Content Policy
In order to operate a fair, accessible, and equitable experience for all delegates and advisors, please adhere to the following conference policies surrounding the content we permit and do not permit you to engage with for the duration of the conference. To note, we will observe all violations on a case-by-case basis and take the broader environment into account when enforcing our rules. We will try to ensure a fair system for all parties.
If you wish to report a violation of these, we will have two QR codes available across the conference and in all committee rooms - one for DEI concerns (exclusion, harassment, bullying, inappropriate topics/language in committee) and another for cheating concerns (prewriting/plagiarism/AI use). This is predominantly for the latter, please reference our Conduct and Behavior Policies page for additional rules.
Definitions
Committee Staff: Any and all personnel who are aiding in running a specific committee, including:
Chairs and Vice Chairs - frontroom debate moderators
Crisis Directors (CD) and Assistant Crisis Directors (ACD) - backroom update and note response leaders
Crisis Analysts (CA) - note responding and update performing staff
Directorate: Any and all personnel dedicated to planning and executing the conference as a whole, which includes Executives:
Under-Secretary Generals (USG) - directing a specific aspect of the conference, incl. Delegate Affairs, Marketing, etc.
Assistant Under-Secretary Generals (AUSG) - assisting a USG in directing an aspect of the conference, working asynchronously due to their participation in the NYU Study Abroad program.
Executives: Leading members of the Directorate, who run the whole Content and/or Operations sides of the conference, including:
Director-General (DG) - leading either the Operations or Content side of the conference, as DG of Operations or DG of Content.
Secretary-General (SG) - leading the execution of the whole conference.
Delegations: All participating groups, schools, or individual delegates, defined by a student or group of students managed by a chaperone
Delegate - the student or child participating in debate, who is participating independently or under a delegation
Advisor or Chaperone - an adult supervisor for the delegates in a delegation, who will stay on-campus for the duration of the conference
Plagiarism Policy
Plagiarism in any form is strictly prohibited at EmpireMUNC. This includes, but is not limited to verbatim or near-verbatim copying from academic sources as well as nonacademic sources, including any prior written work from delegates or members of your delegation. This applies to position papers (if required), draft resolutions, directives, and any other documents a delegate may write before and during the conference. This includes copying past resolutions’ clauses, directives, or copying from an academic source without proper citation. All written work throughout this conference will be checked for plagiarism.
We encourage research when preparing for conferences, and so delegates should feel free to cite information in their written documents, especially for technical information or factual content. We encourage actively citing and referencing sources, both for the benefit of avoiding plagiarism, but to also add validity to your claims across committee.
Any concerns regarding plagiarism should be reported to Directorate through our anonymous report forms we will bring out to every committee. Any delegate found guilty of plagiarism will be disqualified from awards. Widespread plagiarism across a single delegation may lead to a whole-delegation disqualification. Furthermore, we reserve the right to search all written or printed material delegates bring to committee in response to allegations.
Pre-Writing Policy
Prewriting is strictly forbidden at EmpireMUNC.
Delegates are welcome to bring relevant resources with them to committee, as delegates are strongly encouraged to research their topics thoroughly and be familiar with the views of their country or position. Bringing relevant resources, including academic articles, is fully permitted (and encouraged) given sources have been cited. However, unless fully cited, you may not include a verbatim or near-verbatim copy of these sources in any capacity in any written content.
Delegates also may prepare a general outline of what they would like to accomplish, like a rough idea of a crisis arc, however this must be general and vague to the point that delegates cannot copy said language into a document produced over the course of a conference. For example, a crisis delegate may bring an outline of a crisis arc including rough ideas about what they want to do, and this is permitted within reason. Delegates may not bring sample directives or notes that could be directly copied in any capacity for use in their committee. Even if this is not directly copied or used, discovery of such material will be in violation of our Pre-writing Policy. You may not write any material for use in committee between committee sessions either.
If you are unsure about whether you are violating the pre-writing policy, before the start of committee you are welcome to ask either a member of Directorate or your Chair, and show any documents you have brought. If you violate this policy before the first committee session, you will not be disqualified, however any violating materials will be confiscated and disposed of. Once the first committee session starts, any violations will result in disqualification from awards.
