Ball State University students won multiple awards this past weekend at the 18th annual Midwest Model European Union at IUPUI.
The event, which was set up like a mock European Union session, is meant to help students understand how the EU works and the processes that are required to develop policies.
The delegations from each of the nine universities that participated were assigned a country to represent, and each student acted as an actual member of the current European Union.
Ball State represented Sweden in the competition.
Political science professor Gene Frankland said the event is a unique opportunity for students to get experience in foreign affairs.
"The event gives students a great chance to research European issues and forces students to think on their feet as well," he said.
The students spent time this semester researching current European issues and where their assigned delegation stands on each issue.
Ball State teams have participated in the event for all 18 years it has taken place and have won the "Best Delegation" award five times, more than any other school in participation, Frankland said.
Steven Daters, winner of the "Best Environmental Minister" award, said the Ball State delegation wanted to represent Sweden because of the unique role it plays in the European Union.
"The reason Sweden has such an interesting role is because it isn't the largest country in conversations but is too prominent to be ignored," he said. "Also, Sweden has always been known for being on the cutting edge of the green movement, and that appealed to us."
Eric Vandervort, who won the "Best Foreign Minister" award, said his participation helped his understanding of the inner workings of the EU.
"I did a lot of research leading up to the event, but the hard work did pay off," he said.
Students from Ball State also represented the Netherlands in the competition.
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