“We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us”
“I chose the impossible. I chose… Rapture. A city where the artist would not fear the censor; where the scientist would not be bound by petty morality; where the great would not be constrained by the small! And with the sweat of your brow, Rapture can become your city as well” (Andrew Ryan).
In this committee, based on the videogame series Bioshock, you take a dive 20 fathoms under the sea to the city of Rapture (no prior knowledge required!). The city was built by Andrew Ryan, a man with a vision to create a utopia for the world’s best without fear of being restricted by law, church, or human parasite. Since its inception in 1946 the city attracted the brightest minds and flourished with thriving business, industry, science, arts, and progress. But it was not long before the shining city under the sea began to show its flaws. Ryan’s philosophy of a society without regulation and radical laisse-faire capitalism came with no publicly funded social programs, and everything within the city is privately owned and came with a price. The Rapture elite continued to flourish while the system alienated Rapture’s less fortunate citizens, who when hard times came began to resent Ryan’s society as cold-hearted and elitist. These tensions continued to escalate until the fateful night of January 1st 1959 when the poor rose up against the elite at the bombing of the Kashmir restaurant on new year’s night, and so begins the Rapture Civil War.
The committee begins right after the bombing of the Kashmir restaurant as Andrew Ryan gathers The Rapture Council, a group of Rapture elites that represent the many sectors of the city. Together you hold the fate of the city, will you stick to the ideals that have made the city what it is, will you betray the fundamental values of Andrew Ryan and establish social programs, will you let the civil war ruin the city, will you address the rising issue of addiction to the drug known as ADAM, these are only the beginning of the choices you will have to make. Will you make Rapture rise or will you let it drown?
Chair: Michael Brown
Michael Brown is a current Sophomore at Seton Hall University dual majoring in Psychology and English with a minor in art and design. This is Michael’s second year doing Model UN ever. However, he has fully fallen in love with the activity. Outside of Model UN, Michael can usually be found either hanging out with his friends, reading a book, or obsessing over his newest interest. Currently, Michael holds the position of Member at Large within SHUNA, Seton Hall’s Model UN Team, and is the Director General of HallMUN. He is also the cofounder of Seton Hall’s official Arts Magazine, creating it with his housemate Sarah Bryant. Within the realm of video games, Bioshock was one of his first and favorite video games he has ever played! He is very excited to be chairing this committee and to help delegates delve into the world of the Rapture. Feel free to email him at michael.brwn.a@gmail.com with any questions regarding the committee!
Crisis Director: Efrain Vallejo
Efrain Vallejo is super excited to be the crisis director for the Bioshock: Rapture committee! Bioshock is one of his favorite video games ever and he is excited to bring the complex story and characters to life through MUN! A little about Efrain: he is a recent graduate of Seton Hall majoring in International Relations and fine arts! He was involved in greek life and in MUN, as a delegate, eboard member, and many times as a crisis director! He loves crisis directing and is looking forward to acting like a fool in front of all of you and also seeing all your crisis ideas. Outside of MUN, Efrain passes the time doing absolutely nothing, his favorite pass time! He also does things like playing more video games, watching movies or tv shows, and sometimes feeding himself. He looks forward to digitally meeting all of you! Feel free to email him at efrain.vallejo@student.shu.edu with any questions regarding the committee!
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