“BREAKING NEWS: Dementors loose in London, attacks on muggles suspected. Hogwarts student Harry Potter claims he was attacked.” “BREAKING NEWS: Umbridge and cat sex tape released.”
Those were just some of the situations Carleton students faced at a Harry Potter–themed crisis simulation staged by the Carleton Model United Nations team (MUN) fall term in an effort to entice new members.
At an elaborate summit of Ministry of Magic officials, participants chose roles from a list of familiar names like Dolores Umbridge, Bill Weasley, and Albus Dumbledore. Some students came dressed in business attire; others were draped in cloaks and robes and wore outlandish hats. Motions put forward dealt with topics like muggle awareness, misuse of magic, and rumors of
the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
“Real crises tend to be more straightforward and work with policy and creating legislation instead of the mad antics we undertook,” says Kabir Sarjan ’16 (Hong Kong), a leader in MUN and a member of the International Relations Council Board, which sponsored the event.
Still, the fast-paced structure of the practice simulation demonstrated MUN’s well-thought-out machinations. Notes with secret deals and unspoken initiatives rapidly changed hands, speeches were given, and directives voted upon.
The combination of silly and serious was welcoming and effective, says newcomer Wilson Josephson ’16 (Henniker, N.H). “I’ll be keeping my eye out for other crisis events in the future.”
In the meantime, before MUN’s Ministry of Magic meeting adjourned, participants had passed a motion changing the name of Hogwarts to DragonFireFlameSwag.