All Around
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar student newspaper since 2004
October 24, 2007
Vol. 4 Issue 2
Visiting the Children’s Rehabilitation Center
An eye-opening experience for one student
By Hind Al-Khulaifi
Copy Editor
I
used to think that if one was healthy, educated, had a loving
family and was financially sound enough to lead a comfortable lifestyle, he or she would surely be happy.
The day I visited the Children’s Rehabilitation Center
at Hamad Hospital, I realized I could not have been more wrong.
I will never forget this experience for it changed my views about
happiness and its means of achievement.
As a National Honor Society member, I was required
to go to the center and earn my service hours by helping and
playing with the mentally and physically impaired children who
either live there or are regular patients.
Upon hearing about the children I was to interact with
during my service, my heart was filled with grief. I started to
imagine how life could be if I had health problems: mental or
physical. Or if I was a patient in the hospital for most of my life,
not being able to walk or eat by myself.
On my way to the hospital, I was preparing myself
to encounter a painful scene of miserable children. I nervously
entered the center, scared of what I might witness. My mind and
body transitioned into a world alien to me till this day.
FIRST PERSON
The main door opened into a long corridor, lined with
entrances to several rooms and a separate play room. Walking down the line of chambers, my eyes scanned the beautiful
frames hung up on the walls, each enclosing a group of happylooking children. They all seemed excited, some playing with
toys or posing with a nurse or doctor.
I looked away from the pictures and saw a little girl
in a wheelchair pointing at us, the NHS members, and talking
breathlessly to a nurse. Following the little girl’s gaze, the nurse
warmly greeted us and offered us cinnamon tea. She introduced
us to the 3-year old girl and described her ailment to us.
We discovered that she was born with muscular malfunction. She told us her miraculous story of recovery, for she
was brought to the hospital when only a baby. Then, she did
not even have the strength to lift her arms. And now, she can
move them around while maintaining control over them. The
doctors had also reported that she will able to walk by herself
very soon.
We were escorted to one of the many aligned rooms.
Several beaming faces greeted us. My gaze only had to drop
down to see sets of wheelchairs, disfigured joints and disabled
limbs stare bluntly back at me. They were not physically like us,
nor could their minds function like ours. However, that did not
stop them from expressing the joy and excitement they felt at
our presence.
An ancient saying, “music and children bring joy to
any life,” enacted in the very room I stood in. The children, my
colleagues and I sang songs of love and togetherness, helped the
children play musical instruments and rejoiced in their world of
total bliss.
As I indulged in the cheerful ambience, I noticed a
young female patient who had no eyes, nose, hands or feet. The
nurse informed me that this child lacked these basic body parts
since birth.
Hind Al-Khulaifi was pleasantly surprised to find that
the children at the Children's Rehabiliation Center at
Hamad Hospital were happy and full of enthusiasm for
her visit. She spent the day at the center as part of a
National Honor Scoiety activitiy.
The girl lowered
her head and began to sob.
Before I knew it a nurse
reduced the volume of the
music and took the girl in
her arms.
The nurse comforted her by telling her that
she was by her side. We understood later that the girl
had difficulty in comprehending too much sound
and movement around her.
While the music
played and the kids struggled to participate in the
clapping and playing and I
watched the scene, my eyes
filled with fresh tears. I realized how ignorant I was, to expect
the children to be sad and miserable because of the life God
chose for them.
In their eyes I saw safety and a great wealth of love.
They had hearts that expressed happiness without expecting
anything in return. They were not healthy. They would never
have the chance to attend school.
They owned nothing but themselves and were entirely
dependent on others. Most importantly, their home was the center and their families were the hospital staff.
The Children’s
Rehabilitation
Unit provides
both long- and
short-term care
to pediatric
patients with
developmental
disabilities. The
unit has a total
capacity of 24
beds in addition to
day care services.
That day, I understood that true happiness came from
the heart. Nevertheless, I also knew that I had to return to my
own world, where wars of the hearts and minds reign.
This experience truly taught me to be grateful for what
God has given me. This experience made me realize that my
daily life is a privilege, not something I should take for granted.
