The appallingly inadequate knowledge of current and international affairs among U.S. college students is well documented. ICONS, the International Communication and Negotiation Simulations program, offers an encouraging initiative for addressing the problem. ICONS is a "model United Nations" that the staff of the University of Maryland at College Park administers. Students from participating schools play the roles of decision makers of assigned countries as they negotiate a host of international issues. The schools generally get students involved through a course such as comparative foreign policy, a single-nation policy course, or international politics. Phase one, lasting 6 weeks, begins with the instructor offering students a pre-simulation questionnaire. Students then work to develop bibliographic and other library skills. At some schools, political science and foreign language students may work together, which makes the simulation more realistic. The first phase also includes a case study of one nation's foreign policy and an analysis of a detailed international scenario. The next step is the preparation of a class position paper on the scenario. In phase two the students communicate with peers around the country and world via regular mail and real time on-line conferencing through POLNET II. Phase three encompasses a debriefing of the students to determine what they have learned, a post-simulation questionnaire and course evaluation, testing, and grading. The exercise requires hard work and commitment on the part of instructor and students alike, but it also can be fun for all participants. (SG)