Every school year, Aragon students in Harvard Model Congress attend a large conference on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. HMC is a worldwide organization for high school students that allows them to simulate the United States Congress and take on the roles and opinions of real congressional representatives. Usually, this conference is held in person. However due to the pandemic, the conference was moved online a few weeks before the event.
The switch to an online format came as a disappointment to many in HMC. The in-person conference is a large event with people in attendance from around the world, allowing delegates to interact and meet people from different backgrounds. Due to the last in-person conference being held two years ago, many members of HMC have not had the opportunity to attend an in-person conference.
“You can’t fully replicate what it’s
like to be in person with all the
other delegates in online format”
“When we found out the conference [was being] moved online maybe two or three weeks [before the event] it really sucked,” said senior and HMC President Lilly Loghmani. “People’s reactions were overall somewhat negative. I think it was especially disappointing to me and some of the other officers who had worked really hard to make the conference happen in the first place.”
One of the main aspects of this year’s conference that was different was the inability to interact with other delegates as much as a normal conference would allow.
“I definitely prefer in-person [events],” Loghmani said. “You can’t fully replicate what it’s like to be in person with all the other delegates in an online format. Other delegates usually come from around California, the [US] and sometimes other countries. It’s a lot of fun getting to know other people and their perspectives on politics.”
Under normal circumstances, the conference takes place at the Hilton Hotel in San Francisco and involves each committee meeting in conference rooms with groups of 15 to 30 people. Later in the conference, the committees have the chance to come together to solve a crisis simulation, called the ”midnight crisis,” in a large group. This part of the conference was one of the many things lost in the switch to an online format.
“I went in person my freshman year and it was great connecting with your friends while learning about politics and how the government works,” said junior Seth Weinfield. “In person, there are substantial breaks in between our committee meetings, full house and full senate meetings. We can eat lunch with our friends, tour San Francisco, connect with our chairs and [participate in] different opportunities that can’t happen online.”
The in-person conference allowed delegates to spend their free time doing group activities and getting to know their peers. One notable difference between the online and in-person conference was the absence of activities that being in San Francisco provided. Although the switch online meant losing some aspects of an in person conference, according to Weinfield and Loghmani, the online conference was still enjoyable.
“It was mentally challenging, but
overall it was pretty great”
“I think it was run really well and it definitely exceeded my expectations,” Loghmani said. “[It] was better than a lot of the other online conferences I’ve attended.”
According to Weinfield, despite the sudden transition, the switch to an online format was not entirely negative and the conference still went very smoothly.
“I would say it was definitely a positive experience,” Weinfield said. “Of course I would have preferred it in person, and that would have been amazing, but for being online it was a great conference and a great time.”
For freshman Charis Hsieh, the online conference was her first experience with an HMC conference and it met her expectations.
“It was mentally challenging, but it was still fun,” said Hsieh. “Overall it was pretty great. I
got to meet lots of new people.”
The HMC members’ general consensus was that the conference went well, but it still had drawbacks due to be-
ing online.
“It’s very difficult, near impossible to simulate what it actually feels like to be in an in person conference,” Logh-
mani said. “However, with that being said, I do think it was a smart decision to move online. It’s just unfortunate and it is what it is.”