Finally, this experience taught me to express my gratitude to
people, without expecting anything in return.
May Allah continue to bless the children of the center
with people who would dedicate their lives into making sure an
unhealthy child continues to smile.
Page 2
October 24, 2007
All Around
DAVE GILBERT
The BAREF T Interview
By Omar Alouba
Entertainment Editor
A
s I stepped out of the freezing LAS building, I took
off my slippers so as not to be the ‘odd one out’ and
took a seat next to a guy probably every student has seen
at one point during the semester.
He sat on the stairs barefoot; with very deep,
thoughtful look on his face. I decided to kick off the conversation.
“So why are you always out here? Is the building
that cold?” I said. He chuckled, and replied, “I like outside
in general. It doesn’t really have anything to do with the
building being cold. I do this all the time, even when I’m
in the States.”
INTERVIEW
Apart from being “the guy who sits outside with no
shoes on,” Dave Gilbert is a philosophy teacher at Carnegie Mellon Qatar.
Gilbert hails from South Africa, where he lived
for the first six years of his life. The older of two siblings, the other being his younger sister, he then moved
to New York, U.S.A., to continue high school. From there
he headed to Canada to pursue a college education at the
University of Toronto.
When asked about high school, he said his academics comprised of mostly core courses, such as math,
English, economics, physics and biology. As for college,
interestingly enough, Gilbert pursued a double major.
Not only did he earn an undergraduate degree in
philosophy, he also received a second undergraduate de-
Philosohpy professor Dave Gilbert is known for taking
off his shoes and enjoying some time outside.
gree in computer science.
Even though obtaining a double major in two very
diverse fields of study is an achievement on its own, Gilbert’s appetite for knowledge was not satisfied. He went
on to earn a master’s degree in math and philosophy, and
is currently enrolled in the very selective Carnegie Mellon
graduate program for philosophy.
Gilbert was one of only 20 students who were selected for this program, and he aspires to finish a Ph.D. in
philosophy in order to ground himself firmly in the field.
“During my second year as an undergraduate, I realized
I didn’t want to get a job and so I thought I’d extend my
time in education,” he says.
To support himself during the year he took off between undergraduate and graduate school, Gilbert undertook “low-end jobs to pay his rent,” Something he points
out is a significant step in a student’s learning process.
“Students should go out of their way to experience how
other people live, it is a part of the learning package,” says
Gilbert.
As for Gilbert “the non-academic,” he enjoys
reading books of the genre of Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marques and Clockwork Orange by
Anthony Burgess. He also enjoys playing basketball but
does not necessarily enjoy watching the sport, as he
would rather watch a game of ice hockey.
His taste in music falls under rock ‘n roll:
particularly soundtracks by The Rolling Stones,
Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, though he
does enjoy some “non-mainstream” music of the
Indie Rock genre.
As the conversation came to an end, I
asked Gilbert what his parents thought of his decision to
pursue a career in the field of philosophy. He had mentioned earlier that “philosophical individuals led pretty
modest lives.”
“My parents just want me to be happy with whatever I decide to do in my life,” he says.
And with that, Gilbert went off to class- barefoot.
One Laptop Per Child: Good news for children in developing nations
By Rifki P. Bahri
Politics/World Events Editor
T
he One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization has introduced a G1G1 plan, which allows U.S. residents to
purchase 2 XO laptops for a price of $399. G1G1 – or get
one give one – means you get one XO laptop and one is
donated to an underprivileged child in a developing country.
HELPING OTHERS
The program will last for two weeks, starting November 12. The laptops have been developed to be attractive, yet simple, so they are easily accessible to children.
The package includes Wi-Fi antennas, processor, storage,
memory, keyboard and screen, video camera and sound
speaker, software, data ports (USB and SD) and power
supply.
The processor is made by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD). It has a power of 433 MHz and memory of
256MB SDRAM. The laptop uses 1GB flash memory instead of using a large hard drive. Linux operating system,
software developed by Red Hat, will be integrated into the
laptop. The laptop comes with a colored, plastic case that
is both waterproof and dustproof.
