At this year’s Model Arab League 2024 national competition, according to team member Melissa Lofthouse, the team “came into [it] expecting not to win anything and to just have fun.” BYU hadn’t won any awards at the competition in recent years, and the fact that all fifteen members of the 2024 team were new, excluding the TAs, meant the odds were stacked against them. So for Lofthouse, the nationals award ceremony was a memorable experience: “BYU broke its streak of no awards, and we did it well and took home a lot! It was exciting because it was our TA Sam Ames’s last year and MAL was sort of his baby that he kept going. His last year went out in a bang, and we all felt very proud of our team.”
In addition to nationals, the team also participated in the regional MAL competition. They represented Iraq, Kuwait, and United Arab Emirates at regionals on 15–17 February at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming. There, they won Overall Outstanding Delegation, the highest award for their delegation of the United Arab Emirates, with ten students receiving individual awards. At nationals, which took place 21–24 March at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, the team represented Iraq. Seven students received individual awards, and as a team they won Overall Distinguished Delegation for their representation of Iraq.
Of course, the team worked and practiced throughout the semester to prepare for the competitions. Outside of class, the students researched information on the countries they would be representing—from the countries’ resources and allies to stances on specific topics. Then, during the once a week, one-hour long class, they applied their research by practicing the debates and formats of the competitions. They even had “a practice session going from beginning to end of a normal three-hour chunk of debate,” says Maxwell Dunbar, one of the team’s new members. “That helped me gain some confidence in the debate format, negotiating with others, and just opening my mouth and talking.” Sara White, the faculty advisor for MAL, explains that through the program “students have the opportunity to develop skills such as mediation, understanding other viewpoints, public speaking, diplomacy, and research—all while learning more about Arab history and politics.”
Lofthouse, a freshman majoring in International Relations and minoring in German, first heard about MAL in the International Relations weekly newsletter and decided to join because it combined her interest in the Middle East with Model United Nations. She participated in the Council on Palestinian Affairs and represented the United Arab Emirates at regionals and Iraq at nationals, and received awards at both competitions for her performance. Lofthouse says, “The TAs, Sam and Marin, were amazing in helping us learn tactics and strategies!” But even after a semester of preparing in class for the competitions, she explains, “we all came into both regionals and nationals a little worried about how we would do because it was everyone's first year, except for the TAs. It was really exciting to see everyone's confidence boost as we started the competitions [and] realized that we all could do this and were well prepared!”
Dunbar—a junior at the time of the competition, majoring in Economics with minors in Arabic and Mathematics—heard about MAL during the Arabic intensive study abroad in Jordan from a former member of MAL. At the competitions, Dunbar represented Kuwait at regionals and Iraq at nationals, both on the Economics Council. “Despite really good TAs, I still was pretty nervous for my first real competition,” he says. “To my surprise, I ended up getting first place in both regionals and nationals with my co-delegate JJ. I don't think we necessarily said the most impactful things or wrote the most impactful resolutions, but we were best able to connect with all the different delegates in different ways and work with them and their specific countries' needs.”
He adds, “I learned so much about myself from competing in these debates. I have never done MAL before or competed in anything like MAL, but I learned that I was pretty good at it. I learned from experience the reality of faking it 'till you make it. I didn't know what I was doing at first, but I acted like I did. For example, I would approach people before the conferences, have a really energetic interaction with them, and hand them my business card. On the outside I look so put together and friendly” despite feeling like “a trembling fool.”
Both Dunbar and Lofthouse found that participating in MAL provided them with valuable skills and learning experiences—even outside of the competitions themselves. The team visited several tourist attractions while in DC, such as the National Mall, the National library, and the Smithsonian. Dunbar ran through the National Mall early one morning with a few other team members. "It was my first time ever in DC, and I remember feeling so much love and appreciation for my country seeing all of these monuments.”
Another experience, White says, was that “the National Council on US-Arab Relations (the organization that runs MAL), planned a debriefing for our students at the State Department. They met with State Department officials who work the Iraq desk and had the chance to pick their brains about all things Iraq.” For Lofthouse, that experience was especially impactful: “The State Department was very exciting because I am working towards a career there. It was very amazing that we got the chance to talk to people in the area of work that many of us are interested in looking into—as well as gaining more insight on the politics of Iraq, the country we were representing at nationals.” Along with that, she explains that “the MAL team has given me new insight into how diplomacy works and how I can be more diplomatic when debating or disagreeing with something, which is an incredibly valuable skill nowadays. I was also able to work better with others on writing resolutions, which I will be able to draw on in my future career.”
At the competitions, Dunbar learned that “people really want to be heard more than anything else. Lots of MAL consists of collaboration to make resolutions together. I found that even people who probably had the best ideas, and knew most about the topic at hand, if they didn't care what others thought, they wouldn't get a lot done.” He adds, “MAL impacted me so much more than I expected. For the past year or so I've been wanting to be an econ professor. However, I have not felt the same passion in my higher-level econ and math classes. MAL ignited a fire in me again, so much so that I want to do work like this in the future—diplomacy and working with other nations. I also made some incredible friendships with the other BYU students who did MAL. It's been months since we had our last competition, but we still keep in contact in our group chat almost daily. I'm excited to see most of them next year along with whoever else decides to join.”
As the one who does behind-the-scenes work for the team by managing the class, advising the TAs, and planning logistics for the competition, White is passionate about the program. “At this time in the world, these are skills that are highly valuable,” she says. “It also provides a chance for students to develop a community of support around them with classmates at Brigham Young University and with students from the other participating universities from around the United States. As a student, it can be easy to feel lost at a big university. Programs like ours offer students a chance to build meaningful relationships with their peers and find that community of support and friendship.” She adds, “This program is a great program for anyone interested in developing skills in public speaking, research, diplomacy, building relationships, international relations, and so much more! It’s not limited to students studying Arabic or international studies. We have students from a variety of majors and welcome everybody.”
Dunbar says, “If you're on the fence to join MAL, or weren't sure it existed before reading this, I would strongly encourage you to give it a try regardless of your previous experience. We'd love to have you, and you'll learn more about yourself than you would expect!”
Students interested in joining MAL should email Sara White at white2@byu.edu or TA Marin Hulse at marineh@student.byu.edu.