Esteemed Delegates of the Ad Hoc Committee,

John Sigmier

Allow me to welcome you to Harvard National Model United Nations 2012 and the Ad Hoc Committee!  My name is John Sigmier, and I will be your committee director when we convene this February to discuss a unique set of issues that you will learn about as the conference draws nearer.  I am from Cleveland, Ohio, and am a rising senior living in Kirkland House, where I spend most of my time eating, sleeping, and exploring the mysteries of the Classics and Archaeology.  When I am not studying or subsisting, I work in the offices of two archaeological excavations that are based out of Harvard museums, fill various roles for our International Relations Council, and play the flute.  I will be spending my summer in Turkey, digging up a part of the ancient Lydian capital of Sardis and attempting to prepare background materials for this committee.

I am very much looking forward to directing the Ad Hoc Committee this year; I also directed the Ad Hoc last year, and enjoyed it enough to take on the task of running it one last time.  I am confident that this year’s Ad Hoc, though it will be quite different from last year’s, will be equally fun, and that it will be a worthwhile experience for all involved.  Since I will be graduating next year, this will be the last committee that I will have the privilege of staffing at HNMUN, and I intend to end on a high note; my staff and I are busy preparing what will be without question the most innovative and dynamic crises that I have ever worked with.  All they require is your thoughtful engagement to get them going.

I am excited to meet and work with you at HNMUN 2012.  Between then and now, I will be busy designing our committee and working to make sure that it will be an interesting and engaging simulation.  Although our topics will remain a mystery for the time being, I encourage you to consider carefully the preparatory materials that you will be receiving as February approaches.  Our staff will do its best to construct a realistic committee experience for you, but it is the enthusiasm and dedication that you will bring into the committee room that will make the experience worthwhile.  If you have any questions, or even if you just want to introduce yourself before conference, please feel free to contact me.  Until then, good luck with your studies and your preparations for HNMUN 2012!

Sincerely,

John  Sigmier
Director, Ad Hoc Committee
Harvard National Model United Nations 2012

Four figures sit, hunched and brooding over the papers before them on the table, silently contemplating the magnitude of the issues at hand.  With the stroke of a pen, each could alter the lives of thousands, set the course of nations, and craft the unfurling narrative of history itself.  Theirs is a storied fraternity, whose members have time and time again grasped at glory and the attention of the world, but at times it is lonely, and their task can be a thankless one.  The blank stares of the portraits on the wall offer little in the way of solace or sympathy.

Through the window, the sun can be seen to be rising, marking the beginning of a new day, just as it has with obstinate regularity every day since the very beginning of human memory.  In this, at least, there is some reassurance: no matter what decisions are made, in ten years, one hundred years, or even one thousand years, the sun will still be rising, just as it did ten, one hundred, and one thousand years ago.  The sun is constant; today’s decisions could rock the foundations of civilization, but they will not extinguish the sun.  One by one, the figures rise, walk to the window, and silently gaze out.

The papers on the table are full of urgency and tragedy, storm and stress, and they scream for attention in the growing light of the morning.  At the appointed hour, the door opens, and slowly a small group files in.  Buttoned up and somber, they exchange greetings and take their seats around the table.  More papers are produced, and water is fetched.  Gradually, the room falls silent.  The sun climbs higher.  The four figures turn, and resume their seats.