Crisis Committees

Ich Bin Ein Berliner: Fall of the Berlin Wall and the Eastern Bloc, 1989

As the Soviet Union politically withdrew from Europe in the late 1980s, liberal, anti-communist, and nationalist groups intensified their efforts to remove communist regimes which had long been the Kremlin's puppets. Countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania had become increasingly unstable as their governments lost legitimacy and Soviet support. At the center of this crisis is Berlin, Germany, where the East German communist government has refused to liberalize despite pressure from Moscow and continues to severely punish anti-communist activists. The infamous Berlin Wall still stands between communist East Berlin and capitalist West Berlin as a symbol of a divided Germany and a divided Europe. With intensifying protests and international pressure in 1989, it is unclear if governments from Berlin to Bucharest will survive the year. This is the tense environment delegates will navigate in this commitee.

The Viking Age: Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

This committee will meet as a Thing, the Norse governing body where Vikings assembled to decide the future of their people. Some will seek gold and riches, others land, and still others glory to be sung of for generations by the skalds. Regardless, with the Viking Age in full swing, the Thing will decide whether the town wins prosperity and riches, or fades into insignificance.

THE 23RD ANNUAL HUNGER GAMES

Welcome to the 23rd Annual Hunger Games! Each District of Panem will send one male and one female tribute, aged 12-17, to compete in the Games - a brutal test of strategy, skill, and strength. Once inside the Arena, tributes must navigate treacherous terrain, unpredictable challenges, and the omnipresent danger posed by both the environment and their fellow competitors. Delegates will fight to gather resources, form alliances, and outmaneuver their opponents—all while dealing with new obstacles thrown their way, and under the watchful eye of the Capitol. Winning the Games guarantees a life of comfort and riches; however, failure means certain death. You must work in both the Front and Backroom in order to utilize your skills and resources, form alliances with other delegates, discuss responses to challenges posed by the Gamemakers, and ensure your own survival. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Star Trek: the Dominion Wars

The United Federation of Planets and the rest of the Alpha Quadrant faces a new threat from the other side of the Wormhole near Deep Space 9. The galactic power known as the Dominion are trying to conquer the Alpha Quadrant by crossing through the Wormhole. The Federation and Starfleet assembles in this committee in order to for this impending threat and convince the other powers of the Alpha Quadrant of the Dominion Threat.

Whispers in the Umbris Collegium

Named after the esteemed Yvonne Umbris, a philanthropist who had given her life’s fortune to the continued cultivation of the arts and culture, Umbris Collegium has endured countless wars, political uprisings, and even the sudden demise of the great patron Alister Tenebris. For centuries, the school has stood as a pillar of the mind, of science, philosophy, and the ineluctable illumination of boundless human ability. Leadership of the institution had been, per tradition, inherited by the progeny of its founder, but the recent plague had infiltrated the hallowed halls of the campus’ centuries-old edifications. Ivan Umbris, the university’s most recent president, has failed to produce an heir before succumbing to illness–so goes the whispers behind closed doors. As several majors vanish in light of rampant budget cuts, department heads suspect foul play, all but a skeptical band of students anticipate imminent collapse, and the entire world observes eagle-eyed in eager anticipation of what comes next. Into whose hands will power fall, and how will academia survive the perilous onslaught of its own scheming masses?