May 02, 2008
Clark students make fine showing at Model EU in Indiana
Five Clark University students attended the Midwest Model European Union conference, April 17 to 19, in Indianapolis, garnering second place overall in the Best Delegation category, despite being the smallest group present.
From left: Ben Terrett, Katerina Antoniou, James Conway, Alec Donoso, and Ben Raynak
Representing the Romanian delegation were Ben Raynak '10 as Prime Minister, Ben Terrett '09 as Foreign Minister, Katerina Antoniou '10 as Economic and Finance Minister, James Conway '08 as Environmental Minister, and Alec Donoso '10 as European Commissioner for Multilingualism.
The delegation also received individual citations: Terrett was voted Best Foreign Minister; Raynak tied as Best Head of Government; and Donoso took second place for Best European Commissioner.
"The students acquitted themselves extremely well," said assistant professor Michael Butler of the Government and International Relations Department. Butler is the group's faculty adviser and the students took his fall 2007 course, Politics of the European Union. "Clark was the only team with less than a full yield, yet fell short of Best Delegation by only a handful of votes. These five students deserve their accolades, and I can say they reflect the best of what Clark has to offer."
The Clark team's trip was made possible by the generous support of the Francis A. Harrington Public Affairs Fund.
Students from 14 colleges and universities simulated the roles of presidents, prime ministers, ambassadors, diplomats and other leaders in the mock European Union meeting hosted by Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis.