Today was a full committee day from 9:30 am to 6 p.m. with only two breaks: one for lunch and a short 15-minute afternoon break. Your delegates have been hard at work in their committees making speeches, writing resolutions with delegates from other schools, presenting these resolutions with their co-sponsors, answering questions about the resolutions they made, and fluctuating between unmoderated and moderated caucuses as they solve the issues presented to them by their committees.

Our first six delegates below all represent Ecuador in their respective committees.

• Zak, in the Economic and Finance Committee, is tackling the issues of Cryptocurrency and Government Regulation, as well as Development Economies and the Global Poverty Trap.  
• Lauren, in the Special Political Committee, is debating the issues of Disputes in the Arctic Circle and Oceans, Deep Water, and Trenches: An International Ambiguity of Sovereignty, which deals with deep sea mining and drilling.
• Dallas, in the Disarmament and International Security Committee, is discussing Restrictions and Regulations on Humanitarian Aid and Transnational Organized Crime, Drugs, and Violence.
• Sofia, in the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, worked with her fellow delegates to strategize how to mitigate the effects of rising sea levels and volcanic activity.
• Jack, in the World Health Organization, is helping decide how to combat the Rise in Childhood Obesity and the Ebola Outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
• Victoria, in the Committee on Sustainable Development, has been debating the Viability of Carbon Pricing Initiatives in America and the Viability of GMOs in Combatting Global Hunger.
• Avi, in the Commission on Science and Technology for Development, has focused on Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture and the Challenges of Renewable Resources.

Our remaining three delegates each serve unique roles in time and space:

• Sydney, as Niger in the African Union, has been tackling the issues of Sub-Saharan Refugee Migration and Child Marriage.
• Niki, as Phoolman Chaudhary in the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, strategized with her colleagues to better track missing and murdered indigenous women and address mental health issues in Indian communities
• Finally, Matthew, as Senator Strom Thurmond until his assassination before being reincarnated as SNCC Leader John Lewis, was part of President Johnson’s Committee on Civil Rights, where they debated how to address the issue of Civil Rights during a very trying time in American history.

     After committees let out at 6 p.m., we all met up at Box 62 for a group dinner, and now we are at the delegate dance! We will head home when it ends at 9 p.m.--and definitely engage in a snow fight once the storm has rolled in. Only one more day! 
Check out today's photos in our google photo drive! 

     We awoke today to snow blanketing New Haven after a late-night fall. The glee at getting to see and play in the snow did not abate throughout the day, and it was actually a much warmer day than the past two have been.
Today was jam-packed:

• 9:45 a.m. – Lobby meet-up and walk to campus (with a few snowballs thrown here and there).
• 10:30 a.m. – Lecture by a Yale Professor. There were three available to us, and students went to the one that interested them. Students thoroughly enjoyed the talks they attended. The options were:
  • The Impact of Trade on Populism in the Western Economies (Didac Queralt)
  • The Genocide Convention at 70 (David Simon)
  • Psychological Consequences of Genetic Explanations (Woo-Kyoung Ahn)
• 12 p.m. – Lunch at Brother Jimmy’s Barbecue (North Carolina-style) with two more LJCDS alumni: Yale undergrad Natalie Boyer (Class of 2017) and Yale Law School student Dan Stein (Class of 2010).
• 1:30 p.m. – Yale Campus Tour. We had a lovely tour guide who is a dancer and Classics major and was very knowledgeable about Yale. The tour surely brought Yale alive for our delegates.
• 3:00 p.m. – Yale Showcase: performances by the Russian Acapella Group, Chinese Acapella Group, break dancers, two magicians, and our very own Victoria who got on stage with the break dancers to add to the performance.
• 4:30 p.m. – Committee Session 2. Delegates went to their respective committee sessions, while Mr. Shulman and Ms. Bivin walked around observing and documenting. Delegates did dinner at staggered times (so that local businesses didn’t suddenly have 1,600 hungry teenagers on their hands for one hour). Many ate with new friends from delegations or with each other.
• 11:15 p.m. – Session 2 will come to a close, and delegates will head back to the hotel in groups. We will powwow about tomorrow, and then head to bed!

     As many of you heard, there is a snow storm hitting Saturday night that will turn to icy rain on Sunday morning followed by a polar vortex Sunday afternoon. We have decided to ride it out in New Haven and return Monday. Please think of us in warmer San Diego as we weather 13 degrees!
​     There are some select photos from the tour below, but we have so many from committees and the day that they are now on our Google Drive, which will be updated daily as well!
  Also, in case you are interested, Yale live streams the committees on a rotating schedule: http://www.ymun.yira.org/committee-livestreaming/ 

Day 1 began yesterday at 4:30 am when we all met at San Diego’s Terminal 1 to catch our Southwest flight to Baltimore and then on to Hartford. From there we caught a shuttle to our hotel in New Haven, where we promptly checked in and then checked out our winter gear with a brisk walk to the legendary Frank Pepe’s Pizzeria.
 
This morning we were able to sleep in, get some work done, and further prep for the conference. Our day began when we all met in the lobby at 10:30 am and walked to the Atticus Bookstore Café where we met two LJCDS alum, Brandon Camp and Randall Kras, both of whom graduated in 2016. Our delegates were able to ask them questions about their studies, their lives here at Yale, and college life in general. Next, we went to the Yale University Art Gallery before heading to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, which featured an authentic, pristine copy of the Guttenberg Bible.
 
After a break at the hotel to get ready, we met up again at 4:15 to walk over to the Omni Hotel where delegates grabbed an early dinner, attended delegate training, and joined 1600 other students at the Opening Ceremonies at Woolsey Hall for YMUN, the largest MUN Conference on an Ivy League campus. The opening speaker, a former ambassador and assistant to Secretary of State Rice, spoke of his experiences from India, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. Delegates then headed to their first committee session until at 11 pm, and we advisors headed to an advisor meeting!
 
Tomorrow is a day full of “Yale Day” activities, including a lecture, another lunch with alumni, a tour of Yale’s campus, and a “Yale Showcase” featuring many of Yale’s performing arts groups. Delegates will be back in community sessions starting tomorrow at 4:30 pm.