UNP FAQ's

What does UNP mean?
That is our abbreviation for United Nations Pilgrimage for Youth.  This trip was originally designed to bring students from around the world to study the United Nations in New York.  Our program has expanded to give tours to other East Coast areas.

Who is a Delegate?
In keeping with our United Nations theme, we call our contest winners Delegates.

When is the trip?  
Our Oregon Delegates probably will fly out of Portland in the last week of June or first week of July.  The Oregon Delegates will be hosted at a banquet in Portland on the night before that. Later, all of the Oregon Delegates will stay at one hotel together (at our expense). This makes it easier for the entire group to make it to the flight, which I would expect to leave the next morning at 6:00am. 

What are the destinations and what does the trip entail?
The Delegates will fly to the East Coast, spending twelve to fourteen days touring various cities there. For the past several years, the Delegates have flown directly to Philadelphia. After touring there, the Delegates will go to New York City and spend 5 nights at the Affinia Manhattan Hotel in downtown Manhattan (only a few blocks from the Empire State Building). The focus of this trip is two days at the United Nations building in New York where the Delegates will tour the building and listen to speakers from around the world. While in Manhattan, Delegates will also go to the top of the Empire State Building, visit the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, visit the site of the World Trade Center, see a Broadway play, go shopping, etc. 

Other than New York City, Delegates will probably tour Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Gettysburg, Niagara Falls, and Ottawa. When traveling on the East Coast you will travel by charter bus. Your bus will also have students from other states and/or countries on it, giving you a chance to meet a variety of people! Each year the trip changes just slightly due to various reasons. What I have mentioned are major activities that have been done for several years and I expect to have happen this year. There is always a possibility of change, though. For example, they could delete the trip to Niagara Falls and add a stop in Boston or an extra day in Washington, D.C. However, this should give you a good idea of what to expect. For a look at a recent itinerary, go to:  2006 Trip Itinerary

Who can compete in this contest?
High School Sophomores and Juniors in Marion, Linn, and Benton Counties (plus students from West Salem High School).  Students must also be 16 or 17 years old on August 1, 2009.  For details, go to the page for:  Basic Requirements.

How many students will be competing in our area?
That’s a great question... that we do not have an answer for. All sophomores and juniors who will be 16 or 17 and live in our area are eligible. Our area (Area 7) includes 3 counties and there are thousands of students who would be eligible.  However, very few ever  apply. Many never hear of the contest, while others would never dream of traveling with a group like this. The fear of public speaking stops a lot of students from participating. In the past 25 years we have had as many as 13 students compete in one year. "Typically", we only have 4 to 8 students compete. We will not know how many students are competing until the essays are turned in November 14, 2008. One year we did not have any students turn in an essay!

If we have more than 6 essays turned in, we will evaluate the essays and only invite the students who had the top 6 scores to come to the Speak-off. 

How many students will win the trip in our area?
The lodges in our area were able to send 2 Delegates last year.  This year, our area may only be able to send one or two delegates. This will be based on the amount of money our lodges can raise. You will be told how many students are competing and how many will be sent from our area after the essays are turned in.  We will know this by November 21st and will notify those students who have turned in an essay.

How exactly do you win?
The essay is worth 30% of the judging and is due November 14, 2008.  Students with the top 6 essay scores are invited to a Speak-off (speech contest), which will be on December 6, 2008 in Albany.  The speech is worth 70% of the judging.  To win you must participate in both elements of this contest completely.  Please read the requirements completely!

What will be expected of the students on the trip?
This is a fast paced trip with a lot of walking and our winners will need to submit a doctor’s certificate of good health. For most of the trip, T-shirts, shorts or jeans are appropriate. In New York, the winners will be expected to dress very nicely for three days. Girls will be asked to wear dresses or a similar skirt outfit and boys will be asked to wear jackets, ties, and slacks. Skimpy clothes or inappropriate logos, etc, are not allowed at any time on the trip. (For example, T-shirts with beer logos are not allowed.) We expect our winners to be on their best behavior during the trip! No use of cigarettes, alcohol or drugs are allowed on the trip. 

Our lodges here in Marion, Linn, and Benton counties work hard to raise the money for this trip and to find our winners!  We expect the winners to enjoy the trip and come back successfully!One of our goals is to have you all be able to enjoy it. Behavior such as drinking, smoking, stealing, or willfully disobeying instructions from the leaders is disruptive to the other Delegates.  Behaviors such as these can result in a Delegate being sent home at their cost. 

Are Delegates expected to pay for any of the expenses? 
The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs pay about $2,500 per Delegate. That covers lodging, 3 meals per day, and all transportation from Portland to the East Coast and back. It also covers tour fees, play tickets, etc.  Our lodges do not cover personal expenses. Recent Delegates tell us that they spent around $300 during the trip on snacks, souvenirs, etc. (That is about $20 per day.) If you do not have a passport, you will also need to get one of those because you will be traveling into Canada. A passport costs about $100 and that would be at your expense.