CSUSB named outstanding delegation at Model Arab League conference
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Nine CSUSB students (representing Morocco) participated in the 2010 West Coast Model Arab League Conference April 9-11 at the University of San Francisco and continued an 18 year winning steak.
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CSUSB was awarded the top prize as outstanding delegation, along with UC Santa Barbara. This makes 18 outstanding delegation awards in 18 years of participation for CSUSB. Additionally, in the five committees that CSUSB served on at the conference, the delegation won four outstanding delegation committee awards. This was the largest number of outstanding delegation awards given to one delegation at the conference. CSUSB edged out UC Santa Barbara, UC Berkeley, USF, Mills College, CSU Stanislaus and other colleges and universities from the Western U.S. to gain these various top awards.
Additionally, because of their performance in San Francisco, the CSUSB Model Arab League students will be invited to participate in the 2011 National Model Arab League conference which is held in Washington D.C. every year. The Model Arab League conferences are sponsored by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations (NCUSAR), a non-governmental organization based in Washington D.C.
Megan Geissler, the program coordinator for the Model Arab League conferences nationwide, noted after the conferences that the CSUSB students were the most prepared and professional students that she had seen at any conference in the U.S. Similar remarks were made at the awards ceremony by all of the chairpersons for the various committees at the conference.
Those who made up this award-winning team were (with majors listed):
Alex Avila (English -- creative writing track)
Amer Bashir (political science)
Aycan Ebe (history -- teaching track)
Cari Gagner (economics)
Merlani Handayani (business admininistration -- accounting concentration)
Ghassan Hussein (Arabic language, literature, and culture)
Aevin Slavick (economics)
Jacob Yousif (business administration -- international business concentration)
Arika Khajeetoorians (M.A. interdisciplinary studies)
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All of the CSUSB students were new to the Model Arab League conference, which CSUSB faculty adviser Kevin Grisham believes makes their joint and individual accomplishments even more impressive.
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The topics they debated ranged from electoral reformation in the Arab world to methods to preserve water in the region to counterterrorism issues to the development of a common Arab economic market in the region. Many of the resolutions passed during the conference were authored by CSUSB students. More details are online concerning the conference agenda and the schools that participated.
Grisham credits the CSUSB Model UN and Model Arab League program successes to the support of the campus and the students at CSUSB. "Even as we end this academic year on Model Arab League and Model United Nations, we have already begun to prepare for next year," Grisham adds.
Students who may be interested in these programs for next year may contact Grisham at kgrisham@csusb.edu or by calling (909) 537-7569. Date: 4/14/2010
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