Recruiting for the new Team starts during the final weeks of the Spring semester, and resumes in earnest after the Fall semester starts. We also recite the Preamble to start all our meetings. We begin to learn the abbreviated rules of procedure during the Fall semester, when we do light simulation sessions, with returning members coaching new members. The faculty advisor stays away during the Fall simulations to allow students to develop greater self-confidence. Committee assignments start in December, and most of the preliminary research on committee topics is done during the winter break in January.
Members take turns to preside over the simulations, so as to be grounded in rules of procedure.
The faculty advisor stays in the background to observe, and make recommendations at the end of each session. Students receive 3 credits for POL 295, Special Project in Political Science, in the Spring semester, and may repeat it a second year. Even though we are very close to New York City, it has been the policy of the faculty advisor not to shepherd the Team, as they are well trained enough to be totally self-reliant. Students must debrief the faculty advisor during the class period after the Team returns from New York. When that is done, the current year's Team is disbanded, and the 2002 Rider NMUN Team is immediately formed.