Brown University Crisis Simulation (BUCS)

Meet the Secretariat!

Mandana Vakil (’21) is the Chief of Staff for BUCS IX! Mandana is double-concentrating in Economics and Public Policy and plans to go on to graduate school for an Economics PhD. Mandana has been involved in Brown Model UN since her first year; she’s chaired and directed for the Brown-organized high school conference (BUSUN). Last year, she was the Director of Media for BUCS and has decided to come back to the Secretariat for a wonderful second year. When she is not doing something related to BUCS, you can find Mandana working for Inventing Heron—a startup focused on creating a career exploration resource for young adults—studying in a coffee shop, creating new Spotify playlists or writing for Fashion@Brown. Mandana is pictured here during the summer of 2019 in Paris, France.

Meet the Secretariat!

Shane Niesen (’20) is proud to serve as the Director of Decorum for BUCS IX. He is a senior from Diamondhead, Mississippi, concentrating in History with a focus on Modern Europe. He has participated in Model UN since his first year at Brown and has participated in all aspects of Brown University Model United Nations. When he's not doing MUN, he can be found working as a college applications consultant, learning German grammar, or making coffee. He looks forward to a wonderful BUCS in March!

Meet the Secretariat!

Ratna Patel (’21) is very excited to be one of the Secretary-Generals for BUCS IX! Ratna is currently concentrating in Neuroscience and plans to pursue a career in medicine. At Brown, Ratna has competed in conferences as part of Brown Model UN’s travel team, served as Director of Outreach for BUCS VIII, and chaired and directed for Brown’s high school conference (BUSUN), for which she is currently the Director of Media. Outside of Model UN, Ratna can be found swinging on the dance floor with the Brown Ballroom Dance Team, teaching neuroscience to high schoolers through the Brown Brain Bee, or finding new shows to enjoy on Netflix. Ratna studied abroad in Thailand for the Fall 2019 semester, and is pictured here admiring the mountain view on a trip to the town of Pai, Thailand.

Meet the Secretariat!

Mia Stone-Molloy (‘22) is excited to be the Director General for BUCS IX! She is majoring in Political Science and plans to go to law school. She has attended Model UN conferences, directed at BUSUN, and served as a crisis manager for BUCS. Outside of MUN, she is active on the debate team, participates in activism related to Brazilian politics, and enjoys writing. She is pictured here at her home in Los Angeles, California.

Meet the secretariat for this year's Brown University Crisis Simulation!

Isaiah Paik (’22) is proud and honored to be a Co-Undersecretary General for BUCS IX. At Brown, Isaiah is studying Behavioral Decision Sciences, which is just a fancy name for Economics and Psychology, as well as learning Korean. while he isn’t sure what he’s going to be pursuing after college, he’s sure that some of you don’t know either so it’s okay. Isaiah has competed in College MUN conferences across the country as part of Brown’s Travel Team and has staffed and crisis managed for three previous Brown MUN conferences. Outside of the classroom, the front room, and the backroom, Isaiah spends his time competing in APDA debate tournaments, making synthesizer music, and eating sporadically and copiously. He’s pictured here attempting to look introspective in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio.

We're very excited that BUCS is approaching and we hope you are too!

Late deadline is tomorrow! We're editing background guides, organizing merchandise and getting ready to welcome everyone on March 1st!

What you have all been waiting for: committees have been finalized and released!

- Puerto Rico, 2017 [JCC] (crisis)
- Handover of Hong Kong, 1997 [JCC] (crisis)
- Brazilian Coup of 1964
- Hawaii Sugar Strikes, 1946 (spec)
- LGBTQ+ Activism in the US, 1970s-1980s (crisis)
- Ad Hoc (crisis)

Regular registration deadline has already passed, but do not despair, the late registration deadline is January 31st! There is still a lot of time left and we're looking forward to having you at Brown 😊