BY JOBIAN HERRON Contributing Writer

NEW YORK, APRIL 23, 2005 Today, students of the University of Massachusetts at Boston were cordially received as guests of the United Nations for a day of hands-on learning and exploration at the headquarters of the world’s forum for international cooperation and dialogue. The trip, masterfully coordinated by our own Politics Society, gave some 50 students the opportunity to see firsthand the physical locations and the real dynamics of one of humanity’s greatest legal constructions. Assisted financially by the university, this trip was also one of this year’s outstanding examples of the school’s commitment to its student organizations, enabling a great day-trip to the heart of Manhattan for a very reasonable student commitment.

The students, drawing upon many backgrounds from the campus spectrum were treated to a luxurious private coach ride direct from JFK to the majestic 42nd Street compound. Upon clearing a thorough security check, the group was told of the history of the organization and of its intriguing composite structure. The group’s guide, an articulate and engaging French-Argentinean native named Maxim, gave the group a command tour of all the meeting rooms and exhibit areas. From the main hall where Nikita Khrushchev banged his shoe in contempt of the west, to the Security Council hall where the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Iraqi War were wrangled, the students were given a privileged look at an organization that is largely an intangible feature of many of their studies.

This use of student resources has been hailed as “successful” and “amazing” back here on campus by the student groups that attended and by their membership. Taking members and non-members alike, many at our school are happy to show this as an example of how the university allows motivated students take initiatives that benefit themselves and their studies. From the legal settings of the meeting rooms, to the exhibit areas that covered subjects as diverse as fair-trade, human rights, and global disarmament, students of many academic backgrounds were treated to many relevant perspectives on global, local, and regional issues.

After the tour the students had a delightful five-hour window in the heart of Midtown to relax, sightsee, and generally enjoy a spring day in the city.

The success of this event has already prompted the Politics Society (who meet every week on the fifth floor of the Wheatley building), to begin planning a similarly oriented trip for next fall for members and students who were not able to attend.