Any concerns regarding prewriting should be reported to Directorate through our anonymous report forms we will bring out to every committee. Any delegate found guilty of prewriting will be disqualified from awards. Widespread (>60% of delegation) cases of prewriting across a single delegation may lead to a whole-delegation disqualification. Furthermore, we reserve the right to search all written or printed material delegates bring to committee in response to allegations.
Artificial Intelligence Policy
We strongly discourage the use of AI programs as part of preparation in any capacity. We believe it worsens the educational experience and often provides inaccuracies or bias that may impact your performance as a delegate. We believe delegates should, independent of AI, be able to do effective research, come up with strong, convincing arguments, and develop strong diplomatic skills, and ultimately hinders your ability to come up with creative solutions and ideas.
We also believe that unrestricted AI use may provide unfair advantages. Hence, the use of AI (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, etc.) is entirely banned for the duration of the conference. This is an expectation we have put on our own staff in the development of Background Guides, and we also hold this expectation of our delegates.
If you use AI in any capacity in resources you bring in, you must properly cite any content or ideas you received from it. This extends to backroom notes and directives, as well as resolutions. Cite the AI platform you used, for any purpose serving your delegation in the conference. Failure to do this will be regarded as plagiarism, and will be subject to the plagiarism policy.
Authenticity Policy
Delegates must represent the views of a country or individual, not themselves, and so delegates are reminded to adhere to the stances of their country or position they represent. However, this should not constrain a delegate, and that compromise and cooperation are valued more than true authenticity. Delegates should not feel like they should sacrifice diplomacy for true, complete authenticity to their position. Delegates who feel unsure about their position on a specific topic are encouraged to reach out to their Chairs or Crisis Directors before or during the conference.
Delegates should not violate our Discrimination and Harassment Policy in the name of authenticity. Committees are designed such that either opposing sides and perspectives should not violate our Content Policies.
Crisis Notes & Arcs
EmpireMUNC recommends delegates use common sense and think critically about the material and content of their crisis notes and backroom arcs, not just about the immediate actions but also the implications, undertones, and potential issues that may be harmful, even if unintended.
Violations of these may include, in cases of increasing severity of offenses and in cases of repeated misconduct: General and Direct Verbal Warnings, Advisor Notification, Removal from Committee Sessions, Award Disqualification, and in rare cases of very grave cases, Removal from Conference. In the history of our conference, we have never had to give more than a direct verbal warning from crisis note content.
We will evaluate the appropriateness of crisis arcs and content based on the unique circumstances of each committee, and we will put a good faith effort to be fair to all parties regarding this. If you receive a warning, please stray from your existing arc and pivot towards one the backroom will accept. Repeated violations will lead to ascending severity of policy enforcement.
We encourage keeping content PG-13, however we have a non-exhaustive list of prohibited content:
Discriminatory Content: any arcs including sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic, or any discriminatory content or themes are strictly forbidden.
This includes indirectly invoking harmful stereotypes or insensitively portraying issues.
Chairs and CDs will make clear what is acceptable and not acceptable in discourse at the beginning of committee.
Direct Killings: Delegates are not permitted to stage assassinations, executions, or death sentences toward backroom characters nor fellow committee members.
Deaths, especially historical events that include deaths, may be part of crisis updates and debate within reason.
We will not permit delegates to execute killings themselves in notes or directives.
Slavery: Modern slavery, human trafficking, forced labor, or any form of exploitation resembling slavery is not permitted in any capacity.
Sexual Content: Explicit references, discussions, or portrayals of sexual acts, innuendos, or any sexually suggestive material is strictly forbidden.
Drugs: Arcs involving illegal drugs, drugging people, producing or selling narcotics, will not be permitted.
Ethnic Cleansing: The systematic and forced removal of ethnic or religious groups from a given land by a more powerful ethnic or religious group, usually through violence and human rights violations, will not be permitted in any capacity.
