‘I Realize This Is, in Some Sense, Theater’: Model UN Participant Garners Semblance of Self-Awareness

URIS HALL–Model UN president Jorge Melendez ‘25 was booed out of Uris Hall Auditorium by nearly 200 Live Action Role-Play (LARP) Participants, also known as this year’s Cornell International Affairs Conference (CIAC) members. In a shocking moment of self-awareness, Melendez confessed: “I Realize This Is, in Some Sense, Theater.” 

Earlier in the conference, Melendez discussed the use of both real and imaginary props during committee deliberations. He noted how real props allow the delegate to immerse themselves in their characters, in a technique similar to method acting, while imaginary props promote a more creative, free-flowing atmosphere, acknowledging that using the term props can carry a theatrical connotation. 

It was immediately following this moment that Melendez became self-aware, though he quickly tried to backtrack. “That’s not what I meant!” Melendez shouted, panting. “Every issue we tackle, from the stealing of the sorcerer’s stone, to violations of international law, should be treated with great reverence. It was a stupid statement. That’s all I can say about that — it was a stupid statement, and I regret it.”

Most LARPers were not convinced. Following his controversial statement, a series of delegates spoke out against Melendez’s using the word “theater,” which Delegate Jamie Abott ‘26, head of the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie committee, deemed “highly questionable and offensive.”

Others screamed  “Objection!” to which Melendez sheepishly replied into the microphone: “Sustained.”

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