{{Infobox Organization , name = Yale Model Congress , image = , image_border = , size = , caption = , abbreviation = YMC , formation = 1993 , type =

Student organization A student society, student association, university society, student club, university club, or student organization is a society or an organization, operated by students at a university, college, or other educational institution, whose membership ty ...

, purpose =

American politics In the United States, politics functions within a framework of a constitutional federal republic, federal democratic republic with a presidential system. The three distinct branches Separation of powers, share powers: United States Congress, C ...

, headquarters = , location = Yale University, New Haven, CT , language = English , leader_title = President , leader_name = Grace Bu , leader_name2 = Caitlin Monsky , leader_title2 = Vice President , leader_title3 = Director of Delegations , leader_name3 = Rebecca Wasserman , leader_title4 = Director of Operations , leader_name4 = Catherine Cheung , leader_title5 = Treasurer , leader_name5 = Lina Xing (CC '17) , leader_title6 = Director of Legislation , leader_name6 = Lauren Ribordy (SM '19) and Vicky Liu (PC '19) , leader_title7 = Chief of Staff , leader_name7 = Rita Wang (MC '19) , leader_title8 = Supreme Court Coordinator , leader_name8 = Fish Stark (JE '17) , leader_title9 = Presidential Cabinet Coordinator , leader_name9 = Layla Treuhaft-Ali (CC '17) , leader_title12 = Director of New Haven Schools , leader_name12 = Sarah Rose (JE '17) , leader_title13 = Cabinet Secretary , leader_name13 = Brian Kitano (BR '19) , main_organ = , affiliations = , num_staff = Yale Model Congress (YMC) is an entirely student-run

Model Congress Model Congress gives students a chance to engage in a role-playing simulation of the United States United States Congress, Congress. Such events are hosted by the Congress itself, Rutgers University, American International College, University of Ma ...

association. Founded in 1993, it is the second oldest conference of its kind in the Ivy League, after Harvard Model Congress, which was founded in 1986. Every year, it brings hundreds of delegates to

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

, Connecticut to simulate the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

Conference Information

Founded in 1993 by members of the

Yale Political Union The Yale Political Union (YPU) is a debate society at Yale University, founded in 1934 by Alfred Whitney Griswold. It was modeled on the Cambridge Union and Oxford Union and the party system of the defunct Yale Unions of the late nineteenth an ...

, Yale Model Congress is an annual, four-day-long event, now held in early December. During the conference, high school delegates participate in one of approximately thirty committees, chaired by Yale undergraduates. The delegates prepare bills prior to the conference, and each student is given the chance to debate his or her bill using a parliamentary system modeled off Robert’s Rules of Order. Each committee has between fifteen and twenty-five delegates, making YMC the most personal of the college Model Congress conferences. Bills that pass through committee are eligible to be debated in one of six full sessions, which meet throughout the conference. Each full session is composed of five to six committees, and any delegate may move to consider any bill that passed through one of those committees. Debate in full sessions is somewhat more formal; rather than speaking around a seminar table in committee, delegates approach a podium to speak in full session. Awards are given to exceptional delegates, both at the committee and at the full session levels. In addition to regular committees, Yale Model Congress also offers special programs, differently run committees for advanced delegates. In the past, special programs have included simulations of the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

, where students debate the constitutionality of passed legislation, and the Presidential Cabinet, where delegates respond to crises and advise the president on which bills to sign or veto. Sessions are held in Yale classrooms, as well as in the Omni New Haven Hotel. Except for a few local schools, delegations spend the weekend staying at the Omni or the nearby New Haven Hotel. Outside of committee, YMC offers students opportunities to visit Yale and New Haven, as well as hosting Yale Day, where students hear from Yale professors such as

Paul Kennedy Paul Michael Kennedy (born 17 June 1945) is a British historian specialising in the history of international relations, economic power and grand strategy. He is on the editorial board of numerous scholarly journals and writes for ''The New Y ...

and

Akhil Amar Akhil Reed Amar (born September 6, 1958) is an American legal scholar known for his expertise in U.S. constitutional law. He is a Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale University, where he is a leading scholar of originalism, ...

. On Saturday evening, YMC also hosts a delegate dance and a trivia night for participating students.

Governance

Yale Model Congress is led by a president, a Yale undergraduate who is elected every spring. The president then appoints his or her Cabinet, which includes positions such as the director of legislation (responsible for compiling the delegates’ bills), the director of special programs, the director of operations (responsible for managing conference operations, security, and hotel contracts), and the director of New Haven Programs (responsible for outreach to New Haven public schools). Committee chairs are selected every fall from a pool of interested Yale students. Yale Model Congress is a

501(c)(3) A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, Trust (business), trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of ...

non-profit organization.

Intercollegiate competition

Penn Model Congress hosted the first Intercollegiate Model Congress competition in the United States from November 6 to 7, 2010. Members of the Yale Model Congress delegation won three of the five committees at the conference, thereby securing the first national championship in Intercollegiate Model Congress for

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

. This does not account for individual awards.

List of Yale University student organizations Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

* Yale International Relations Association

External links

Yale Model Congress website

Yale University website
Yale University Non-profit organizations based in Connecticut Conferences in the United States Youth model government Youth organizations based in Connecticut

Conference Information

Governance

Intercollegiate competition

Related

External links