All Around
December 13, 2007
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar student newspaper since 2004
LiveGreen
Vol. 4 Issue 4
www.theallaround.org
Club plans to increase environmental awareness
By Megan Larcom
Tepper 2010
L
iveGreen is one of the many recently recognized student
organizations at Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Freshman Brian
Manalastas and sophomores Megan Larcom and Hillary
Smith founded the club in order to make environmental consciousness an important aspect of our community. The group
now has almost a dozen members.
Since receiving recognition, LiveGreen has formed a
group of motivated, passionate, diverse students committed to
one mission: promoting environmental self-education, public
awareness, action and outreach.
FEATURE
While LiveGreen has short and long-term goals ranging from an environmental lecture series to an Education Citywide recycling program, the group also realized that an immediate “shock” was necessary to set the foundation for future
successes.
Thus, LiveGreen members set out to revolutionize the
debut of new student organizations. Shock Week, held Nov. 4-8,
was designed as a week of environmentally-related displays, activities and events.
The goals of Shock Week were to debut LiveGreen
and put environmental consciousness on the community radar.
Events and activities included an ice-cream sundae social with
a showing of An Inconvenient Truth; a “Be Tasteful, Not Wasteful” bake sale; and an environmental footprint campaign.
Some faculty members were even surprised throughout the week with recycled bottles, trees and newspaper décor
in their offices as part of the “Forest a Fellow” fundraiser.
LiveGreen compiled a list of thirty shocking facts and
twenty-two ‘tips to save the world’ and displayed the information throughout the LAS building. On the final day of Shock
Week, marked by “Green Day,” Omar al Zoheery and Tarek al
Ward graced the hallway crowd with an environmental rap and
pop parody at the Shock Week “Rap-Up” event.
Think Green.
Love Green.
LiveGreen.
In an effort to stay true to its mission, LiveGreen used
classroom whiteboards to advertise, as well as various recycled
items in the hallways to make a statement. All flyers and banners used during Shock Week were constructed on reused materials and even saved for future programming. Funds raised during Shock Week will support future environmental awareness
campaigns and outreach projects.
LiveGreen would like to thank all students, faculty and
staff for their enthusiasm and support during Shock Week. Stay
on the lookout for future LiveGreen updates—including a recycling initiative.
If anyone is interested in getting involved with LiveGreen, just e-mail live-green@lists.qatar.cmu.edu.
.
Carnegie Mellon Qatar
launched its first student
environmental group.
LiveGreen is made up of a
dedicated group of students
who want to see sustainable
environmental practice and
increased environmental
awareness in the community.
LiveGreen has developed shortand long-term goals ranging
from an environmental lecture
series to an Education Citywide recycling program.
The group kicked off with a
Shock Week from Nov. 4-8. The
main goals of the week were
to introduce the club and put
environmental consciousness
on the community radar.
During the week, the group
held environmentally-related
displays, activities and events.
For statistics on the
environment, turn to page 2.
Page 2
December 13, 2007
www.theallaround.org
By Mohammed Abu Zeinab
Murder Mystery Committee
A MURDEROUS night of fun
O
n Nov. 1, just one day after Halloween, the unexpecting
citizens of the Carnegie Mellon Qatar community were
invited to the ominous mansion of the rich and eccentric Simon McCobb for a special Halloween event: a séance that
attempted to contact Pumpkin Jack – a legendary ghost of Spookum Hills who is rumored to appear every Halloween night to
claim a new victim.
Though all of the invited guests seemed cheery at first
glance, some of them were hiding more sinister motives apparently. They were told to consider everyone a suspect and to
think logically of motive, opportunity and weapon.
ANNUAL EVENT
Together this all lead the guests to the secret that is the
SPOOKUM HILLS MURDER MYSTERY DINNER!
Thus began the annual Murder Mystery Dinner. The
most amazing thing of anything witnessed at this party was simply the degree of commitment people had toward their characters. The event hosted a consortium of 70 odd faculty, staff and
students who went all-out on everything.
