It was cold and dark at 3:30 a.m. Nov. 12 when buses swung by North and West Campus to load Cornell students, staff and faculty members, and cold and dark again when they returned about 21 hours later around midnight. But in between, 87 Cornellians saw the bright lights of the Big Apple and diverse mix of people from around the world during their whirlwind tour of the United Nations.

The students not only got a guided tour of the agency but also had the opportunity to speak directly with U.N. experts -- including former professors, a former world service journalist and longtime U.N. officers -- on topics ranging from women and climate change to food security.

This is the seventh year that N'Dri Assié-Lumumba, professor of Africana studies and faculty fellow in Ujamaa, planned this trip, which requires contacting dozens of Cornell units to solicit support and U.N. experts to line up the panel to present to the students. The trip is always open to any Cornell student for only $20, on a first come, first-served basis.

Although planning the trips take an inordinate amount of effort and coordination, Assié-Lumumba thinks it's well worth it.

The U.N., she said, reflects "the persistent global structural inequality." Although the 192 members -- from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe -- of the General Assembly, have equal votes, it can only make recommendations to governments. "The only U.N. organ that makes decisions that member states have the obligation to carry out is the Security Council," she said, with its 11 elected members and five permanent members with veto power. "Nevertheless, the U.N. embodies also some vision of a better world," she added. "It covers every aspect of human, social and environmental life with a wide range of offices, agencies, organizations and programs across the globe."

The panelists addressed such topics as the state of the Millennium Development Goals; climate change and sustainable development; the 2010 natural disasters; agriculture and food security; and the new U.N. Women unit headed by Michelle Bachelet, former president of Chile.

Linda Majani, a graduate student in the field of public administration, said she went on the trip "to get a personal experience of the situation in the world. [It] brought me to tears," she said, seeing "the pictures and the suffering." The panelists also struck her, she said, "the dedication to their mission, their enthusiasm for what they do was palpable."

Kelsey Graeber '14 said she found the panelists "humble, inspiration and empowering," despite their important positions.

"I was surprised at the intelligent, practical solutions posited to resolve humanitarian problems," noted John Buckley '11. "Many large problems have very practical solutions, but the root of these issues are founded in flawed systems that must be fixed."

Sponsors included the International Students and Scholars Office, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, Vice President Susan Murphy, Dean of Students, Africana Studies and Research Center, Hasbrouck Apartments, Thurston Court, Ujamaa Residential College, Schuyler House, Highrise 5, Mews Hall, Student Supplemental Funding Board, and Diversity and Special Programs.