Sharpstown International School's Model United Nations (SISMUN) has been on campus for 10+ years, impacting the culture of our student body. Because our campus lacks UIL sponsored sports, MUN became an outlet for many students to shine and show their talents. Having it as a class makes it accessible for students that can't stay afterschool because of transportation issues or other family responsibilities. 

The purpose of MUN is to raise awareness on political issues worldwide while at the same time allowing students to find themselves and grow in their public speaking abilities. During it's time at Sharpstown International, the MUN program has attended multiple conferences in San Antonio, Washington D.C, Austin, and Georgetown, having multiple delegates outperform the rest and representing our school greatly. 

The benefits of the MUN program are endless, but one of the greatest accomplishments is the amount of students that have made it through the MUN curriculum and graduated high school to attend Ivy League institutions. Devin Guevara, a former Secretary-General, is currently attending Harvard University. Claire Betzer, also part of the MUN Secretariat, is at Dartmouth College. Other MUN students have attended colleges such as USC, Yale, Colgate, Carleton, St. Andrews (in Scotland), and Rice. 

Sharpstown International (part of the magnet program) taking away one of the STAPLES of the concept of International Affairs is taking a step backwards. Even though the International Baccalaureate program is now fully instituted on campus, it is only for highly-achieving students, while MUN has been available for each and every single student on our campus. 

Overall, the decision to take off MUN as a class is baffling, considering that the school culture of SIS has revolved heavily around it. We are now advocating against a change that will impact the future of our school. This change is taking away a tremendous opportunity from students that cannot be replaced with something better. Taking this away is depriving many first-generation students from an opportunity to grow.