This is a very distinctive machine; rugged, durable, and child-friendly, inside and out. Perfect for kids of
all ages.
The first four nations to receive laptops will be
Haiti, Cambodia, Rwanda and Afghanistan. The organization has received 3 million orders, which deem it possible
to begin the production process.
Walter Bender, Head of Software Development at OLPC, said that the first
25,000 laptops will be distributed before the end of
the year, while
the rest of the
machines will
be available in
the first quarter of
2008.
He also said
that the organization
will extend the program
once it gains popularity
and success.
The goal of the
project is to assist children
in countries that cannot afford
technological learning tools.
This project is intended to greatly
increase the quality of academic
learning for less fortunate children.
To learn more about the One
Laptop Per Child program, visit www.
laptop.org.
“It's an
education
project, not a
laptop project.”
— Nicholas
Negroponte,
founder
October 24, 2007
Page 3
All Around
A closer look at the first international
By Darbi Robert
Student Development Coordinator
LeaderShape
On March 28, 2007, almost seven months ago to the date, 23 Carnegie Mellon students graduated from the first ever international LeaderShape Institute. In
only a few months, you could be in the next class of LeaderShape graduates.
“What is LeaderShape?” you might ask. If you haven’t already been told
by one of these 23 enthusiastic, history-making graduates, LeaderShape is a six-day
program in which college students connect with their values, identify their passions
and develop a vision for themselves and their community to move towards positive
change.
STUDENT SERVICES
LeaderShape, Inc., is a not-for-profit corporation that defines leadership in
a unique and inspiring way. The visionaries at LeaderShape say that leadership “involves living in a state of possibility, making a commitment to a vision, developing
relationships to move the vision into action and sustaining a high level of integrity.”
The Institute not only challenges each individual to make the personal commitment to leadership through integrity, it also challenges the entire group of participants to keep each other accountable to that commitment and practice it together both
during and well after the program is over.
The greatest challenge of the Institute comes after the inspiration and elation
of graduation has passed and students begin to put their visions into action. After
Qatar LeaderShape ’07, a small group of graduates decided to put their visions into
action by creating an Education City-wide student club called NeoMotion.
The purpose of the club is to organize events and awareness about social justice issues in a collaborative way between students at all of the branch campuses at
Education City. They’ve already organized a beach cleanup in November, but that’s
just one small step towards the vision conceived during LeaderShape.
LeaderShape, Inc. put vision into action by having this international session
of The Institute here in Qatar. Ecstatic about the opportunity to “test” its program on
more international populations, they stated that “we were once again reaffirmed by
the young adults who attended this session.
Just as in every session, they see problems in society and they want to be the
Carnegie Mellon Qatar students spent six days at Al Sultan Beach Resort in
Al Khor as part of the first international LeaderShape, which was sponsored by
RasGas.
ones to make improvements and changes happen. They know that the world needs
more leaders with integrity. They stepped up to the challenge to be those leaders in
their communities and organizations.”
Will you be the next one to step up to the challenge?
For more information on the LeaderShape Institute, you can log onto its Web
site at www.leadershape.org. For more information about Qatar LeaderShape ‘08
coming up this January, stop by the Office of Student Activities (LAS A027). Be on
the lookout for e-mails regarding the January 2008 session, including applications
and deadlines.
Student fears discussed at Roundabout session
By Maha Obaidan
News Editor
E
ight months. That is exactly how much time there is
left before the first graduating class of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar sets out into the real world.
What does the future hold for them? What have
they decided to do with their lives? Will they work,
continue on their educational path, stay home or get married?
Those were the focal points of Roundabout, a
mini-event that was held by the Student Affairs division.
Future prospects and plans of Carnegie Mellon seniors
were discussed over dinner.
This Ramadan, 12 seniors joined the Student
Affairs staff for Iftar and brought up issues they expect to
deal with as they progress in life. As a number of issues
were raised, the most pertinent remained the uncertainty
of some students who did not know what they wanted
to do once they graduated. Furthermore, many students
were unsure of where they wanted to work.
