DISC

Welcome to DISC! Your vice chairs would like to welcome you to the DISC blog and look forward to spending three days with you that we guarantee will be fun-filled and intellectually stimulating. First, we’d like to introduce ourselves:

Hello MUNers! My name is Julius Chen and I’ll be one of your vice chairs for BMUN 56. I’m a second year here at Cal and this is also my second year in BMUN. I’m planning to major in Economics and complete Pre-Med studies as well. Reading that probably makes you think that I don’t have much free time, but I make the most of it by hanging out with friends, cheering for Cal football, and exploring new places in the Bay Area. I’m very excited to be chairing DISC this year. Feel free to contact me via e-mail at jlchen@berkeley.edu if you have any questions, whether it’s regarding the conference or college in general. I’d be happy to get to know you a little before the conference and look forward to seeing you all in March. Good luck preparing!

Hi everyone! I’m Annie Sui. As the only chair without a “J” initial in her name, I feel that I should properly represent myself here. This is my first year at Berkeley, and I am so glad to be here! I’m an intended English major (my grandfather was an English professor in China), which means that there are always stacks upon stacks of books on my desk. My previous experience as a delegate largely involved committees dealing with nuclear terrorism and the like. I have the same birthday as Oprah, but she’s probably cooler than I am. Be incredibly well prepared on March 14-16, but also remember to have fun! (Please?)

These are the general topics that need to be covered in your position paper:1. Topic Description (There has been some confusion about what the topic is: The topics for DISC 2008 are

“Establishment of a Nuclear Free Zone in the Middle East” and “Threat of Nuclear Terrorism̶

2. Past United Nations Action

3. Delegation Policy

4. Proposed Solutions

1. Make sure that you are able to explain the topic and identify key countries invovled.   In this section you should look at the topic from a general perspective and not focus on what your particular country has  to say about the issue

2. This section involves past UN action in regards to the topic.  Have their been any resolutions passed, or is debate ongoing, etc., what exactly has been the UN’s role on the issue.

3. Where does your country stand.  Have they initiated any efforts towards solving the problem?  Have they proposed solutions or try to pass resolutions?

4. What do you think needs to be done to solve the problem?  It is important that your proposed solution is consistent with past policy.  But this is the section where you need to be creative and come up with ideas and solutions that are feasible.
Final Note:  What we want to see in your position papers are a heavier emphasis on Delegation policy and Proposed Solutions.  In DISC this year it will be crucial that every country has their own policy, and is able to debate and discuss their ideas with other countries.

Have fun with these papers.  Try to learn as much as you can about your own country’s policies, but if you have time, it never hurts to look at what other country’s are proposing.

Dear Delegates,

It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to the DISC 2008 Blogs. This site will be used to update information in regards to position papers, websites you should visit for research, news updates, and the general structure for committee. My name is Rohit Jain and I will be the head chair for DISC this year. Please feel free to leave posts on this site if you have any questions or concerns. Check back frequently for updates. We will try to update our blogs once a week at the least. I look forward to meeting you at the conference!

Also if anyone has questions about Berkeley or anything not directly conference related, still feel free to leave a post. We’ll do our best to answer any questions. Good Luck with position papers!