More than 1,000 students from colleges and universities from around the country, plus several international delegations, took part in the meet representing over 120 different nations of the world.

Ten ASU students represented the current Bulgarian government, while two others represented Bulgaria in an historical Security Council. The council was set in 1967--when Bulgaria had a very different political system, with a hard-line Communist government.

Two other students represented today's Bulgaria in a UN Security Council simulation, which dealt with major issues of current world conflicts and problems. The two students representing today's Bulgaria were Gaylon Rainwater of Knobel, and Driss El-Akrich of Morocco, Northwest Africa.

The historical Bulgarian ambassadors were Beth Ephlin of Luxora, and John Manning of Walnut Ridge. The First Committee representatives of Bulgaria were Amy Williams of Paragould and Sandra Porter of Tuckerman, who focused on the topics of controlling chemical weapons, germ/bacteriological weapons, and landmines.

The Second Committee, which debated globalization and international economic cooperation, had Vini Rucaj of Tirana, Albania, and Angela Boyd of Paragould representing ASU and Bulgaria.

For the Third Committee, which focused on international drug control and the rights of children, Kylie Wickerham of Bloomsdale, Mo., and Blake Cunningham of Houston, Texas were the ASU ambassadors, with Wickerham also serving as the delegation’s head delegate, or "Permanent Representative."

The Sixth Committee, which dealt with the two broad topics of international terrorism and cloning of humans, saw Jennifer Cherry of McGhee and Misato Gakumura of Forrest City representing Bulgaria.

Political Science Department faculty members Dr. Charles Hartwig and Natasha Washington helped prepare the ASU team -- Hartwig accompanied the delegation, and helped lead a Faculty Advisor discussion session organized by the staff of the conference. The delegates representing Bulgaria were sponsored by the ASU Model UN Organization and the Political Science Department, assisted by a grant from the ASU Student Government Association’s Action Fund.

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