Conference Policies

THE NINTH ANNUAL ALABAMA MODEL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE

ALMUN IX Conference Policies

SUBSTANTIVE POLICIES

Committee Assignments

We strive to assign committees as close to schools’ preferences as possible; however, committees, specifically crisis committees, have a limited number of positions to fill.

Committees will be assigned to schools so that:
(a) Preferences for committee assignments as submitted by schools will be recorded at the time of registration

and will be taken into account as appropriate;
(b) Schools that register early (before October 1, 2016) will receive priority;
(c) Schools that register early will receive assignments no later than November 1, 2016;
(d) Schools that register after priority-registration closes will be assigned countries on a rolling basis, until

registration closes on January 15, 2017.

Country Assignments

Country roles for General Assembly committees will be assigned to schools so that:
(a) A school has the ability to represent a specific country or set of countries across multiple or all GA

committees, with the purpose of easing the process of delegate preparation and training, and
(i) Assignment of countries across multiple or all GA committees will occur as available and

appropriate, based on registration numbers, and most importantly will occur after and align

with schools’ committee assignments;
(b) Preferences for country assignments as submitted by schools will be taken into account as appropriate;
(c) Schools that register early will receive priority;
(d) Schools that register after priority-registration closes will be assigned countries on a rolling basis,

until registration closes; and
(e) Schools have the responsibility to report back to ALMUN the name and information of the individual

delegates being slotted to represent assigned countries in assigned committees.

Pre-written Resolution and Directives Policy

In all General Assembly committees, no pre-written resolutions or clauses are allowed under any circumstances. This includes any and all written work that occurs prior to the beginning of the conference and written work created during recess throughout the duration of the conference. The only written information allowed in committee consists of position papers and individual research.

In all Crisis Committees, no pre-written work prior to the conference is allowed. This includes both personal and committee directives.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism will not be tolerated at ALMUN IX. Plagiarism is defined as the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own. While research prior to the conference is highly encouraged to better understand one’s committee and assigned role, this research should not manifest in the copying and pasting of academic sources, previously written directives or resolutions from other conferences, or other material. Plagiarism will be continuously monitored throughout the conference by ALMUN staff, including the dais of each committee as resolutions, directives, and other written material are submitted throughout the conference.

If a student or sponsor is concerned about a suspected incident of plagiarism, they should report the incident immediately to Secretariat, who will investigate their claims in a timely manner in collaboration with the dais. As plagiarism is absolutely not tolerated, a confirmed incident of plagiarism is reasonable ground to bar students from award eligibility, or from the conference entirely.

Technology

To ensure a focus on debate and a level playing field for all delegates at ALMUN IX, no technology will be allowed inside the committee room. Technology includes computers, tablets, cell phones, and other devices that access the internet or type written material. ALMUN staff will type up all paper submitted resolutions or directives. Outside the committee room, delegates may only use technology for basic individual research.

Awards Policy

The staff of a committee will determine the awards for the individual delegates within a committee. Awards are determined based on the following characteristics:
(a) Accurate foreign policy positions;
(b) Ability to cooperate and collaborate with other delegates;
(c) Participation in forming a resolution;
(d) Negotiation skills;
(e) Rhetoric;
(f) Use of procedure;

(g) General respect for other delegates and the dais.

The awards for individual delegates are as follows:
(a) Best Delegate;
(b) Outstanding Delegate*;
(c) Honorable Mention*;
(d) Verbal Commendation*;
(e) Best Position Paper
(i) This award is determined by staff prior to conference in order to avoid bias from seeing the

delegates’ performances during the conference.

*The number of these awards will be determined by the size of the committee.

Delegation Awards

Delegations are awarded via a points-based system that takes into account how the entirety of the delegation performed and the size of the delegation.

The awards for delegations* are as follows:

(a) Best Large Delegation
(b) Best Small Delegation
(c) Outstanding Large Delegation
(d) Outstanding Small Delegation

*Delegations will be separated into large and small categories at the closing of registration on January 20th when all delegation sizes are confirmed. At that point, the delegations will be ordered from smallest to largest by delegate count and we will find the median delegation size. For this reason, schools should not try to anticipate this cutoff in advance. At check-in, schools will be notified which delegation category they fall into.

The following points system will be used in order to calculate delegation awards:

Best Delegate- 5 points
Outstanding Delegate- 4 Points
Honorable Mention- 3 Points
Verbal Commendation- 2 Points
Position Paper Award- 1 Point
Delegation Value = Delegation Point Total/Delegation Total Number of Delegates

STUDENT CONDUCT POLICIES

Students are expected to be on their best behavior at ALMUN in order to allow for a suitable learning environment for all delegates in the spirit of diplomacy.

