YMCA

CONA 2010 Closing Ceremony Part I

jen — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 17:48:19 +0000

Opening

2010 Paul Grist Award Presentation

Outstanding Proposals

CONA 2011 Presiding Officer Alternates

Proposal 36

jen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:47:27 +0000

Proposal 399/480

jen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:46:07 +0000

Proposal 232

jen — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:44:44 +0000

For Blue Ridge Mountain Majesty

sj — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:24:36 +0000

I wasn’t exactly excited when I was informed that CONA would be sitting in a mountain. It was even hard to imagine until our delegation was standing in the parking lot of Ingle’s, and Holly (who was busting with excitement) pointed out “That’s CONA! Right up there!” and pointed, sure enough, to a batch of buildings nestled cutely in the mountain.

Already stated, I come from Delaware, where sledding in the winter (if we’re lucky) consists of kids sledding down a shallow ditch by the road, because everything is flat. When we see things bigger than our homes, we stare with eyes the size of dinner plates while saying, “It’s a mountain! Look!” But, no, this is finally the real deal.

Whenever I can, I try to leave meals early and take advantage of all my free time by sitting on the porch, rocking and looking at the mountains. Because it’s all so new to me, it’s definitely a wonder. I try to keep as many people back home as I can, texting them photos of the mountains as the sky changes colors, even though my BlackBerry’s itty bitty 3.2 mega-pixel camera can’t even begin to seriously communicate or capture the truly stunning view: right now, it’s about 8:15pm, and the sky is a soft, hazy purple right where it meets the peaks of the mountains. You can barely make out the texture of greenery on the closest ones at this time, and the clouds are slowly migrating to my left, and even they have gentle hints of pink, purple, blue and gray laced underneath them.

The entire ride down here, I kept wondering, “Why a mountain? Why, of all places on this green earth, did they choose to place Blue Ridge Assembly in a mountain?” Now it’s obvious to me. Up here, things are so beautiful, that it’s impossible to be in a bad mood. We’re just isolated enough from everybody else, where we can focus on each other and what good comes our ways, on meeting new people, and being able to share the common ground of being amazed and comforted by everything around here (except the bears).

So, why am I making a blog about the mountains? Because they’re inspiring, and because I know there are more parents back home (aside from my own) who are interested in where we’re all staying. Plus, during the year – and for those of us who may not return – people can look back here and easily remember their free time on Lee Hall porch, easily conversing with new people and taking in the occasional cool breeze, being able to not worry about life outside of the mountain for a while.

Proposal #460

jen — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:15:43 +0000

NAME: Marco Gomez-Camarena, Washington D.C.
TITLE: Immigrant Soldiers for the United States of America
MAJOR AREAS TO BE AFFECTED: Military Enrollment, Immigration, America
SUMMARY: “The solution to the immigration debate does not lie in creating more barriers or naturalizing immigrants. The solution is as follows: undocumented immigrants who have met the proper requirements shall be enlisted into the military. While this solution may be deemed as sending immigrants to die, it will create an influx of much needed soldiers fighting for incentives while also creating a more patriotic future citizen.”

Proposal #125

jen — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:15:23 +0000

NAME: Haley Adams, California
TITLE: A proposal to end diplomatic ties with the Holy See until clergy members accused of sex scandal are tried in the Holy See’s tribunal system.
MAJOR AREAS TO BE AFFECTED: The Roman Catholic Church and individuals victimized by members of the clergy.
SUMMARY: “The lack of punishment for criminals is not only encouraging continuing crime among the clergy, but among all of society. After all, the Roman Catholic church is the supposed moral example for people all over the world. Thus, the United States must take action. It is our duty to rectify this injustice, and demand the Holy See, which is its own sovereign entity included in the United Nations, be held to the same standards as other countries around the world.”

Proposal #521

jen — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:13:40 +0000

NAME: Sam Ingalls, Louisiana
TITLE: To eliminate all tax exemptions given to religious and church organizations.
MAJOR AREAS TO BE AFFECTED: All church and/or religious organizations in the United States
SUMMARY: “In general, this proposal will extend the belief that we as a state are separate from the variety of churches in the United States, and these religious groups will not be treated as special because its action are not always for the good of the community and the state.”

Proposal #396

jen — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:11:50 +0000

NAME: Gregory Cui, Model UN
TITLE: Restoring food security in Western Africa.
MAJOR AREAS TO BE AFFECTED: Members of the economic community of West African States, namely Benin, Burkina, Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
SUMMARY: “The solution to creating food security in West Africa is an indirect one. Many West African nations are similar in that they possess valuable natural resource reserves but lack the funds, technology, or infrastructure to make use of them. As a result remain stagnant … The United Nations, through the International Development Agency, must provide grants and interest-free loans to West African Nations to allow them to more effectively tap into their own resources.”

Proposal #239

jen — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:06:57 +0000

NAME: Kevin Hornbeck, Missouri
TITLE: A proposal that implements a national implied consent law
MAJOR AREAS TO BE AFFECTED: All of America’s roads and their drivers
SUMMARY: “A person who is suspected of driving under the influence currently has the right to refuse BAC testing. However, that individual’s license will be revoked for one year and the refusal can be held against that individual in a court of law.”