MUN Conference May 2010

On May 13th through the15th, I participated in the MUN Conference in Manhattan, NY. MUN stands for Model United Nations. The country I was representing was Equatorial Guinea. My partner and I were in the General Assembly 3rd Committee. This committee deals with social, humanitarian, and cultural affairs. Our topic was Responsibility to Protect AKA R2P. This is the idea that all countries have the obligation to ensure the basic human rights of their citizens. However, if the country fails to do so, the UN has the right to enter the country without the government's approval, and fix the problem. My country, Equatorial Guinea, did not support this idea. It strongly believed that all countries have the right to sovereignty, which is the ability to control what happens in its own territory. Only a handful countries were on our side. In the beginning, it was very hard to find countries that were either against the R2P principle or for it but want severe limitations put on it (if that makes sense o.O). Writing our position paper for this conference was harder than finding people on our side. We could barely find any information on Equatorial Guinea. A position paper should be at least a page long, but ours was barely half a page. See, look at it -> Position Paper. In case you're wondering, the picture at the top left corner is the ceiling of the conference room the 3rd committee was in. Pretty cool, isn't it?
The picture on the left is of a room within the UN building. This is where delegates from all over the world come to debate on world issues. The opening and closing ceremony of the MUN conference also took place here.

Sophomore Year Graudate Portfolio Essays

Within the Graduate Portfolio, there is something called the Graduate Profile. This is basically traits/characteristics that each student at CSIHSIS must acquire before graduating. Freshmen, Sophomores, and Juniors have to write an essay about two of the traits we grew the most is that year. This year, I became Literate for the 21st Century and Socially Prepared and Culturally Sensitive.

Check out my Graduate Profile Analysis Essay.

The second essay was based on the themes of sophomore year. These themes are Power, Service Learning/Contributing to Your Community, Understanding Diverse Perspectives, and Community Building. Like the first essay, we had to choose which theme we believed we had grown the most in throughout the year. I chose Understanding Diverse Perspectives.

Here is my Themes of Sophomore Year Reflection Essay.

I know these aren't the best essays in the world, but they're good enough for me.

My Graduate Portfolio

For the first three years of high school at College of Staten Island High School for International Studies, all of the students have to complete a end of the year project called, the Graduate Portfolio. This is my second year making one. The picture on the left is the cover of my Sophomore Portfolio. It was made by my good friend, Lori, on photoshop. This only took her one night to do!

The Graduate Portfolio is basically a binder containing two 3-5 page essays and at least ten artifacts that display our growth throughout the year. My portfolio turned out to be 45 pages long! I worked really hard on it, and received a 95%. I had points taken off for trivial things I didn't know I needed. I was on a trip the two days my advisor went over the the requirements for it. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining or anything, I'm quite happy with my grade.

I think CSIHSIS is the only school that does something like this, but I could be wrong. Although it was a nuisance, I had fun making my portfolio. I like to write, so the essays were easy. Some people complained that they couldn't write two pages. While I was able to write three and a half pages with little to no effort. These essays allowed me to reflect on my year academically, and see how much I changed from the beginning of my sophomore year.

Digital Story 3 Rubric

CLICK HERE to see my rubric!
I finally think I deserve a 40/40. My other Digital Stories were good, but this one, I think, was the best. I added a lot of video clips and even edited the background music to fit my narration!

Digital Story # 3

My third Digital Story is about the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984. I first learned about this event in my Living Environment class. On the night of December 2nd, 1984, a pesticide plant owned and operated by Union Carbide released methyl isocyanate gas and other toxins. Three hundred ninety tons of toxic chemicals were abandoned at the factory plant, and after twenty five years it still pollutes the groundwater. For more information in the Bhopal, India gas tragedy and/or to donate money CLICK HERE.
This video was my longest Digital Story so far. It was very frustrating to make for I had a million technical difficulties, but it was fun at the same time. I was able to use my creative writing skills to write a story based on these true events, and make it come to life!

Heaven to Hell - Nothing in Between ~Narrative~

It was December 2nd, 1984. Everyone was healthy, going on with their day like any other. Nothing was contaminated or deadly. They were all happy. I was happy. No one would have guessed that in less than twenty four hours all of that was going to change. The night of December 2nd, 1984 would be a night I would always remember.
I was in pain. I couldn't see or breathe. I thought I was dying. The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by death. I didn't know what was going on, or who was around me. Death, pain, and sorrow filled the air like the chemicals causing all of this. Harsh coughing, moans of pain, and people crying, praying for this to be over, could be heard everywhere. Dead bodies were being carried, white blankets were all over the ground, people laid quivering in pain... The sight was horrific.
It has been twenty five years, and that night still plagues us. Are we forever to remain in darkness? Will we ever see the light of dawn?

Digital Story Rubric

Check out my second Digital Story Rubric.