From Naif’s hazing white pupils to Dave Gilbert’s
convincing act of not having to philosophize all night or rather
speak at all for that matter. We all laughed to Professor Ben
Reilly’s dramatic and rather unexpected werewolf spasms and
outbursts of insanity.
The costumes ranged from Hicham’s Grim Reaper
outfit and Samiha’s classical illusionist-entertainer to Omar
Zohairy’s Frankenstein. And with that walk, he certainly convinced me there was a monster standing by me. Oh, and just for
kicks, let’s not forget the adorable but ever so vicious couple,
father Jarred and his wife, sister Jennifer.
Everyone performed outstandingly and we thank you
all and give you credit for the success of our event and a greatly
enjoyable evening.
Let us not forget the Murder Mystery Committee for
volunteering whole-heartedly and helping organize, cater and
direct the event; namely Salma Kayali, Eman Tag, Alya Bawazir and finally me, Mohammed Abu Zeinab.
If it were not for Salma’s chronic ‘running-around’ syndrome trying to get the place together and the venue decorated,
The Murder Mystery Dinner is a popular event at
Carnegie Mellon Qatar. Too bad not everyone makes it
out alive.
it was Eman’s countless wisdom and colorful suggestions or her
arguing with Alya’s more, brighter ideas that helped us wrap
things up.
But all jokes aside I believe the committee did an
amazing job in holding together for support in such a short time
frame to plan and arrange an event of such scope. From supplies, vendors and catering, to creativity and ideas, to promoting and initiations, to logistics and time management our team
came through without a flinch and shining bright (we had our
moments here an there but all in all, fresh ‘n’ clean spotless).
To them I would like to say thank you for the opportunity to work with such a talented and devoted team to which if
you ask the everyone around you his or her efforts did not fall
short of an outstanding success.
LiveGreen’s Shocking Facts
Today, four fifths of the planet’s forests have been destroyed, degraded, or fragmented
by relentless human activity. (Green Peace)
Average temperatures in Alaska, western Canada, and eastern Russia have risen at
twice the global average. (Green Peace)
Arctic ice is rapidly disappearing, and the region may have its first completely ice-free
summer by 2040 or earlier. (Green Peace)
Coral reefs suffered the worst bleaching (die-off in response to stress) ever recorded
in 1998. (Green Peace)
Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere are now the highest in 150,000 years.
(Green Peace)
12% of the Earth’s plant species could be lost over the next 20 years. (Green-Networld)
Nuclear toxicity can cause a variety of birth related, respiratory, mental and physical
defects among people affected. (Green Peace)
Desertification affects more than 75% of dry ecosystems worldwide. (Green-Networld)
Due to deforestation, the world is set to lose thousands of species and animals in the next
10 to 20 years. (Green Peace)
70% of the world’s marine species are at risk of extinction. (Francis Moore Lappe)
The 1990s were most likely the warmest decade in history, and 1998 the warmest year.
(Green Peace)
The blue whales of the Antarctic are still at less than 1 percent of their original abundance
despite 40 years of complete protection. (Green Peace)
Scientific tests have revealed that Apple’s iPhone contains two types of hazardous chemicals that have already been eliminated by other mobile phone makers. (Green Peace)
Average temperatures have climbed 0.8 degree Celsius around the world since 1880,
much of this from recent decades. (Green Peace)
Pollution causes 40% of deaths worldwide. (Green-Networld)
1.1 billion people (18% of the world’s population) lack access to safe drinking water.
(Green-Networld)
Africa has had 65% of its wildlife habitat converted to other use. (Green-Networld)
It is estimated that 450 existing species of birds will be extinct by 2015. (GreenNetworld)
In South America 1.3% of the rainforest is lost every year. (Green-Networld)
In New Zealand 90% of all wetlands have been lost. (Green-Networld)
December 13, 2007
www.theallaround.org
Page 3
The women's basketball team was unstoppable at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland tournament.
