JCC Deus Ex Machina: Robber Barons v. Luddites, 1811 (LUDDITES)
The age of oppression is upon us. The continued development of the engine has ruined our life as we know it, destroying our labor, fragmenting our societies, and isolating us from our families! The cosmos has aligned to a horrendous dystopia, and the Luddites are the only one who can see the writing on the wall and stop them.
Whether they be the factory workers, the family of those who’ve died, or any other parties that are hurt from this development, the Luddites are in a unique position to use their manpower to band together and eliminate their horrors. Will they destroy the machines bringing the world back to a better time? Will they pursue workers rights and safety–potentially cementing Britain as a progressive stronghold for ages to come? The possibilities are endless for the Luddites, for in men there is power, and only humans can decide the future.
However, the only thing that can possibly stop such a world from coming into fruition are the greedy robber barons. Aiming to dismantle everything we have built, they continue to destroy our jobs, harshly oppressing the working class all for the sake of “progress.” They do not understand that only humans can create prosperity, advancement, and peace. They seek to create a society without a soul, reverting our state back to its cruel anarchic state. They believe that they are above the law and wield it to harm anyone in their way. However, progress is not an excuse for their crimes, the Luddites must put an end to these sins in order to stop the descent into madness–using whatever means necessary to do so.
The committee begins with an unsettling air. There was yet another Robber Baron victory as they successfully stifled a huge Luddite riot, which could act as a reminder to all of the workers throughout London that at the end of the day, the Barons wielded the power. However, such a misfortune was short-lived as the Luddites also carried out one of the largest cases of frame breaking in a long time too, which reinvigorated the Luddites resolve. Both sides take a hit from one another, and the tensions keep rising and rising, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that there’s something else at play here. That eeriness, like something is turning the cogs in this grandiose machine, just outside the reach of human comprehension
Steven Sotomayor
Chair
Steven Sotomayor is a chair for ChoMUN XXX! He is a rising fourth-year student from Miami, Florida, studying Political Science and Global Studies, with a specialization in Political Economy. His previous experience with ChoMUN comes from ChoMUN XXVII and ChoMUN XXVIII, where he was a frontroom AC with Unification of Italy and a Chair for Yongle's Bongle, respectively. Recently, he was also an Under-Secretary-General for ChoMUN XXIX!
When it comes to his hobbies, he is a big fan of bouldering, watching Formula One, and gaming with his friends. He also loves traveling, and just recently hit 7 countries in one study abroad trip, which he does not recommend if you care about your wallet!
Moving away from hobbies and onto campus life, he is a chair for ChoMUN, the chair for the Adhoc in MUNUC, a member of Urock, and a member of the Gaming RSO.
He is looking forward to seeing everyone in a year’s time! Steven can be reached at sotomayorsteven@uchicago.edu.
Diego Estrada Adame
crisis director
Diego is a third-year at the University of Chicago majoring in Political Science and Economics. He hails from El Paso, Texas. Prior to serving as the Crisis Director, for insert committee title here, Diego served as an Assistant Chair for Unità Alla Nonna: The Unification of Italy, 1848-1871 during ChoMUN XXVII, Crisis Director for Yongle’s Bongle: Court of the Ming Emperor 1403 during ChoMUN XXVIII, and as the Chief Administrative Officer for ChoMUN XXIX. Additionally, Diego competes as a member of the University of Chicago’s MUN team and will be running a committee for this year’s MUNUC high school conference.
Outside of MUN, Diego is interested in international relations, maps, and history (with a specific focus on the Middle Ages). If you have questions about his foreign policy takes or recent developments in the world of cartography, he can be reached at destra@uchicago.edu.
Wilson Mach
coordinating crisis director
Wilson is a fourth-year majoring in Computer Science and Mathematics. Coming from the great city of New York, he will not hesitate to remind everyone that Taylor Swift wrote not one, but more than 12 songs about it. He competes in UChicago's travel team and is heavily involved in MUNUC, UChicago’s high school MUN conference. Within CHOMUN, Wilson served as a Chair for MOMAgeddon: Museum of Modern Art, 2026 at CHOMUN XXIX, Crisis Director for Mischief and Met-dling: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2025 at CHOMUN XXVIII and an AC for NothingNatural About This: A Night at the American Museum of Natural History at CHOMUN XXVII.
Outside of MUN, he enjoys wandering Chicago to satisfy his craving for good food and regularly gets frustrated figuring out why the code he spent 10 hours on doesn’t work.
Wilson is extremely excited to coordinate this committee and to help delegates get their mischief managed. If you have any questions or want to share any obscure historical facts, feel free to reach out at wmach@uchicago.edu.
Secretariat oversight:
elizabeth zeilman, under-secretary-general