity of 2,800 students plus 350 chaperones and teachers and about 150 volunteers.
"They go into forums of 20 to 200 students," she said. "They debate resolutions just like in the U.N. We try to get the issues from the real U.N. agenda."
THIMUN’s Web site has stated previously that 3,200 students attend, Menzies said.
Crepin said THIMUN has not been formally notified of DODDS’ decision. Schools have until mid-September to accept invitations to The Hague. If they don’t attend for two consecutive years they can be placed at the bottom of a long waiting list, she said.
