SOCHUM BMUN LXVII

Article: How to Manage Urban Growth in Pakistan Panoramic cityscape of Karachi in Pakistan.  Karachi’s urbanization has had a physical impact on surrounding cities,  creating sprawling and underleveraged agglomerations Credit: World Bank Hey Delegates! I hope everyone is having a great kick-off to the new year. This is Lucia here and I'm excited to share with you all an article our team found that will help color your understanding into one of the areas of our second topic, overpopulation. You can find the article here . In brief, this article details the challenges of rapid urban development in the cities of Pakistan and highlights the toll of urban agglomerations on the country's development. Concerns over job growth, prosperity and livability are all key issues that keep economists, politicians and problem-solvers alike, up at night. To put the extent of Pakistan's rapid urban expansion into perspective, "Pakistan faced an urban housing shor...

Hi guys! Here's a quick rundown of what the dais will be looking for in your position papers. I'll only be going over some of the important aspects from the position paper guide, so please take a look at this first! Firstly,  I received a few emails asking this question, so I wanted to clear this up: for double delegations it doesn't matter how you split up the work .  One person can take one topic, or you can work on both topics together. However, I advise that both members of the delegation be prepared to debate on both topics: it's important for dual delegations that both of you are contributing and speaking throughout debate, not just for a particular topic. BMUN position papers include 4 sections: Past and Current International Action Common mistakes:  Only summarizing/restating the topic synopsis and not doing further research  Putting country policy here rather than international policy Country Policy Common mistakes: Leaving this sectio...

In 2015, Wang Quanzhang was among 709 political activists incarcerated for acting against the government of China and promoting human rights within the country. Wang specialized in defending political activists and victims of land seizures, as well as representing banned religious groups in the country. Wang's case stands out from the other activists as he was held in detention for three and a half years before being sentenced to another four and a half years in prison, prompting UN human rights groups to call for his release. Human rights groups like Amnesty International China have spoken out against the sentencing, calling it unfair and unjust, as no real crime was committed; still, Wang was imprisoned for 'subverting state power,' though he was peacefully standing against human rights abuses in China. Part of Wang's sentence stems from his involvement with the organization China Action, which focuses on training lawyers and providing legal representation to t...

Hello! My name is Edward Kang, and I am one of your vice chairs for SOCHUM. I am a sophomore at Berkeley majoring in Rhetoric (and something else)... and this is my second year in BMUN! At Cal and in the area, I am part of the campus film fraternity Delta Kappa Alpha, I interned at the political consulting company Storefront Political Media last semester, and I was part of Haas Undergraduate Research Assistant Program for behavioral studies two semesters ago. For fun, I like to play with my various cats. Food.  If you have any questions about anything, feel free to contact me at ekang@bmun.org. 

Hello delegates! I am Yuki Bian, and I am so excited to be one of your vice-chairs in SOCHUM for BMUN 67! I am a Freshman intending to major in Political Science and Cognitive Science. This is my first year at BMUN, so I really look forward to talking to you and hearing your inspiring debates in this March. Aside from BMUN, I am also an associate in Senator James Li's Office at ASUC (Cal's student government). I work there to promote cultural exchange between Cal's East Asian community and help every international students gain a better college experience at Cal. As an international student from Shanghai, China, I am so curious about your insights on issues about human rights and overpopulation. Please feel free to reach out to us if you have any question about college or BMUN. I look forward to meeting each one of you! ☺💖

Hey Everyone! I'm Lucia and I'll be one of your vice chairs this year in SOCHUM for BMUN 67. I'm really excited for another fantastic year and look forward to getting to know all of you. Sadly, this is my final year at Cal and I'll be graduating from Berkeley this Spring. Currently, I'm studying Economics and Business Administration and will be sticking around the Bay Area after graduation. This also happens to be my fourth and final year in BMUN, having previously been a part of our Chinese State Council, UNHRC and SPECPOL committees.  When I'm not working on BMUN, you can find me baking or watching the Bachelor. Aside from my questionable reality TV tastes, most of my professional experiences have been centered around technology so please feel free to reach out with any questions, or just to talk :)  Be on the lookout for most posts and get hyped for conference!

Hi everyone! My name is Ryan Fiorito, and I am one of your vice chairs for SOCHUM at BMUN 67! I am currently a freshman at Cal hoping to major in Psychology and Political Science. This is my first year in BMUN, but this will be my fifth year being a part of a MUN program! At Berkeley, I am also a member of a foreign service and international relations fraternity, Delta Phi Epsilon, but I'm still expanding my horizons and looking for new things to try out! If you have any questions about life at Cal, feel free to reach out at sochumlxvii@bmun.org . Outside of academics, I love to thrift and have spent far too much money at stores around campus.  I am an avid listener of Beyonce and Sza, and you will probably see me caffeinated at all times. I can't wait to meet you all, and please feel free to introduce yourselves at any time!

Hello delegates! My name is Joanne Qi, and I am delighted and excited to be your head chair for SOCHUM at BMUN 67! I'm a junior at Berkeley studying electrical engineering and computer science, with a minor in art history. This is my third year as a member of BMUN (previously, I was a chair for NGO Forum and UNDELC) and my seventh year in the MUN community. Outside of BMUN, I am a member of ANova, a teaching organization that goes to under-resourced schools in the Bay Area to teach computer science. (Mild plug: if you want to learn more about computer science, come to Anova Hacks !) If you have any questions about CS at Berkeley and all the opportunities available on campus, please don't hesitate to reach out at sochumlxvii@bmun.org . In my free time, I like playing board games, drawing, and going to concerts! Some of my favorite games are Avalon and Ascension, and some of the artists I've been lucky enough to see live are Childish Gambino, Bleachers, and Rina Sawa...

Hello delegates! Who's excited for BMUN 67, because we sure are! This year, the Third Committee on Social, Cultural, and Humanitarian Affairs will be revisiting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , as well as addressing population mitigation in Asia . The topic synopsis is up here on the BMUN website. The synopsis is a great place to start your research, as both topics we are discussing this year can be taken in many different directions. We believe that the more you delve into these topics, the more you will understand and appreciate the intricacies of human rights, population policy, and so much more.  Also, make sure you read our position paper guidelines (which have changed from past BMUNs for those of you returning) which are also on the website.  If you have any questions during your research, please don't hesitate to email our committee at sochumlxvii@bmun.org :) We're always here to help and answer questions. Good luck! Sincerely, Joanne Qi H...