Contact: Sammy McDavid
Mississippi State University students are among the top participants at a regional conference simulating the world's leading organization for promoting international peace and security.
Seven members of the nine-person MSU team were awarded honorable mention--the equivalent of third place--in competition involving students from the more than 50 schools that gathered recently for the 2002 Southern Regional Model United Nations. Portraying various diplomatic officials of the key Middle Eastern nation of Kuwait, the Mississippi State participants were among some 500 at the annual Atlanta conference that seeks to promote a better understanding of critical world issues.
The seven Kuwait "delegates" included Matthew J. Aycock of Starkville, Lindsay B. Buffum of Byram, Kyle A. Frazier of Madison, Alexander Kupyna of Ternopil, Ukraine, Joshua W. Smith of Corinth, and Jennifer L. Phillips and Emily L. Sanford, both of Starkville. Aycock, Buffum and Kupyna are freshmen; Frazier and Smith, sophomores; Phillips, a junior; and Sanford, a senior.
Junior Nathan C. Alday, also of Byram, and sophomore Tonya Thornton of Florence were the others from MSU attending the Georgia gathering. Alday was elected president of the Model General Assembly, while Thornton was chosen rapporteur--the organizer and presenter of reports--for the Model African Union.
At the New York-based U.N., the General Assembly is the world organization's primary deliberative body, while the African Union is a recently revitalized U.N.-assisted organization formerly known as the Organization of African Unity.
Hannah E. Britton, an MSU assistant professor of political science, advises the student group. She also is adviser and coordinator of the Mississippi Model Security Council, the MSU-based statewide program now in its 23rd year that involves state high school and university students in simulating the workings of the U.N. Security Council.
Additional information on the team members . . .
Nathan Alday is an aerospace engineering major and the son of Mr. and Mrs. Kent Alday. He is a Terry High School graduate and a member of the University Honors Program at MSU.
Matthew Aycock is a computer engineering and international business double-major and a member of the University Honors Program at MSU. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Aycock and a Starkville High School graduate.
Lindsay Buffum is a political science major attending MSU as an Ottilie Schillig Leadership Scholar. A member of the University Honors Program, she is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Don Buffum and a Hillcrest Christian School graduate.
Kyle Frazier is a civil engineering major attending MSU as a Presidential Scholar. A member of the University Honors Program at MSU, he is a Madison Central High School graduate and the son of Esther Frazier and the late Terry Frazier.
Alexander Kupyna is an exchange student attending MSU through the Washington, D.C.-based International Research and Exchanges Board, a non-profit organization devoted to fostering democracy in societies that are undergoing governmental and institutional transition. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Mykola Kupyna.
Jennifer Phillips is a political science major and a member of the University Honors Program at MSU. A Starkville High School graduate, she is the daughter of Judith Phillips of Starkville and Ed Phillips of Columbus.
Emily Sanford is a biochemistry major attending MSU as an Ottilie Schillig Leadership Scholar. A member of the University Honors Program at MSU, she is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Ben Sanford and a Starkville High School graduate.
Joshua Smith, a political science major, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Rickey Smith and a graduate of Alcorn Central High School.
Tonya Thornton, a political science major, is the daughter of Deborah Thornton and a Brandon High School graduate.