Elliot Smith's Digital Portfolio
Humanities
Model UN
​
Project description:
​
Model UN was a project in which our class emulated the United Nations.
We each selected a country from a list of countries that were relevant to either the issue of Nuclear Proliferation, the Venezuelan Refugee Crisis, or both. Then acting in the perspective as a delegate of that country, we wrote policy papers, and resolutions. Finally, as a cumulation of our work for each issue, we met in a formal conference, following the parliamentary procedure used by the actual United Nations.
Conference 1: Venezuelan refugee Crisis
Read my Pollicy Paper Here:
Elliot Smith
Lori Fisher
Model UN
12 November 2019
Venezuelan Refugee Crisis Policy Paper
While Iran feels sympathetic to the situation in Venezuela and believe they should receive aid, we support Maduro as the current president.
This issue began when the economy of Venezuela began to collapse. The oil production, which is the country's largest income source began to slow. Then came the onset of inflation. The US dollar was worth 1600 bolivars by the middle of 2019. (Visual.) Then food became scarce “... nine out of 10 people couldn't afford their daily food…” in 2019 (Visual.) Then the health care system started to crumble. “... half the medication needed in emergency rooms and 27 percent of the medication and supplies needed in operating rooms around the country were not available.”(Praag.) As a finish to the whole domino effect, people began to flee the country. The country is failing as a result of the failing in their oil income. As the oil fails so does their economy, and then everything else spirals downward. However, this is not an irreversible spiral, if aid is given to the country.
A solution that I would like to present to you is that financial aid be given both to the host countries and the Venezuelan state. The aid to the countries is to help them support the refugees. However, the state needs aid to help rebuild. A majority of the economy in Venezuela is through oil exports. One mistake made there was that there was not the infrastructure to support the country if that ever began to slow. For example, “68 percent of hospitals experienced failures in electricity supply and 70 percent in water supply.” (Praag.) And “84 percent of items in the basic food basket were not available in supermarkets.” (Praag.) If aid were to be given to the state, the infrastructure could be built, and Maduro regime could regain the necessary influence to regain control of the state and allow things to be accomplished efficiently to address this crisis.
​
​
​
Works Cited
Humire, Joseph M. “Iran, Russia, and China's Central Role in the Venezuela Crisis.” Gatestone Institute, 14 Feb. 2018, www.gatestoneinstitute.org/11888/venezuela-iran-russia-china.
Moncada, Samuel. “Letter dated 28 February 2019 from the Permanent Representative of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council.” United Nations Security Council, United Nations, 28 February 2019, www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2019_194.pdf. Accessed 11 November 2019.
Pierce, Karen. “Letter dated 21 February 2019 from the Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council.” United Nations Security Council, United Nations, 25 February 2019. www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/s_2019_176.pdf. Accesses 11 November 2019.
Pragg, Oriana Van“Understanding the Venezuelan Refugee Crisis.” Wilson Center, 16 Sept. 2019, www.wilsoncenter.org/article/understanding-the-venezuelan-refugee-crisis.
Visual Journalism team. “Venezuela: All You Need to Know about the Crisis in Nine Charts.” BBC News, BBC, 4 Feb. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-46999668.
Me in Conference
Conference 1 reflection:
-
I really enjoyed the part of the project where we did the actual conference. Despite its amazing ability to just suck the energy right out of you, I enjoyed doing the politics. I love how you can insult people, then have them vote for something you propose
-
I learned that I have no desire to be a politician. This may seem shallow, but it’s kinda important to me. I hate all the bureaucracy and the having to fight for something you truly don’t believe in.
-
I felt moderately prepared. I had a basic idea of my country’s perspective and a lot of background on the issue. As for how we did the learning the parliamentary procedure, I really like the sort of “I believe in learning on the job” (its a reference, click here) sort of approach to the whole thing. I really got a good idea of how things worked. I was then with that knowledge, able to participate meaningfully in the conference.
-
I can be more knowledgeable about my country’s perspective on each issue, and maybe prepare a little more of a speech beforehand. I didn’t exactly have the best understanding of my country’s perspective, and so I may have broken character and possibly even voted against the aims of my country.
Conference 2: Nuclear Proliferation
Read my Pollicy Paper Here:
Elliot Smith
​
Islamic Republic of Iran
​
Iran has an interest in making sure that the threat of these weapons is ended once and for all, however until that time, we also believe that nuclear weapons would give our country deterrence power, and are determined to pursue nuclear development until other countries agree to disarm.
