Welcome to OAS! An Introduction to your Head Chair (me) + Position Paper Information

Hola Delegado/a/es, 

Head Chair Introduction:

Me llamo Matthew Villa y estoy muy emocionado para ser tu Head Chair de BMUN LXX este año. After a fully-virtual conference in 2021, I am so excited that we are going to be in-person (with important health requirements that we all must follow to keep everyone safe) to conduct a committee session for the Organization of American States! I, for one, am super excited to share space with you all to discuss the topics for this year's conference! 

Before going into some information about position paper expectations and guidelines, I wanted to give you another short introduction to myself, my interests, and an opportunity for you to share something about yourself in the comments! Again, my name is Matthew Villa (I also go by Mateo y eso es lo que prefiero) and I am a third-year at UC Berkeley studying Political Science and Sociology. I love studying sociological theory (Foucault, Fanon, Du Bois, Marx, and related comrades/folks) more than I should (LOL...) as well as rollerskating and drinking tea (albeit, not at the same time). My academic interests include ethno-racial relations in the Americas and Caribbean, the geopolitics of imperialism and capitalism, and anti-human trafficking efforts and movements. Now that I have introduced myself.... I welcome YOU to introduce yourself in the comments of this blog post (I would love to hear about your academic interests, a piece of media you have enjoyed recently, or anything at all you would like to share)!

Position Paper Information:

Now, without further ado, this is a reminder about the deadlines for position papers as one has already passed (see note at end of post re: extensions) and one that is soon approaching. 

• February 5th if you wish to be considered for a research award
• February 12th if you wish to be considered for ANY committee awards (best delegate, outstanding, commendation)

Note on position papers: your position paper on the second topic should be in Spanish given the nature of our committee. Grammar or spelling mistakes will not negatively affect your score in any way. We understand everyone has a different skill set in the language and we appreciate your effort. Therefore, we will only grade for content in Topic B. (I want to emphasize that BMUN is a LEARNING conference, above all, so please try your best to craft a well-written and thoughtful paper & feel free to reach out with questions about the topic, researching, writing!) 

Note on extensions: please email me ASAP if you are interested in submitting your position paper to qualify for the research award OR if you need an extension for the second deadline (the deadline to submit to be considered for ANY committee award). I would love the opportunity for your paper to be in consideration for a research award, and will be as accommodating as possible -- you just MUST send me an email to receive an extension. 

If you have any questions or concerns regarding position papers including if you need an extension, please do not hesitate to contact us at oasbmunlxx@bmun.org. All pertinent requirements for position papers can be found in the learn.bmun.org site linked here.

As always, the most important part of your position paper and conference as a whole is the resolution writing process. As such, the proposed solutions should follow the SMART framework to ensure that your solutions are solid. More information about SMART can be found here.

Finally, please remember that plagiarism will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Should we detect plagiarism, your advisor will be notified and you will be disqualified from receiving committee awards. 

We are excited to read your papers and hear your thoughts in a few short weeks!

Saludos, 

Mateo Villa