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Committee Summary
The year is 1215 and England is on the verge of a civil war. After numerous failed military expeditions and years of heavy taxation, King John is now facing rebellions by his own barons. With London in the hands of the rebels and England hanging by a thread, delegates from both sides but gather at Runnymede to negotiate the what may become the most influential political document in history: the Magna Carta.
However, peace is not guaranteed.
Delegates will take on the roles of rebel barons, members of the royal court, bishops, knights, and other influential figures of the time whose ambitions extend far beyond a mere charter. Alliances can be made or broken, wars may be waged, secret negotiations may be discussed, and unforeseen crises can alter the course of history completely. Will the Magna Carta be signed or will England descend into civil war? Will the Church consolidate its power or will the Crown reign supreme?
MEET THE CHAIR
ASHIMA BHATIA
Dear Delegates,
Welcome to BruinMUN! My name is Ashima Bhatia, and I am honored to serve as your Chair for the Commission of the Magna Carta, 1215.
I am currently a third-year Human Biology and Society major on the pre-med track. While a lot of my time is spent balancing classes, Model UN has been one of the most important parts of my life for the last seven years. I competed throughout all four years of high school and I’ve been staffing and chairing conferences for the last two years at UCLA.
BruinMUN holds a particularly special place for me because this year is not only my seventh year in MUN, but also my seventh BruinMUN. Having attended this conference as a delegate and now chairing it, I can honestly say it’s one of my favorite conferences of all time. Some of my best MUN memories have come from BruinMUN, and I’m incredibly excited to help create the same meaningful experience for all of you this year.
Outside of academics and MUN, I’m a coffee addict who has probably tried every coffee shop in LA at least once. I also have every line of How I Met Your Mother memorized for reasons I still can’t fully explain, and despite my best intentions, I currently have six unfinished diamond paintings sitting in my closet waiting to be completed.
This committee transports us back to one of the most pivotal moments in political history. In 1215, England stood at a crossroads. King John's unpopular rule, heavy taxation, military failures, and disputes with both nobles and the Church have pushed the kingdom to the brink of crisis. The Magna Carta is often remembered as a single document, but behind its creation was a complex struggle over power and authority. The questions facing this committee remain surprisingly relevant today: How much power should a ruler possess? Who has the right to challenge authority? And what protections should exist against abuses of power?
As delegates, you will have the opportunity to shape the future of England during a period of immense uncertainty. Alliances will shift and the decisions you make may dramatically alter the course of history. Whether you seek compromise, reform, or confrontation, success in this committee will require a willingness to think beyond what history says is true.
I cannot wait to see the strategies and solutions that each of you brings to committee. If you have any questions before the conference, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Best,
Ashima Bhatia | Chair, The Commission of the Magna Carta | BruinMUN 34
MEET THE CRISIS DIRECTOR
ALLI FAZIS
Dear Delegates,
My name is Alli Fazis (she/her) and I will be your Crisis Director for the Commission of the Magna Carta Crisis Committee! I am a fourth year Pure Mathematics Major and Philosophy Minor. My goal is to go to graduate school and pursue a PhD in Mathematics, from there I’ll see where the wind takes me! On top of MUN I play for the UCLA Flag Football team (though I’m currently out with an ACL tear) in addition to running a super cool and awesome Dungeons and Dragons campaign with a truly unreasonable number of people.
My high school never had a MUN team (shoutout speech and debate kids), so last year was my first year in MUN ever. Model UN has been the highlight of my college experience and I have loved every minute I have spent with this team. Last year I was the Crisis Director for the Novice, Dual Del, Dutch Tulip Crisis committee so if any of you competed in that, please come say hi! Other than that, I am a head delegate of our travel team and LOVE to compete on the collegiate MUN circuit! If you have any questions about collegiate MUN, I’m your guy!!
The Magna Carta is one of those things I learned about in 7th grade social studies and remember every once in a blue moon. Though it was drafted over 800 years ago, the ideas that seemed radical at the time eventually shaped the government that we have today. With a civil war on the horizon, will you come together to find peace or allow tensions to boil over for an all out war? The decisions you make in this committee will shape the governments of England and the rest of the world for centuries to come. I can’t wait to see the government you build in front room, and the creative and disruptive arcs you develop in backroom!
Model United Nations is one of the best parts of my college experience. Even though I have only been a part of it for a little over a year, I have met some of my best friends and made some amazing memories during my time in this club. I am so excited for you all to be a part of this committee, and I hope you all have as much fun participating in it as I did planning it! Good luck and long live the king!
Best,
Alli Fazis | Crisis Director, The Commission of the Magna Carta | BruinMUN 34