Local High Schools simulate world nuclear threat summit at St. Norbert College

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From St. Norbert College, February 23, 2010
by Mike Counter, mike.counter@snc.edu, (920) 403-3089

On Monday, March 1 St. Norbert College, De Pere High School, and CESA 7 will sponsor an international role playing simulation for teams from 12 local high schools. The event will be held in the Bemis International Center located on Third Street.at St. Norbert College. This year the theme of the simulation is a "World Nuclear Threat Summit." This theme is particularly appropriate, in that, there will actually be a World Nuclear Threat Summit hosted by the United States in latter March or early April.
The school teams began to prepare to represent their "new" countries in January by learning more about the countries that they would represent, particularly about their new countries' positions on the key issues of (1) peaceful use of nuclear power, (2) non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and (3) exposure of nuclear weapons grade material to terrorist organizations or rogue states. More recently the teams have had to assimilate rules of the conference, issues such as communications security (since they are playing high-level negotiating teams), how to deal with the world Press Corps, and even how to deal with possible demonstrators, who might interrupt the conference simulation.
In the recent past, the annual simulation has gained so much notoriety, that St. Norbert College has been asked to export this unique event to other institutions of higher learning such as UW-Madison and the University of Pittsburgh.
Schedule of Events at St. Norbert College on March 1

8:15:-8:30 a.m. Sign in by schools (12 local High Schools participating)

8:30-9:00 a.m. Lecture on the current world political situation (Wendy Scattergood, assistant professor of political Science at St. Norbert.)

9:00-9:30 a.m. Lecture on nuclear power and weaponry (Mike Olson, assistant professor of physics at St. Norbert.)

9:30-9:45 a.m. Official welcome (Bridget O'Connor, vice president of enrollment management and communications)

9:45-10:15 a.m. Breakout by country to formulate official initial position statements. (Good opportunity for media interviews and pictures/video)

10:15-10:30 a.m. Break and enter conference summit area.

10:30-12:45 p.m. Summit conference

12:45-1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30-2:30 p.m. Evaluation and critique