Women’s basketball team wins tournament in Bahrain
Tartans edge out tournament host Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland in action-packed final
T
he Carnegie Mellon Qatar women’s basketball team captured first place in the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland Basketball Tournament in Bahrain. The seven students on the
team connected for free throws, sunk lay-ups, captured rebounds and had numerous assists during the two-day tournament.
The Tartans first game was against tournament hosts, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI), at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning. The Tartans started strong with a 20-12 win. Megan
Larcom led the team in points with 14, Reem Al Muftah had 3 assists and Maha Mahmoud had 8
rebounds.
Later that day the Tartans took on Virginia Commonwealth University and walked away
the winners with an impressive 35-4 score. Urmila Rosario led the scoring with 16, followed by
Salma Kayali with 8 and Maha Mahmoud with 7. Benezir Anis and Dana Hadan led the team in
assists with 2 each.
SPORTS
The final game on Friday was against New York Institute of Technology in Bahrain. “We
played our best game of the tournament and won 37-15 against a good team,” says David Duke,
Carnegie Mellon Qatar teaching assistant and team coach.
Megan Larcom led the team with 13 points followed by Salma Kayali with 12. Megan
had 12 total rebounds and Salma had 8 total rebounds.
The team was seeded 1st for the tournament on Saturday and received a bye in the first
round. On Saturday morning RCSI beat VCU, and Georgetown beat NYIT in the first round.
Carnegie Mellon again played RCSI again on Saturday morning at 10:00 a.m.
After a bad first quarter, RCSI was ahead 3-2 thanks to great defense, but the Tartans
picked it up and played better for the next 3 quarters to win 27-12. Urmila Rosario led the team
with 12 points followed by Megan Larcom.
Winning the game put Carnegie Mellon in the finals where they would play the winner of
RCSI vs Georgetown. RCSI edged out Georgetown in the semifinal, so we were set to play them
for the third time in the final.
The Tartans struggled in the final, missing many easy shots. However because of our fantastic defense we were still leading 15-7 in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter RCSI managed
to find some cracks in the Tartan defense and scored 7 straight points to bring the score to 15-14.
Carnegie Mellon hit a quick two pointer to extend its lead to 17-14.
Then one of the RCSI girls connected on a shot, and they made two free-throws to take
the lead 17-18 for the first time with 1 minute 20 seconds left in the game. The Tartans missed two
Not just brains...the women at Carnegie Mellon Qatar are athletic, too.
lay ups to retake the lead and RCSI got the ball back. Tartan defense came up with a stop, so we
had the ball with about 30 seconds left on the clock.
The crowd was going wild as Megan Larcom drove to the goal and missed a game winning shot, but she got her rebound and scored on the second opportunity to put the Tartans ahead
19-18. With 6 seconds left RCSI missed a shot, but got a rebound.
Their player was fouled while shooting with 4 seconds left. She had two free-throws to
potentially tie and win the game. The first shot bounced twice off the rim before bouncing away,
and Megan Larcom got the rebound after the second miss to seal the win. They fouled Megan with
2 seconds left, and she made one shot to bring the final score to 20-18.
The tournament, which was held as a charity event, had five teams: three from Education
City (Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown and VCU) and two from Bahrain, including the host school
RCSI.
Carnegie Mellon team members are: Megan Larcom (Tepper 2010), Reem Al Muftah
(Tepper 2010), Urmila Rosario (Tepper 2011), Maha Mahmoud (Tepper 2009), Salma Kayali
(Tepper 2009), Benazir Anis (Tepper 2011) and Dana Hadan (Tepper 2009).
Page 4
December 13, 2007
www.theallaround.org
Students attend Public Speaking Competition
Attendees hope to raise environmental awareness in Doha and Education City
T
wo student teams from Carnegie Mellon Qatar competed in the Environmental Public Speaking Competition in Dubai.
One of the five-person teams was comprised of Business Administration students and the other was made up of
Computer Science students.
DUBAI
Two teams of students attended the Environmental Public Speaking Competition in Dubai.
Model Arab League holds debate
By Rifki Bahri
World Event / Political Editor
C
arnegie Mellon University in Qatar’s first debating club, Model Arab League (MAL), hosted a
debate in front of faculty and staff members on Nov.
