Victoria Durand and Azwad Rahman, the founding mother and father of Drexel’s Model Congress, held their first meeting last week. When asked why they decided to start a debate-based organization when clubs such as Model U.N. and Mock Trial already exist, both of these students revealed their passion for both debate and this particular organization. as they had been a part of their Model Congress in high school. Azwad revealed that Model Congress had helped him grow drastically as a person in high school and that he wanted to share that feeling with his peers. “I want model congress to be a place that people can really go to in order to have their ideas expressed and respected in a structured environment,” Azwad revealed.
Victoria Durand, a sophomore history and political science major, met Azwad in one of her very first history classes. Azwad, a sophomore biology major with a history minor, joined a history study group that was formed by some of the history majors, which led to the blossoming of his friendship with Victoria.
When asked about why creating his own club was better than just joining one that already existed, Azwad reminisced about his days as president of his Model Congress club in high school. “When I was the president of my high school club, I had the luck of hosting the 25th model congress that year,” he explained, “that made me feel like I was in the shoes of the people 25 years before who were in the position that I am today when they were starting it.” Drexel was certainly missing a club that allows the students to gather around and express their ideas while simultaneously challenging each other.
Azwad expressed concerns about the first official meeting, which was held Wednesday, November 13. “I know that my club is a great idea, but will people want to join it with similar clubs such as Model U.N. or Mock Trial already existing?” Azwad asked himself. Fortunately, the first official meeting turned out to be a success as many students from all classes and majors were interested in participating.
Starting an organization or club definitely has its challenges and both Victoria Durand and Azwad Rahman were able to work together in order to overcome these obstacles to meet their goals. When explaining the creation process, Victoria mentioned that it took them about a year to find an advisor for Model Congress. Now that Dr. Hunold, a professor from the history and politics department, has agreed to advise the Model Congress organization, things seem to be moving along quite well. “Now we just have to go through the red tape, and write the constitution,” explained Azwad, “there are so many rules you don’t take into consideration.” Now both Victoria and Azwad are focusing on putting the fresh club on the map.
Both Victoria and Azwad have expressed their excitement for the start of Model Congress, which hopefully will become Drexel affiliated by spring term of this year. The club has the support of the political science department and everyone is confident to see where the club goes. A club that is designed around having people in one place with the same purpose to talk and to challenge is an excellent addition to Drexel University.