Colonialism: Colonialism will not be permitted in crisis arcs, and this is the domination of one nation over another, often subjugating and exploiting it and its people, usually for economic gain or power.
Colonialism will be a point of discussion or debate across a multitude of committees, however we will not permit delegates to engage in colonialism themselves.
To be clear, in cases where colonialism is clearly not the intent, we allow for:
Secession (desire for autonomy and independence of a specific region or people)
Political rises to power (gaining control over one’s own state through different means)
The invasion of other regions in war.
Awards
Awards will be decided holistically, taking in the overall contribution of a delegate throughout the duration of the conference. The number of awards will be dependent on the size of the committee.
In General Assemblies, this includes bloc leadership, contribution to working papers and resolutions, strong speeches, effective diplomacy, and creative solutions to challenges.
In a Crisis, we generally focus 60% on backroom and 40% on frontroom, so awarding delegates will have creative and meaningful crisis arcs that impact the scope of debate in the frontroom, alongside excellent diplomatic skills and speaking abilities, and have proposed and executed their own directives that passed the frontroom.
These will all be weighed and awards will be decided through agreement across all Committee Staff. Committee awards will not be subject to change once finalized, and they will take all committee sessions Thursday through Saturday into account.
All Delegations over 5 delegates will be considered for Delegation Awards! We will have 4 Delegation Awards: Outstanding and Best for both Small and Large Delegations (Large defined by 10+ delegates), decided by the overall performance of a delegation in awards and points.
Awards will all be announced during Closing Ceremony, with a relevant prize (Certificate, Physical Award, Gavel) given to all winners. If a delegate is unable to collect their award for travel conflicts with the Closing Ceremony, please contact the Directorate to see if we are able to ship a physical award to you (which may be location-dependent). We are happy to send PDFs of any certificates.
Enforcement Procedure Policy
Our consequences for policy violations are listed below. Please consult both Policy pages for what leads to each disciplinary action. We encourage referencing the laws of the City of New York and NYU conduct policy:
Confiscation - Committee staff will request the delegate to hand over an item they are using without permission (eg. Phone) to the Dais, where it will be kept in a safe and secure location for the remainder of the committee session. Committee staff will not be permitted to search this item nor tamper with it in any capacity.
Confiscation and Search - Offending items brought into committee (eg. printed papers for research) will be handed over to the Dais and will be searched, and in cases determined by the Executives, may be disposed of. This will never include personal electronic or medical devices.
General Verbal Warning - upon the occurrence of a minor offense, the entire committee will be told, by a member of Committee Staff or Directorate, to stray from such actions, not directed at the offending delegate.
Verbal Warning - A formal verbal warning issued by a member of Committee Staff or Directorate informing a participant that their conduct violates conference policy, done one-on-one, with accordance with NYU’s Minor Protection policy.
Advisor Notification - The participant’s advisor will be informed of the policy violation and any disciplinary actions taken, the advisor may also be requested to assist in resolving the situation.
Removal from Committee Session - The participant will be requested to temporarily leave the committee room for a duration determined by the conference Executives, in which they may not vote, caucus, or engage in debate or committee activities.
Individual Award Disqualification - The participant will no longer be eligible to receive any individual delegate awards, regardless of prior performance.
Whole-Delegation Award Disqualification - The entire delegation may be disqualified from receiving both individual delegate awards and whole delegate awards.
Individual Removal from Conference - A participant’s conference credentials will be revoked and they will be asked to leave the NYU Campus immediately with supervision from an advisor or chaperone, with no refund.
Whole Delegation Removal from Conference - The whole delegation’s conference credentials will be revoked and they will be asked to leave the NYU campus immediately, with no refund.
Conference Ban - a delegation will be asked to leave the NYU campus immediately, with no refund, and will not be permitted to register for future EmpireMUNCs, either permanently or for a temporary period designated by the Conference Executives.
Referral to Relevant Authorities - In cases involving suspected criminal conduct, threats to participant safety, abuse, or other serious misconduct by any participant or advisor, EmpireMUNC reserves the right to contact law enforcement, emergency services, child protection agencies, or other appropriate authorities, as deemed necessary by the Conference Executives.