Delegates are asked to signed a Delegate Code of Conduct preceding their participation at ALMUN IX. If a delegate fails to turn in their signed copy of the Delegate Code of Conduct, they will be unable to participate at ALMUN IX. The Delegate Code of Conduct will be made available no later than November 1st.

Students that are disruptive in committee or otherwise violate the Delegate Code of Conduct will be dealt with in the following manner:
1. The committee dais will first attempt to correct the misbehavior and handle the situation fairly

and respectfully.
2. If the delegate continues to disrupt to committee or remain a problem for committee staff, the dais will

involve Secretariat, and firstly will contact the Under-Secretary-General of Committees of either

General Assemblies or Crisis Committees.
3. Once the Under-Secretary-General has intervened, if the delegate remains disruptive, then the

Secretary-General and Director-General of ALMUN will be notified and will talk to the delegate’s sponsor

about their behavior.
4. If after the sponsor has been involved, the delegate’s behavior has still not improved and remains

disruptive, depending on the seriousness of the misbehavior, the following sanctions may occur:
5. Removal of award eligibility
6. Expulsion from the conference
*If sponsors, delegates, or parents have questions regarding Student Conduct Policies, please contact Whitney Cravens, Secretary-General, at almun.sg@gmail.com.

PAYMENT POLICIES

All payments of registration fees, conference T-shirt purchases, and food order purchases should be made by paper check made out to “Alabama International Relations Club”, mailed to the Capstone International Center at the following address:

1831 University Station
Box 870254
Tuscaloosa, AL 35487.

Mail containing payments to the AIRC should be postmarked by January 20th at the latest.

Payment Policies:

Partial payments will be accepted, as long as registration payment is made in full by January 20th. January 20th is the last date that the check must be postmarked by.
All payment and registration deadlines must be followed to ensure a fantastic conference experience.

Refund Policy:

In the event of withdrawal from the conference, the following refund schedule will be followed:
January 1, 2016: All per-delegate fees fully refunded
January 20, 2016: ½ of per-delegate fees refunded
February 1, 2016: ¼ of per-delegate fees refunded

Any questions about payment policies may be directed to Jake Miller at almun.finance@gmail.com.

ADDITIONAL POLICIES

Dress Code

At ALMUN IX, delegates are expected to wear Western Business Attire (WBA) while in committee. For men, this could include a professional suit, tie, and dress shoes; for women, WBA could include a professional dress, slacks, blazer, or blouse/skirt combination.

Delegates are required to keep their name lanyards on during committee sessions and while on the University of Alabama’s campus.

Sponsor Requirements

We strive to maintain decorum as to allow for a safe, secure, fun, and educational environment at ALMUN IX. We ask that school sponsors help us achieve this environment on behalf of their students and schools by adhering to the following requirements:

1. All delegations must have at least one sponsor present at the conference to chaperone its delegates.
2. We require a student to sponsor ratio of no higher than 30:1. If your delegation exceeds this ratio,

please bring an additional sponsor in order to ensure delegate safety and decorum at the conference.
3. Additional sponsors do not need to be teachers or faculty of the school (they may be parents or

guardians), but schools should be aware that a parent or guardian is helping to chaperone a group of

students as a representative of their school.

Security Policies

As always, the safety and security of all ALMUN participants is of critical importance to ALMUN Secretariat. Below are the security policies applicable to all ALMUN delegates and sponsors.

1. Conference staff will be available at all times securing the buildings and addressing any security concerns

as they arise.
2. All sponsors are responsible for the safety and well-being of their delegates at all times during the conference.
3. Students are the responsibility of their sponsors for any off campus excursions.
4. Committee chairs will take attendance at the beginning of every committee session. If any delegate is

absent, their sponsors will be notified. If there is a need for any delegates to miss or leave a

committee session early, their sponsor must provide written permission to both the Chair of the

committee and ALMUN IX Secretariat.
5. After dusk, each delegate must be accompanied by a sponsor on campus if they venture outside of

conference space.
6. ALMUN IX staff will be available to provide a constant line of communication to ensure that any

security needs that arise are quickly addressed, so that delegates can maximize their MUN experience.
* While ALMUN IX staff will make every effort to ensure the safety of all participants, however, we ask for delegations to exercise sound judgement, to always be aware of their surroundings, and to dial 9/11 in the event of an emergency.