At 3:30 a.m. Nov. 7, two buses picked up 92 Cornell undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff members and several Humphrey fellows, who braved the wee hours of a Friday morning to take a day trip to the United Nations in New York City.

"The U.N. represents the entire spectrum of human experience," said N'Dri Assié-Lumumba, professor of Africana studies, who planned the trip for the fifth year. "There are so many people who come to the U.N. just to see the headquarters. We decided to come during the week because we wanted to have a panel," she said. "Where else can we have the chance to look at the implications of global issues and how the U.N. handles them?"

The panel of officials spoke about key issues that the U.N. seeks to cover and how the organization accomplishes its goals in the current socio-political climate. It included UNICEF Senior Education Adviser Changu Mannathoko, who spoke about UNICEF and the rights to education; Antonie de Jong, outreach and business development adviser of the U.N. Development Fund for Women, who covered the U.N. and women's health; Craig Mokhiber, deputy director of the New York Office for the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights, speaking on the U.N. and human rights; Markus Pallek, associate legal officer, speaking on the U.N.'s legal affairs/legal counsel; and Andrew Yager, senior economic affairs officer, Division for Sustainable Development of the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, speaking on sustainable development.

Each student paid $20 for the trip, which included a guided tour of the U.N. headquarters with 40 students from Columbia University and 15 New York University students, who participated in the program with them.

"It was very enlightening to see the environment in which diplomats work to solve the major issues," said Amber Lee James '11, who was particularly interested in attending this trip because of her minor in international studies. Her favorite part of the trip was the tour, which took students through the General Assembly as well as various exhibits, mostly focusing on the nature of human rights. "It was very touching, poignant even, to see the world as reflected through the eyes of the U.N."

In addition to general information about each topic presented by the panel, students were encouraged to ask questions and engage the representatives on their respective issues. In light of the recent election of Barack Obama, there were repeated references to the effects of new administration upon U.N. policy and implementation.

"In terms of the ideals, the U.N. is there trying to build a better world in spite of its internal contradictions and structural inequality," said Assié-Lumumba. "I have had the good fortune of working with many of these agencies, and we wanted to give the opportunity for students to connect with real people. We hope that this will feed their appetite for wanting to know more."

A Cornell campus coordinating committee for the trip included Assié-Lumumba, three resident hall directors and Thomas Noel, assistant dean of Hans Bethe House. This year's trip had many campus sponsors, including Ujamaa Residential College, Flora Rose and Hans Bethe houses, the International Students and Scholars Office, the Cornell Institute for Public Affairs, the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, the Graduate School and the Humphrey Fellows Program.

Jennifer Wholey '10 is a writer intern at the Cornell Chronicle.