Topic 1 discusses how differing factions, strained resources, and the balance of power will affect the people of Middle Earth and how they respond to Sauron’s growing conflict. The elves and dwarves have a lasting history of dissonance, while the humans and dwarves tend to be allies; similarly, Sauron has brought Sarumon to his side. The wizard’s power is critical to the creation of Sauron’s army of Orcs and should be a factor carefully considered. These factions all have different wants, and full-blown warfare would benefit Sauron’s much larger army, while diplomatic behavior is difficult with Sauron’s ultimate desire for the One Ring. Delegates must carefully navigate these alliances while deciding which path forward would most benefit the people of Middle Earth in this conflict.

Topic 2 discusses the dangers of the One Ring. Delegates must decide, based foremost on their alliances and how it would benefit the Free Peoples or whichever power they are representing, what should become of the Master Ring: utter destruction, or attempting to utilize its powers. Sauron’s power would obviously be completed with its addition, but there are issues of corruption in attempting to destroy it completely. Its power could be divided among the factions, but allegiances and Sauron’s desire for true domination are barriers.

Sage Lindmar is a Maggie Walker sophomore who is incredibly honored to be a co-chair for the Lord of the Rings Committee this year! This is his 2nd year of Model UN, having previously served as a vice chair for the Korean Joint Crisis Committee last year. Outside of Model UN, Sage enjoys studying pop culture for the Maggie Walker Quiz Bowl club, playing videogames with friends, serving as Class Treasurer, as well as being a Deputy Editor of the Maggie Walker newspaper, the Jabberwock. He is looking forward to a great committee and a truly exciting GSMUN!

Serine is a sophomore at Maggie Walker and is honoured to chair the Lord of the Rings committee. This is her second year in Model UN, and she previously served as a GSMUN crisis director. Serine also does policy debate, specialises in literature and classical music for the MLWGS Quiz Bowl team, teaches Korean, and is on the organising team for One Small Step, a nonprofit that seeks to normalise political discussions in education. In her limited free time, Serine loves practising piano, viola, violin, and cello, reading Nikolai Gogol, and learning languages like Ukrainian, Russian, and German. She is super excited for this year’s GSMUN!