​
In 1945 the first publicized nuclear weapon was detonated, and the whole world was changed. Not long after this came the development of thermonuclear weapons, then began the Cold War (Atomic.), and today, there were “an estimated 13,890 in early-2019” (FAS). And we are reaching a critical point in the history of our world where all of life on earth is in danger. If a nuclear launch were to occur, the subsequent launches would send the planet into a nuclear winter. Now more than ever, the issue of disarmament and nonproliferation, is extremely important. However, the nuclear powers of the world dither and procrastinate and the weapons are still armed and pointed at each other, and we make treaties and we give our word, but nothing ever changes, and therein lies the problem. Iran has made steps toward this goal by proposing, and successfully creating a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the middle east. Iran has made some bad decisions in the past, but today, we take steps for the greater good
​
However, all hope is not lost. There are solutions to this issue, the main one being in the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. As stated by the minister of foreign affairs to the UN previously Mohammad Javad Zarif, said that Iran supports the “overall objective” of the treaty and believes “that it will reinforce the nuclear disarmament regime”(Iran). The world’s nuclear weapons need to be disarmed and eliminated and the most effective way to pursue that goal is to convince all countries who have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the TPNW as soon as possible. There are some steps that can be taken among nuclear-weapon states that are reluctant to sign on. They can introduce a no first use policy, and there will be incentives to sign on including better relations and trade discounts to countries interested in developing nuclear power. However, until such time as the world’s nuclear weapons are destroyed, they pose a serious threat to the security of my country, specifically in the case of the United States, so in an attempt to discourage a nuclear launch with the use of deterrence theory, we believe that no country should be forcibly prevented from developing, developing, not creating nuclear weapons. If the state of Iran had just the threat of one nuclear warhead, the entire recent conflict in Iran and Irak would have been avoided.
Works Cited
“Atomic Timeline.” Atomic Heritage Foundation, www.atomicheritage.org/history/timeline.
“Fact Sheets & Briefs.” Arms Control and Proliferation Profile: Iran | Arms Control Association, www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/iranprofile.
Fas. “Status of World Nuclear Forces.” Federation Of American Scientists, fas.org/issues/nuclear-weapons/status-world-nuclear-forces/.
“Iran.” Nuclear Threat Initiative - Ten Years of Building a Safer World, www.nti.org/learn/countries/iran/nuclear/.
Conference 2 reflection:
-
From what I experienced in our Model UN conference, the system used by the un seems to work fairly well. Granted we never had veto powers come into play, and we are all friendly with each other, for example, when North Korea was being threatened with sanctions, Jack's response was funny, but not entirely too hostile as a real diplomat was because we are all friendly with each other on a daily basis. This process let me see the complexity in this issue, and why these problems don't get solved, for example when Bryan (representing Pakistan) made a land grab for Kashmir in the middle of a resolution about nuclear proliferation, it let me see that nations will often put forth things that benefit them, and not the good of the rest of the world, making it hard to solve the world's problems effectively.
-
From the last conference to this conference, the biggest growth I made was probably on the knowledge of the issue. I went from a moderate knowledge of the Venezuelan issue, In which I said: "The last time peacekeepers were sent into South America, to the Congo...", to this conference where I had the knowledge to effectively argue the difficult to understand position and opinions of Iran.
-
As for knowledge, the biggest piece of that that I will carry on with me is that I have no desire to be a politician. The debating, the aggression, and the arguing for a position I might not entirely support are not enjoyable for me. If I had to pick some specific content knowledge, I would have to say my understanding of the global nuclear situation. I used to think that a ton of countries had nuclear weapons, but now I know that it is just 9. I also used to think that I would take a lot more than just 300 nuclear weapon detonations to destroy the world, but it turns out I was wrong. I now have a better grasp of deterrence theory, and how no nation would risk a nuclear war.
-
If I could go back to the beginning of the semester and do anything differently it would probably be to actually force myself to work on my speech first rather than waiting for inspiration to strike, and ending up writing it in bed in my head the night before the conference, long after I should have been asleep.
Adolescence Project
Project description:
​
The adolescence project was an interdisciplinary project incorporating both Humanities and biology concepts. In this project for Humanities we covered sociological concepts including: moral development, adolescent development, and the different stages of human development. We then interviewed someone who has gone through their adolescence about their adolescence and made a photographic portrait of them that represents their adolescence to present at exhibition
Read my Interview essay Here
Of Parents, Skateboards, and Adolescence
Elliot Smith
Adolescence is a time of change, people grow, grow themselves, and have experiences and make choices. These things all affect their future, and it is the very important and highly necessary role of the adults in their life to guide them, says Ryan Finnigan, MakerLab Director, who provided and interesting point of view during an interview with one Elliot Smith, MakerLab intern and high school student. “I never had any mentors or anything like that when I was your age.”
