The Abyssinia Crisis, a mash up of a historical and a crisis committee, throws the delegates into a fast pasted committee responding to Italian aggression in Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Delegates must work to defend Abyssinia while at the same time not alienating Italy, desperately needed to contain Hitler. The theme of this committee is trade-offs – each and every decisions delegates make will have far reaching, irreversible, consequences.
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Meet the Staff

Jay Sweitzer-Shalit ’24, Crisis Head
Jay Sweitzer-Shalit first attended Model UN as part of a intra-school Model UN programme in 6th grade. Since then, he has participated in Model UN every year, over time participating in more advanced committees, such as crises. Last year he co-chaired the 2nd punic war crisis committee, and is looking forward to a fully in-person COMMUN VII.
Ben O'Donnell '23, Chair
Benjamin O'Donnell was introduced to Model UN by jumping into various conferences and club meetings in 9th Grade. Two and a half years later, it is one of his favorite extracurricular activities as both a delegate and a Chair. Since the onset of the pandemic and Virtual Model UN conferences, he has also chaired multiple other Model UN conferences both online and in-person with UNAGB, in addition to working on 2 COMMUN crises as Crisis Staff. As a chair, he delights in sharing his enthusiasm with delegates and working to make sure they learn as much and have as much fun as he did when he was new to Model UN.
Ted Carter ’23, Co-Chair
I became a part of COMMUN in my sophomore year, where I worked as part of the crisis staff on a committee about the Second Punic War. I didn't have any prior experience with Model UN, and figured I should try COMMUN since it was such a staple of Commonwealth. My work as crisis staff allowed me to give delegates interesting challenges that they would enjoy working through, and to act out the more important events in the committee in the most entertaining way possible. This year, as a co-chair, I hope to interact with the delegates more directly, and continue helping my committee's other members in making COMMUN as interesting and productive as possible. I think COMMUN is a great opportunity for delegates to learn about how governmental groups function, hopefully through committees they'll enjoy participating in.
Jay Sweitzer-Shalit first attended Model UN as part of a intra-school Model UN programme in 6th grade. Since then, he has participated in Model UN every year, over time participating in more advanced committees, such as crises. Last year he co-chaired the 2nd punic war crisis committee, and is looking forward to a fully in-person COMMUN VII.
Ben O'Donnell '23, Chair
Benjamin O'Donnell was introduced to Model UN by jumping into various conferences and club meetings in 9th Grade. Two and a half years later, it is one of his favorite extracurricular activities as both a delegate and a Chair. Since the onset of the pandemic and Virtual Model UN conferences, he has also chaired multiple other Model UN conferences both online and in-person with UNAGB, in addition to working on 2 COMMUN crises as Crisis Staff. As a chair, he delights in sharing his enthusiasm with delegates and working to make sure they learn as much and have as much fun as he did when he was new to Model UN.
Ted Carter ’23, Co-Chair
I became a part of COMMUN in my sophomore year, where I worked as part of the crisis staff on a committee about the Second Punic War. I didn't have any prior experience with Model UN, and figured I should try COMMUN since it was such a staple of Commonwealth. My work as crisis staff allowed me to give delegates interesting challenges that they would enjoy working through, and to act out the more important events in the committee in the most entertaining way possible. This year, as a co-chair, I hope to interact with the delegates more directly, and continue helping my committee's other members in making COMMUN as interesting and productive as possible. I think COMMUN is a great opportunity for delegates to learn about how governmental groups function, hopefully through committees they'll enjoy participating in.