design: Natalia Favila Inacua
photo: Nick Woolard
Model UN Summit
The annual Olentangy Model United Nations summit takes place on Feb. 18-19. It’s taking place at the high school this year, which differs from past summits in banquet halls.
OMUN is a district-wide club where students receive a country to represent and research problems they have in order to come up with a possible solution. Then, these solutions are presented at the summit where students vote on them.
“At each summit we research and debate about problems around the world. We also have fun activities like trivia and cultural karaoke,” Vice President and senior Neil Hariths said.
Over the years, new activities have been added to heighten the experience. These activities allow students to be creative and have fun with other students who aren’t in their country groups.
“This year we have a brand new event. The exact rules of the event will be revealed at the summit, but it should be fun, exciting, and get everyone involved. People should look forward to meeting new friends, learning about the world, and having a ton of fun,” Hariths said.
Students have been preparing for this weekend all year so far and the new growth of the club can be attributed to more people joining. School ambassadors help guide new students through the steps needed before the summit.
“For my position I just teach club members how to research and prepare for the summit,” Orange and Liberty High School Ambassador, and senior Aanya Tummalapalli said. “I also help coordinate meetings at the school and provide resources for students to use.”
This allows for a smooth transition for everyone into the weekend of the summit.
Performing art’s performances
The orchestra, choir, and band programs have an eventful spring ahead. The school’s acapella choir, Above the Noise, has its quarterfinals for the International Championship of High School Acapella on March 4, at Hillard Bradley High School.
“We have class every day, so we rehearse every day and a lot on weekends. We’ve been getting new music almost every week and plowing through it as fast as we can,” Above the Noise member and junior Janhavi Kavedia said. “We’ve also had to learn choreo and work on costumes.”
Orchestra’s solo and ensemble contest was Jan. 28, and it had a “pre-contest” concert on Feb. 9. The actual full group contest on Feb. 17.
“To prepare for solo and ensemble we take one day a week of class time to practice with our groups. I’m in a quintet, so I practice with four other people in the chamber orchestra,” senior Kaleb Durate said. “We’re strongly encouraged to practice outside of class so we’ve done a couple after school rehearsals as well.”
Band’s upcoming performances consist of two concerts: one on March 1, at 7:30 p.m., and another on April 11. It also had solo and ensemble performances for those who participated on Jan.28 as well, but the whole group contest isn’t until later in March.
“If we receive a high enough score, we will move onto the state competition which is on April 21 or 22. To prepare in class we are just rehearsing and running through our songs, as well as practicing scales and sightreading,” junior Maggie Peng said.