The mentor’s and the parent's role in an adolescent's life is to guide them to make good decisions and help then develop a moral compass. He had none of that in his adolescence. His parents were divorced and both very controlling Catholics. His dad was very involved in the church and wanted his son to be a good little Catholic. When he was in high school, and a sophomore he was the star wide receiver on the varsity football team, and the highest-scoring person in track. Then feeling the strain his junior year he quit all sports, to “skate and do art, man!” After that his dad didn’t speak to him for a year and he had coaches and teachers constantly telling him to get back on the team and keep playing for the school, but he didn’t want to.
Following this, his senior year he went to go live with his aunt and uncle in Chicago. His parents only let him go because there was an all-boys Catholic school there, and they thought he might see sense and return to Catholicism if he attended school there, but as soon as he arrived there he transferred to a public school in an area that was "40% caucasian, and 80% gang membership". During this year he took a correspondence course on oil painting from a prestigious art school. As is a trend here, he received no guidance in this new environment, however, he managed to escape the controlling environment his parent’s created
One of the things that I believe that adolescents need to develop comes from parents and authority figures in their lives. This is the idea of 'guidance, not control’. Guiding the adolescent through their decisions lets them gain experience, and the ability to make better decisions in the future. Controlling them only leads to rebellion, for example, shoplifting from Wal-Mart, something my interviewee did. One day he was caught shoplifting from Wal-Mart. Luckily, since he was under 18 it did not go on any permanent criminal record. He did, however, have to go through the full juvenile court justice process. He believes he did this for rebellious reasons and because of a lack of adult guidance. He said, "When I was 13 I hung out with all 13-year-olds and the occasional 14 and 15-year-old." He and his friends built their moral compass based on what 13-year-olds think, and that can't turn out good. As in this story, and a lot of others, control, and overprotective parenting leads to rebellion, avoidance, and a "bad" adolescent. On the other hand, guidance leads to good decision making and a "good" adolescent.
He also liked the idea of intergenerational connection and the idea that me, being a 15-year-old kid, could teach something to a 40+-year-old adult. This is a big concept at the MakerLab where he is the director and I am an intern. He offered me the chance to try to teach a class on the woodworking I do. He believes this is key to adolescent development. Adults must respect adolescents and their opinions and knowledge, they’re not just someone who is snotty, lazy and must be taught.
As we ended the interview, I asked the question, "Do ever you feel you lost the good parts of adolescence?" I got the coolest answer, it included a resounding no, but also one of the coolest life living philosophies I have ever heard. He said that "in 2019 if I sat myself down with 2018 me, I hope he would piss me off." He believes that this constant change is key for adults not to lose their adolescence. Adolescence is a beautiful time, not something to grow out of.
The work of adolescence is to develop as a person and prepare both mentally and biologically for adulthood. The work of the adults in the lives of the adolescent is to help them develop in a good, healthy, happy way by guiding them to success and being there every step of the way, but not controlling the steps they take. Rebelliousness is something that happens as teens work to find themselves. And of course, there is always the good, the energy, the wanting to change the world, the creativity, and the relationships.
Works Cited
Finigan, Ryan. Personal Interview. 28 September 2019.
My Portrait
Project Reflection:
​
I am proud of the essay that I wrote and my creation (with some help) of the concept of guidance, not control. In my interview, Ryan talked about the idea of him not having a mentor or even any adult guidance all he git from his parents was a controlling, constricting environment. In paragraph 4 of my essay, I touched on this. I discussed a Wal-Mart shoplifting incident and how that ties into my whole theme of guidance not control. I am proud of mt concept that I believe can help parents and teens have a better relationship resulting in less rebellion and better interactions.
​
I ran into some difficulty with the whole staying on task thing as is a common theme in my work. Toward the beginning of the project, I found myself with a large chunk of work time consisting of 2 periods, and I would immediately proceed to put off the work I needed to do in favor of things I wanted to do. I would goof off chat with friends, have woodworking and filmmaking related youtube-a-thons and not get my work done until the last minute. To remedy this problem, I would have tried to put more effort into my work, use my time wisely, and get ahead on my work to use a whole period.
​
I learned about the concept of somewhat why teens rebel from their parents. This helped to explain to me why I am always after videogames. My parents banned me from them, so now they become the "forbidden fruit". This connects to my final project through Ryan. He was a rebellious teen, and this helped me incorporate this learning into my final project.
​
As far as the rubric goes, I think I would rate myself an 8. I gave myself this grade because I am a 10 in every category but the on task one. Like I said above, I had a little bit of a hard time with this. Like I said above I would often get off task if we were given long periods of work time and an assignment that I wasn't psyched about or that I didn't find challenging. Again, as stated above, I could have put more work into my work. In addition, I could have advocated for myself for more challenge or something of that regard.