“I do not know what I want to do when I graduate. There are several things I am interested in other than
business,” says Rooda Al-Neama (Tepper 2008).
Meanwhile, Yasmine Abdelrahman (Tepper
2008) and Noora Al-Ansari (Tepper 2008) are unable to
decide on what job offer they should pick.
Al-Ansari said that it is an open market for Carnegie Mellon students, and there are a number of working
opportunities for them. Therefore, a student should seek
Jarrod Mock, Student Development Coordinator, ran the
Roundabout event where students voiced their concerns
about the future.
where he/she finds him/herself best.
Another issue that was popular at the gathering was whether the students wanted to acquire jobs
limited to their major. Lina El Menshawy (Tepper 2008)
announced that her goal was to study business and to
work in the corporate field after graduation. However,
Al-Neama was uncertain regarding her career choices
and expressed her hesitance in being limited to business
employment opportunities.
It turned out that students expressed interest in
several other career fronts other than business, such as
art, psychology and writing. Mona Maher (Tepper 2008)
said that her dream was to become a writer, and that she
intends to attain higher education in writing. However,
she also added that she is open to diverse career opportunities that may come her way.
The seniors are currently mulling over opportunities in a vicious circle, engaged in a soul-searching
exercise. As they graduate from one of the top universities in the world, they are adamant to make the best of
this first-class education they have received.
Roundabout came to an end, but their search did
not. However, a final word from Abdelrahman eased the
students’ minds for the time being and brought smiles of
hope to their faces.
“You can try several jobs and work in different
fields. Eventually you will find a place you feel comfortable; where both the environment and the work will be
what your heart desires.”
Page 4
October 24, 2007
All Around
Undergraduate research
UREP grants support and encourage student projects
Yara Saeed
Staff writer
W
hat do you know about the Undergraduate Research
Education Program?
In an effort to introduce and foster research principles, ethics and culture amongst university students in
Qatar, Qatar Foundation established the Undergraduate
Research Education Program (UREP) in 2006.
RESEARCH
Worthy students with promising, innovative ideas
in a variety of fields are eligible to apply. These fields include medicine, engineering, technology, health and life
sciences, humanities, social sciences and art. Enrolled students may receive up to $10,000 in grants to research and
further develop their ideas.
Encouragement of research and advancement in
distinct areas of concentration fulfils Qatar Foundation’s
primary goal of “fostering improvements in the health, environment and security of the residents of Qatar, and the
Gulf region on the whole.”
Throughout its existence, the UREP has proven to
be a success within Education City. In fact, several of our
students here at Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, including Noura Al Moughny (CS 2008), Maha Al Shirrawi
(Tepper 2008) and Rooda Al-Neama (Tepper 2008) are
recipients of UREP grants.
The UREP plans to launch two funding cycles per
academic year. It has already distributed two cycles and is
reviewing proposals for the third cycle.
For interested students, there is an upcoming
spring cycle during which they can apply for grants. So
what does it take to be receive a grant?” The main requirement is passion for an idea that positively affects humanity and science, dedication and lots and lots of hard work.
Ideas for research can come from many sources.
Al Moughny’s inspiration came from already existing ideas. “I’m building on the Braille writing tutors
designed and developed at Carnegie Mellon University
through the Tech-Bridge World program,” said Moughny.
Al Moughny, who recently received a grant, not
only compiles articles online but also works closely with
Al Noor Institute for the Blind to understand their needs
build on the Braille tutor’s software accordingly.
Maha Al Shirrawi, whose research revolves
around exploring the low-skilled immigrant workers experience in Qatar, was inspired by a course she took.
“The 76-358 course inspired me to do this project.
It provided the basis for studying immigrant and bilingual/
multilingual people,” she says. “Research helps widen our
scopes of knowledge, gives us a new perspective on life
and makes us more compassionate.”
Taking part in the UREP not only allows you to
further explore a topic that you are already passionate
about, but is also a good foundation that prepares students
for the demanding and extensive research that their senior
theses will require, said Rooda Al-Naema (Tepper 2008).