12.
The audience included staff from the Office
of International Education, who came to observe the
first MAL debate on “How to Improve the International Education Program in Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.”
DEBATING
The main purpose of the debate was to come
up with at least one resolution that consisted of ideas
and proposals to improve the International Education
Program of Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
The resolution(s) would then be passed on to
the Office of International Education to enable it to
re
e
h
t
d
a
gain feedback on the current program and possible
ways to improve them in the future.
There were seven delegations, each representing a particular viewpoint. They were of the
freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors, faculty, staff
and student affairs. Greg Smith, the advisor of the
MAL club, chaired the productive debate, which ran
for three hours. By the end, almost every single delegate was exhausted.
Although the delegates were all weary after
the long debate, they managed to pass a couple of
resolutions. The resolutions recommended that “the
Office of International Education create[s] a Web site
and give[s] lectures to increase awareness of the international education program and its procedures.”
Further, the delegates agreed to “establish a
staff and faculty exchange program with the main
campus for a greater experience in a larger area.”
The approved resolutions were successfully
given to the Office of International Education and
stand as another example of students shaping the future of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
Test your brain with Sudoku
ANSWERS TO PAGE 8 QUESTION
All Around
www.theallaround.org
1. Mohammed Al-Mahmeed (BA 2008)
2. Omar Alouba (BA 2009)
The BA team chose the topic “is urbanization affecting the environment?” Maha Al-Hanzab was the speaker
and her teammates were Hillary Smith, Brian Manalastas,
Mena Assad and Basheera Banu. The team placed 2nd in its
category and 4th overall.
The CS team spoke on the topic "is desert greening
feasible?" The team overcame great odds with the last minute
loss of its speaker due to visa issues and did an excellent
job as well. Olympia Datta was the substitute speaker and
her teammates were Shahan Jamal, Laila Murad and Khaled
Ziyaeen.
This year’s competition had a total of 48 teams,
which required the competition to expand to a two-day event.
The teams stayed a few extra days in Dubai to do a
little beach cleanup and meet with Emirates Environmental
Group (the NGO that put on the competition) to talk about its
efforts in recycling and public awareness in environmental
issues to hopefully bring some wisdom back to Doha and
Education City.
onli
ne
December 13, 2007
www.theallaround.org
Page 5
The new Human
Rights Club successfully held its
first event: a party
at the Doha International Center for
Special Needs. The
group of volunteers organized a
fun-filled party for
children.
Human Rights Club organizes first activity
Group of volunteers visits Doha International Center for Special Needs
By Hind Al-Khulaifi
Copy Editor
On November 1, the newly-formed Human
Rights Club embarked on its first community service
trip. Organized by club founders, Wadha Al-Adgham (CS
2009), Lina Agha (CS 2009) and Keghani Kristelle (CS
2010), the destination was the Doha International Center
for Special Needs.
The center cares for children, young men and
young women with learning difficulties, autism, mental
retardation, delayed language development, cerebral
palsy and downs syndrome.
HELPING OTHERS
Entering the center timidly, the group was
greeted with welcoming smiles and excitement from the
supervisors and specialists. From the nearby cafeteria,
waiting children eagerly peered out at the visitors as they
walked in with their treats, games and prizes as well as
party decorations.
Before the party started, the manager of the center gave the group a tour of the facility. Walls decorated
with drawings and educational posters established an
appealing and fun atmosphere. The group toured specialized classrooms before arriving at the cafeteria where the
children were waiting for the party.
Led by the outspoken Saleh Al Khulaifi and
Wadha Al Adgum, the party was fun for everyone as the
members of the group played numerous games with the
thrilled children of the center.
At the end of the exhilarating yet tiring hour-long
party, the employees of the center gathered the group
into their conference room to thank them with sweets and
Arabic coffee.
Before the Human Rights Club volunteers left,
the children of the center gathered together to take a
group picture with their party hosts to keep as a memory.
