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MC sends birthday
greetings
to its friends at the
United Nations
Members of the Manchester College community
have sent a birthday banner of personalized greetings to the United
Nations, which marked its 61st anniversary on Oct. 24, 2006.
Students, faculty and staff signed the banner Monday, and shipped it off
to the United Nations.
 Manchester is the only college in the United
States to hold permanent observer status with the United Nations, as a
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). The status gives Manchester College
representatives access to UN proceedings and, with permission,
opportunity to actively debate issues on the floor of the UN General
Assembly.
Manchester graduate Andrew Cordier, who
taught history at MC from 1926 to 1944, was a principal architect of the
United Nations. Rooted in the tradition of the Church of the Brethren,
Manchester College seeks to develop an international consciousness.
The college is an international community in
itself with students from 26 countries. Flags of all of the students’
countries, including of the United Nation, are always on display in the
main hall of the Administration Building.
The United Nations – formed on Oct. 24, 1945
– is designed in principle to promote international cooperation and to
provide means for global problem solving (human rights abuses, race and
ethnic conflict, economic cooperation) through open communications. In
1971, the General Assembly recommended that its members observe Oct. 24th
as a holiday.
Manchester College also is home to a Model
United Nations, with a goal of preparing a new generation of leaders who
could make this world a better place. “Our students gain valuable
skills, such as communication and conflict resolution, as well as
working knowledge of international diplomacy and negotiation,” said
program director,
Dr. Benson Onyeji.
Students in this program attend regional and
national Model United Nations conferences such as the Indiana Consortium
for International Programs Model United Nations Security Council, and
the Harvard University National Model United Nations. |
