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39 Overview of the Triangle System As part of our MUN strategy, we use an adaptation of the Triangle Offense that Phil Jackson used with the NBA Chicago Bulls when Michael Jordan was a team member . We call it the Triangle Offense and Triangle Defense. There are three overall parts of the Triangle system that we’ll explore: parliamentary procedure plays, public speaking styles and coalition formation in the Model UN context, and research. Parliamentary Procedure Most MUN conferences are conducted by parliamentary procedure (we’ll put aside the cabinet simulations for this discussion). It’s your key secret weapon. If used correctly, you can do absolutely anything you want, and your rivals will simply be frustrated and won’t be able to respond. Within the parliamentary procedure part of the Triangle, there are subtriangles: • Diagrams/cheat sheets • Triangle Offense plays • Triangle Defense plays Commentary on Rules: The first thing to do when you get materials from a conference organizer is to analyze their rules of procedure. (Robert’s Rules, a set of parliamentary rules commonly used in many civic associations, are an example of parliamentary rules. However, they are not used in the UN or MUN, and they have absolutely no bearing on what you will be doing. All that matters is what the rules for that particular conference say. Each conference will have its own set of rules; every Secretariat or conference host believes they can write rules better than the UN did.) Rules can be only a page or can run multiple pages (the longest we’ve seen was seventy pages). 5 The Triangle Offense and Defense Read the rules a few times, and then create a spreadsheet/chart (see table 1). (Sometimes you’ll get this from the conference organizers. Most often, you won’t. Write your own anyway.) Along the side of the chart, figure out the order of precedence of the motions (things like motion to recess; motion to call the question— let’s vote on this resolution; motion to amend; etc.) and points of procedure (these will be separate, and are things like Point of Order—your new best friend; Point of Personal Privilege; and the like). The order of precedence means that some things, when moved, have to be considered before what the group had been considering . For example, a motion to amend a resolution has to be voted upon before you vote on the resolution as a whole. Once you’ve figured out that precedence— and don’t worry if it takes a while for you to get it just right; the folks who wrote this haven’t worked all the bugs out of the system, and you’ll find conflicts—write the following along the top of the spreadsheet: Name of Motion; Rule Number; Majority Required (some require a simple majority of those present, others require an absolute majority—every member of the group, no matter whether they are present or not—2/3 majority, majority of quorum, etc.); interrupt speaker (a simple yes/no); and oddities/special circumstances about the rule as to how it works in this conference (you’ll find that sometimes the rule writer has unintentionally, or intentionally, thrown strange things into the rules). If you have a chance, try creating one of these “cheat sheets” for the rules that you’ll find on the websites listed in this book. Creating these cheat sheets is an excellent exercise for your students in preparing for a conference. (See our lesson plans in appendix E for a sample exercise using long-form rules.) A cheat sheet for the University of Virginia MUN Rules of Procedure is provided in table 1. Note that it comments on key rules in the order in which they appear in the overall Rules of Procedure. A different style cheat sheet would order the rules by their procedural precedence (see Rule 43 of the VAMUN rules for an example). The cheat sheet in table 1 is a short guide to the longer VAMUN Rules. Delegates should bring both the cheat sheet and the formal Rules of Procedure with them to every session of the meeting. University of Virginia International Relations Organization (VAMUN Conference) Rules of Procedure (Long Form) 1. SCOPE: These rules for the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Councils, and the specialized agencies are self-sufficient, except for modifications provided by the Secretariat, and all shall be considered adopted in advance of the session. No other rules of procedure are applicable. 40...

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