Saying goodbye and being thanked by the center,
the group of students and staff members left smiling. And
the outcome of the day was more valuable than expected.
The joy generated by the visit had excelled expectations,
signaling the success of the first planned community
service trip organized by the Human Rights Club.
Saleh Al Khulaifi had a moment at the party that
he is not soon to forget. “A four-year-old girl came and
hugged me after we played together. That was an unforgettable experience,” he says. “Plus, they have a kid
called Saleh.”
The Human Rights Club’s main objective for the
event was to engage with the children of the center in a
way that would put smiles on their young faces. Through
an organized party where Human Rights Club volunteers
brought in party supplies – not to mention lots of enthusiasm - the group’s objective was fulfilled.
The group that visited the center consisted of
students, staff and faculty who replied to an informative
e-mail requesting volunteers.
The group was made up of Saleh Al Khulaifi
(BA 2011), Hind Al Khulaifi (BA 2011), Samiah Akhtar
(BA 2011), Samreen Anjum (CS 2011), Samee Amin
(CS 2011), Samira Islam (BA 2011), Olympia Datta (CS
2011), Habiba Sultana (CS 2010), Majd Sakr, Ph.D.,
computer science professor, Emily Leathers, teaching assistant, and Greg Smith, Student Affairs and club advisor.
For more information about the Human Right’s
Club, please contact lagha@qatar.cmu.edu.
Page 6
December 13, 2007
www.theallaround.org
Feeling safe? Think again.
By Olympia Datta
Opinion Editor
Security at Education City probably lacks the opinion of the people that they are
protecting. So here is the question that was posed for this issue: What’s your opinion
about the safety of Education City and specifically the LAS building?
Khaled Ziya Aeen (Tepper, CS 2011)
I think that the security measures taken
around Education City are just ridiculous. Are
they trying to protect us or show us their presence?”
Saleh Majid Alkhulaifi (Tepper 2011)
As I was sitting there with my two
friends playing cards ... at 11 PM .. alone
in the corridor ... a huge guy came out of
nowhere asking about IDs .. WTH we were
playing cards .. no AK16 !!
The tough security regulations might
pull you down ... where in some cases you
could sneak down (i.e. underground parking
elevators are easily accessible)... they had better check for their glitches better than having
a desk in front of the LAS gate.
Justin Carlson, teaching assistant
I think that security in Education City
badly needs to be fixed. Can anyone explain
how making drivers turn over ID to the guards at
the gate does anything useful? Does having security guards at the doors do anything more than
provide an illusion of security? I don’t think so.
I don’t know that it’s possible for us to
be “safe” and at the same time be open to the
community in a meaningful way. Having pointless security measures that add social barriers is
a particularly bad combination. A fundamental
part of being an institution of higher learning is
being engaged with the community. If doing so
means we can’t be completely safe then so be it.
Benazir Anis (Tepper 2011)
I find the badge checking alright to an
extent, but once they know you are students,
I mean come on give us a break! And the
Hemaya in the dorms ..AHHH!!
NOW they’re a pain. They come up
with a new set of random rules on a daily basis. It’s neither scary or tight or exciting, it’s
just plain irritating.
Brian Gallew, systems manager
Silly. The security measures here are laughable,
to say the least. Allow me to give you a couple examples:
1) The car stickers are trivially forgeable.
2) Assuming the sticker does verify that the car is
allowed on campus, it doesn’t say *anything* about the
driver or their passengers.
3) Badges are trivially forgeable as far as visual
ID is concerned.
As in many areas today, security theater is considered important. Simply having an obtrusive presence
does not provide security.
Keghani Kristelle Kouzoujian (CS 2010)
Pointless, especially the checkpoint at the
LAS main entrance. Anyone can get in using an
entrance from the underground parking, and that’s
proving to be the hassle-free way of doing it, even
if you do have your ID somewhere in your bag.
Marium Chandna (English 2009)
LOL When I was in Qatar, we were entering EC one morning and as usual, the efficient
security guard asked my Dad, “Where going
Sir??” My Dad is like, “DisneyLand.” He didn’t
even listen after Disney and handed my Dad a
pass saying “Thank you.”
