For some students, a typical Wednesday evening might include watching “American Idol,” playing Frisbee or doing some last-minute course reading. For a few, Wednesday nights are Model United Nations nights, when a small group of dedicated Luther students meet to discuss current world news and learn about foreign countries.

Model UN is a club at Luther. The group meets bi-monthly to plan and organize for Model UN conferences held once a semester. A Model UN conference is comprised of many different schools from across the country and world, coming together to simulate a United Nations experience. Each school researches and represents an assigned country and voices the concerns and opinions of that particular country.

“You’re assigned a country, you have to research that country and find out what its point of view is,” said George Shardlow (‘09), a member of the group. “Then you go to a conference and basically mimic all the procedures of the UN and try to say and do what an actual representative from that country would say and do.”

The Model UN club at Luther was formed in the fall of 2006. Manu Ramkumar (‘10) and a 2007 Luther graduate recruited a couple of other students to attend a Model UN conference at Harvard University.

When the students returned from the conference they shared their experiences and recruited more members. Late last fall, the group spent a weekend in Chicago debating and compromising as the country of Nepal.

Andrew Peterson (‘10) was one of the original four members and now serves as co-president and co-founder.

“The group started with four students and has since grown into a membership of 20 and counting,” said Peterson.

Model UN is a way to stay or become informed on events happening outside the United States.

“I think it has become a necessity to know about what’s going on in the world, so that you are better equipped wherever you go and work,” said Ramkumar. “People are not restricted to working in their countries nowadays … extra knowledge of what’s going on in other parts of the world … is always an added benefit.”

There will be a conference at St. Cloud State University (Minn.) in mid-April, and a Model UN forum will be held after the conference for interested students and faculty to learn more about a Model UN conference.

As a new group on campus, Model UN has faced some challenges.

“Finding the funds to attend conferences has been our biggest battle,” said Peterson. “We are working to set up a permanent fund for Model UN, and hope we can achieve that soon. Thankfully, there seems to be a broad interest in the activity, as we have had new members at nearly all, if not all, of our meetings.”

John Moeller, professor of political science, gave some insight into the reason behind these difficulties.

“There are a few spots on campus that have been able to provide some financial support,” said Moeller. “I think it would be good for the college to provide more solid financial support, but in all fairness … there is a finite pool of money and a finite pool of faculty, and there are a lot of interests wanting funding out there.”

The group is, however, recognized as important and deserving of the college’s resources.

“Anything that encourages students to think more seriously and deeply about contemporary political problems is good,” said Moeller. “One of the positives of a program like this is it requires students at a level beyond the average late-night conversation. To do well, you have to become more expert in the problems facing the world.”

In order to continue being an effective and valuable group to campus, new people are necessary.

“Whether you have previous experience in Model UN or not, we encourage anyone interested in learning about the United Nations, its member states and international diplomacy to come check us out,” said Peterson.

Model UN meets Wednesday in Olin at 8:30 p.m. twice a month. For more information, visit their group on Facebook.