COVID-19 has ceased in-school learning across New Jersey indefinitely, and because of this, SPFHS’s clubs have been slowed to a grinding halt. With large public gatherings outlawed for fear of spread, and because of school policies towards fundraising, many of the school’s clubs can not properly function for the foreseeable future, and one such club is Model U.N.
“We briefly started a GoFundMe to collect funds in order to make attending our yearly conference at Hershey Lodge cheaper as many families are facing the threat of reduced income.” said Junior Miles Roper, A youth secretariat for MUN. “However, this idea was very short-lived as due to what was essentially hasty actions on my part, we failed to realize that our school does not support online fundraising.”
Miles did state that this time of the year is considered by many to be the “off-season,” however, the club still planning multiple fundraisers for their annual Hershey Lodge meeting in January before schools were closed. In addition to a lack of funds, Model U.N. could be faced with a drastically different conference due to COVID-19.
“I imagine that our yearly conference will be significantly impacted since during a regular year it hosts more than 2,000 participants from New Jersey and Pennsylvania.” said Roper. “This may be in the form of mandating face masks, social distancing measures, or even reducing the magnitude of the event itself.”
While no changes to the Hershey Conference have been confirmed, the ambiguity of COVID-19’s lasting presence leaves Model U.N.’s future activities uncertain. Should schools reopen in September, students should keep an eye out for fundraisers hosted by Model U.N., because now more then ever they need the support.