The 31st annual Harvard Model United Nations will convene its session today, as students arrive from high schools all over the country to represent more than 130 nations.

Nearly 2000 students will gather at the Marriot Copley in Boston for the four-day conference, which is sponsored and staffed by the International Relations Council at Harvard, said council president David J. Araten '87 of Lowell House.

Prior to the conference, each delegate was assigned a specific country to represent and a committee on which to serve. Students are expected to understand the policy and the interests of their country with respect to the two problems their committee will address, Araten said.

The committees will propose a comprehensive resolution without compromising the interests of the nations represented, similar to what the United Nations committees strive to do, Araten said.

"The purpose [of the model U.N.] is to expose students to international affairs and get them more interested in what is happening outside the United States," said Araten. He added that it also gives "delegates a chance to understand the U.N. better than they could by reading the papers."

"The U.N. is a very underrepresented organization in the media," he said.

About 100 Harvard students will spend the weekend serving as moderators for the event, said Bruce M. Zessar '87 of Kirkland House, who participated in the model U.N. in high school and will direct the Special Political Committee at this year's conference.

"It's an educational experience for the students to learn about world affairs through role playing," Zessar said.

While most of the proceedings will take place at the Marriot Hotel, committees will meet in Harvard classrooms tomorrow as part of what is called "Harvard day," Araten said.