While most of their classmates were catching planes home for the holiday, a group of 27 Harvard students flew to Panama City, Panama on November 18 to host a government simulation.

HACIA Democracy, a group started by Kevin M. Davis '96, hosted the first simulation sponsored by a Harvard group in Latin America for more than 200 Latin American high school students.

Davis, who said he conceived the idea while attending Harvard Model Congress Europe during his sophomore year, said the exercise in democracy-building was a learning experience for both Harvard students and the delegates.

"In a lot of the countries that had sent delegates democracy is a new thing," Davis said. "It was remarkable to see how successful the conference was at [involving students in democratic activities]."

Harvard students who staffed the conference spoke either English or were bilingual. Although the majority of the sessions were conducted in English, several were conducted jointly in Spanish and English, Davis said.

""It was the responsibility of the students and our staff to make sure that everyone understood," said Davis, who is a Crimson editor.

Students who worked at the conference said they appreciated the chance to host a government simulation in a meaningful political environment.

"This was right in the heat of things," said Bridger E. McGaw '97, who served as vice-chair on the committee on the constitution.

"Man these kids were good," McGaw said of the 27 students on the committee, adding that the delegates combined examples from various countries' histories and constitutions to form a new, democratic constitution.

Benjamin D. Tanen '97, another staff member, said he enjoyed the conference despite the fact that he speaks no Spanish, adding that he hopes to study Spanish next year and attend the conference in the future.

According to Davis, the conference was funded by students admissions fees and corporate sponsorships from companies such as Coca Cola and Nestle.

Davis said yesterday he is sure the conference will become a Harvard tradition.

"We had a hard time convincing some of the people not to stay," he said of the Harvard staff, adding that staffers began planning for next year's conference on the plane ride home