Novice Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural Committee (SOCHUM)

Committee Profile

At the core of SOCHUM stands the mission to ensure the welfare and safety of marginalized groups throughout the world. Globally, indigenous populations suffer from a severe lack of access to services such as healthcare, housing, education, childcare, etc. The destruction of indigenous civilizations paved the way for the backbones of modern societies, leaving the remnants of indigenous groups in the dust with no support. Many countries fail to recognize the existence of their indigenous groups, hindering the creation of policies that would improve the quality of life for members of indigenous communities. 

On a similar note, religious minorities also often lack sufficient governmental protection from harsh persecution, ranging from hefty religious taxes to violent attacks on their centers of worship. Unfortunately, in some regions, practicing a minority religion can even cost a person their life. The realities of indigenous peoples and religious minorities mirror each other in several ways, and SOCHUM aims to rectify these realities so that members of these groups may thrive freely.

Chair Letter

Greetings Delegates!

My name is Abigail Tsai, and it is a great honor to serve as your chair for Novice SOCHUM at BruinMUN 31. Welcome!

As a quick introduction, I am a second-year student currently majoring in Physiological Science (yes, I am indeed pre-med). In the future, I hope to specialize, but as of now, I have not decided on a specialty yet—though I suppose that’s what the next 10+ years of education will be for. In addition to my pre-health pursuits, you may find me exploring LA on public transit with friends, playing cello, drawing digitally, and meandering through the botanical garden.

My MUN journey began in my freshman year of high school. Truth be told, I joined because the club offered extra credit for social studies, but after competing in my first conference, I fell in love with both the dynamic activity and the community it cultivated.

At UCLA MUN, I have participated as both a crisis staffer and a dais staffer. In addition to staffing, I have competed on our travel team before, and I certainly plan to continue. BruinMUN holds a special place in my heart since it was the first and only university-run conference I ever attended while in high school (I competed in GA Plenary!). I thoroughly enjoyed my experience as a BruinMUN delegate, and I hope that you all will too. Who knows, some of you may be chairing or CDing here in a few years!

As SOCHUM delegates, you will be tasked with addressing pertinent issues that pierce through the very fabric of society as we know it—for what is a society if not for its roots in cultural heritage and the humanitarian spirit? Let us embark together on this weekend-long voyage to discover the answer to this question and more.

All the best,

Abigail Tsai | Chair | BruinMUN 31

sochum@bruinmun.org