The Harvard Model Congress Website states, “Harvard Model Congress is the largest congressional simulation conference in the world run entirely by undergraduates at Harvard College”. In simpler terms, I would say that Harvard Model Congress (HMC) is a Model UN-adjacent government simulation where you play the role of someone in the government. You could be serving as a senator, congressman, supreme court justice, political journalist, member of the presidential cabinet, or even an attendee of the constitutional convention like George Washington. The conference takes place over a weekend in late February and in downtown Boston. This year, 30 students from FSS attended, accompanied by club advisor, Upper School Latin Teacher, Ian Lockey, along with three other teachers. While the trip was very enjoyable and educational, it came to an unfortunate end when our train was cancelled, and we had to leave a day early to beat the incoming snowstorm to Philadelphia.
Personally, I took on the role of a political journalist for our three days at the conference. In my committee, we utilized every moment of our time to get the best interviews and write the most timely, engaging articles possible. On the first day, we focused on building bonds and creating a strong foundation. We played some icebreaker games like two truths and a lie, and discussed headlines in the news that sounded farfetched. Later in the day, we set norms for the week and had an introduction to how to write articles. At the end of the day, we started practicing interviewing. My group went into the West Wing session. At HMC, West Wing is a simulation of staffers at the Democratic National Convention. There, we learned about how the democrats were working to control unchecked presidential emergency powers.
On the second day of the conference, we hit the ground running, continuing the article that we had started the previous day. We attempted to interview with the Presidential Cabinet, but were unsuccessful. During this day, there were many interactions between the Presidential Cabinet and the West Wing, with protests. After finishing our first article, we reported on breaking news in the constitutional convention, where some of the attendees caught dysentery. We finished out the day taking photos and making funny videos to upload to the Instagram account.
On the third (and unfortunately final) day, the Media committee continued to create short form comedic content for Instagram. We wrote another article about the ongoing interactions between the Presidential Cabinet and the West Wing.
I would say that I got a lot of skills out of our time at the conference this year. Last year in the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs committee, I was shy, but this year in Media, I used my voice and contributed my ideas. I got to use the skills I’ve learned in The Falcon and develop them further. I feel that I’ve most significantly become better at collaborating well with others and conducting successful interviews. Since we didn’t get to finish the weekend this year, I want to go back and have another go at the Media committee. Next year, I hope to be able to deepen my articles with opposing viewpoints and write more, as I was only able to publish three times because of my work with social media.
Besides myself, other students enjoyed their experiences at HMC. Grace Salmon ‘27 said, “I went in not really knowing what to expect from the conference, but once we started talking and debating it felt very real. People were fully committed to their roles and you had to have a strong understanding of your own roles, beliefs and the topic in order to create bills and have a strong and compelling argument.” I completely agree with what Grace said. I feel like I got more out of my experience this year because of the preparation and understanding of my role. The biggest piece of advice I would give to anyone new to HMC is to fully commit to your role and truly understand what you person stands for and why. If you can do extra research, you will set yourself up for success at HMC.
Besides the conference itself, we had a lot of fun doing other activities. On Friday, there was an opportunity to visit the Harvard campus and sit in on a Computer Science or Chemistry Class. While I myself did not visit Harvard, others who did enjoyed themselves. Jackson Schwarz ‘27 says, “It was a beautiful campus that combined historic and modern elements.” During this free time, people visited Harvard, went shopping, spent time with friends in the hotel, and visited iconic Boston Landmarks like Fenway Park. This time was especially enjoyable because students were able to have freedom and explore a new city.
One of my favorite aspects of the weekend was bonding and forming friendships with both students from FSS who came on the trip, but also the new students I met who came from all over the USA and other countries. I met people from everywhere, like Florida, California, and even Honduras. I met friends in my committee who I got to collaborate with on articles, and it makes going back next year even more exciting, as I will get to see these new friends again. I also enjoyed reconnecting with peers from Friends Select. We got to go out to two different restaurants, split into upperclassmen and lowerclassmen groups. We got to enjoy dining with our friends and connect with people older or younger, who you may not have talked to before. After these dinners, we had free time to explore the hotel, hang out, play games, or watch movies.
As a member of the Harvard Model Congress Club, I’d say the trip was a success! I was very disappointed that we had to leave early, but the days that we did spend there were very fun and educational. I’m very excited to go back next year and continue to develop my writing, leadership, and political literacy skills.
