Decorum, Please!

Currently blogging from a world class Model UN Conference, MUNUC, or Model United Nations of the University of Chicago, I am astounded. Hundreds of delegates are gathered together to discuss relevant and extremely complex global issues, and the diversity and urgency of the ideas swirling around me are palpable.

However, it is something more basic and mundane yet undoubtedly essential that is especially piquing my interest. It is the strict and sturdy structure of the Model UN committees I have witnessed that has actually left me with many questions. The officials in charge of keeping order in the committee, also called the “dais”, have been extremely prone to banging their gavels repeatedly almost every few minutes, demanding “decorum”, or a strict adherence to the rules of parliamentary procedure, which is the specific protocol to be followed during the debate forums at Model UN conferences. And they don’t do this at discrete or convenient times. They do it in the middle of somebody’s speech, or when people start laughing a bit.

In essence, most natural exchange of thoughts is being constricted by the pathways delineated by parliamentary protocol, such as making motions, giving speeches which normally last for 30 seconds to a minute, and hosting chaotic unmoderated caucuses. The flow of the debate is unnatural.

Sure, I can definitely see the merits of the strict structure of Model UN. While our committee is relatively small with only about 30 to 40 delegations represented, some of the larger committees can include hundreds of delegations, making such protocol necessary to ensure that the voices of all countries can be heard in an orderly and civilized manner. However, I cannot help but wonder if jumping through all the rigidly-set hoops is what keeps us in committee for four hours at a time, twice a day, with hardly anything getting done. And I also wonder if all the components of parliamentary procedure are necessary in this day and age. For example, the chairperson of my committee repeatedly corrected people for using the term “caucus” instead of the more accurate term “informal session”... Really?

I’m sure some happy medium exists between structure and the free exchange of ideas, but I am curious to hear where you all think it is located. Especially since actual institutions, like the real United Nations, operate through the structure I am experiencing this weekend.