Benjamin Reilly, professor
Minty fresh.
Hope Rodefer, ESL specialist
Lina El Menshawy (Tepper 2008)
I think that checking IDs on the gates of
Education City is a waste of my precious time
as well as that of the security guards. One of the
security guards on the gate asked me - actually
begged me - to speak to QF to change the policy..
HARAM.
Security seems to be improving but it remains inconsistent. Rules/procedures are followed
sometimes but not all the time, causing confusion
about how seriously things are handled here. Recent
fire drills (planned or unplanned) point towards the
extreme indifference that most people here have
toward emergency situations (students and staff still
hanging out in the building or on the steps rather
than evacuating as they should).
God help us if there were ever an actual
emergency because chaos would ensue and many
people here would no longer be with us...
December 13, 2007
land of the
By: Omar Alouba
Entertainment Editor
Page 7
www.theallaround.org
free
Walking down a lane of sorrow
The man wonders to himself “wonder what it would be like tomorrow”
Will there be smiles, softening people’s faces
Dancing, highlighting their graces
Or will there be what has always been
The same old, foretold scene
A promise of land
With rules un-objecting
A promise of life
With boundaries un-restricting
A promise that has, and for so long been expired
That of a land of glee
That of a land with no misery
A land where children can see
What life is meant to be
Clearly, purely, honestly
The land of the free
“But the land of the free
Would not that mean
A land that would allow
Anyone to be free
Any race to be seen (under one light)
Any sex to be
Allowed To practice
To venture
To live
Equally?
That is not what I see…”
I see a land allowed to be free
A land, governed by hypocrisy
Where those with power raise themselves off the ground
Dealing and pondering (to the public, not a sound)
They choose who to kill
Who to let live
“TO THIS POOR LAND… Wealth and freedom, we shall now give”
Those are the lies they continuously preach
Before dawning their wrath on unsuspecting fleet
A fleet of man and woman
Children still young
Unaware of the war that’s begun
Never too sure of the conditions ahead
But inevitably aware of the appalling reality
Reality that allows its nation to bleed
Its generations to crumble
Under the relentless new creed
All because of
The land of the free
As this man continues to walk
Thinking, pondering he comes to a halt
Gazing at the miserable “free” lane of sorrow
Wonders to himself “wonder what it would be like tomorrow”
All Around
Chairman
Noor Al-Athirah
Editor-in-Chief
Noor Al-Jassim
Secretary
Maha Al-Khulaifi
Business Manager
Ramsey Ramadan
Marketing Manager
Khalid Ziya aeen
Designers
Alya Bwazir, Mina Assad
Copy Editors
Marium Chandna, Hind Al-Khulaifi
News Editors
Dana Hadan, Maha Obaidan
Features Editor
Lina El Menshawy
Business Editor
Noura Al-Ansari
Political/World Events Editor
Rifki Bahri
Opinion Editor
Olympia Datta
Entertainment Editor
Omar Alouba
Entertainment Team
Aeshah Anani, Al-joharah Al-obaidli,
Fatima Hilal, Nada Al-Mahmeed
Staff Writer
Yara Saeed
Web Editors
Yasser Khan, Shashank Jariwala
Publishing Coordinators
Abdullah Alothman, Iyed Jouini,
Mohammed El Haj
Photographers
Saleh Al-Khulaifi, Maryam Alsemaitt
The All Around is a bimonthly student
newspaper. It is Carnegie Mellon University
in Qatar’s budding student body voice.
The first issue was published on the
28th of September 2004.
A team of four students were successful in
publishing 8 issues in the first year
along with the help of their advisor, Kristin
Gilmore.
You may forward any contributions,
enquiries, questions, or suggestions
to our official e-mail address
all-around@qatar.cmu.edu.
Page 8
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December 13, 2007
Entertainment Page
2
1
Can you identify these
liquefied students?
The life of
Beza & BuJava
Find the answers on page 5