Al Naema’s research is about how immigration in Qatar
affects the Qatari economy.
The benefits of taking part in the UREP will not
be confined to your education as an undergraduate but
as Al-Neama says, “it will truly be beneficial if you are
thinking of applying to graduate school.”
Students who are granted funds must work under the supervision of a faculty member. For instance,
Sylvia Pessoa, Starling Hunter, Ph.D., and Bernardine
Dias, Ph.D., co-authored and supervised the progress of
three Carnegie Mellon Qatar students who participated in
UREP.
According to both Al Shirrawi and Al Moughny,
their faculty members were a constant source of encouragement and motivation as they proceeded with their application processes.
Learn more about UREF grants and undergraduate research opportunities at www.qnrf.org.
Hatem Alismail building a robot receptionist
By Lina El Menshawy
Features Editor
H
atem Alismail, a junior Computer Science major at Carnegie Mellon University in
Qatar, is building a robot that he hopes will recognize contexts for Human Robot
Interaction. HRI is the study of how humans and robots can interact effectively, and how
robots can help us achieve our daily goals.
Alismail’s robot will be able to recognize humans after taking photos of them
with its camera. The robot will use the photos to determine characteristics such as the sex
and nationality of the human. How an individual is dressed will help the robot determine
such factors. Once these facts known, the robot will be able to interact with him or her in
a culturally appropriate way.
“Answering these questions requires deep study in the fields of computer vision,
HRI and artificial intelligence,” says Alismail, who believes this technology could be
used to build on even more innovative ideas.
ROBOTS
The School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh has a robot receptionist – known as the Roboceptionist – named Marion “Tank” LaFleur. “The Roboceptionist is one of the most intelligent machines and has won many prizes,” says Alismail.
He began working on his project in August 2007. He anticipates that research
and development will continue until May 2008. Computer science faculty members Brett
Browning, Ph.D., and Majd Sakr, Ph.D., are supervising this project. He was inspired
to build the robot using HRI after developing a face recognition program for one of his
courses.
His innovative project has received on the grants from Qatar National Research
Fund’s Undergraduate Research Experience Program. Recognizing the importance of introducing research in undergraduate education in Qatar, QNRF initiated the UREP grants
Tank is the roboceptionist in the
School of Computer
Science at Carnegie
Mellon Pittsburgh.
Alismail is planning on building a
receptionist similar
to Tank. Only Alismail’s robot will be
able to distinguish
between men and
women, and speak
to humans in a culturally appropriate
way.
to engage undergraduates in research projects related to Qatar’s national needs.
Alismail’s research is the first of its kind in this part of the world. The young
computer scientist strongly believes that integrating the work of this research into such a
successful machine could reap great benefits to the Computer Science field.
October 24, 2007
Page 5
All Around
for
the
professions
g
n
i
it
r
W
By Marium Chandna
Copy Editor
A
s Carnegie Mellon in Qatar broadens its horizons by offering the dynamic new Information Systems major, I
feel it necessary to share my views regarding my new majors
to my fellow peers. And why I feel that effective writing is an
extremely important tool to accomplish one’s professional goals
regardless of the line of work.
FEATURE
Saying that “writing is my passion,” would be an understatement when I begin to elaborate on how I feel toward the
penning of my thoughts. I live to write, and this ideology was
the driving force behind my decision to pursue a career in the
field of writing, and thus move to Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh.
However, just how not everyone enjoys math, science or business, not everyone enjoys writing either.
Having said that, upon commencing my first semester as a BA Professional Writing and English double major I
discovered a new angle to my most cherished undertaking: An
outlook that may deem writing a highly constructive and pleasurable medium for all professions.
Whether one is majoring in Business Administration,
Computer Science, Information Systems or any other
concentration, it is vital to be able to convey ideas through
both verbal and written communication.
Through my Professional Writing courses, I realized that conveying others’ knowledge, thoughts and perceptions is as interesting and engaging as communicating
your own.
The Professional Writing major focuses on equipping students with writing and rhetorical expertise applicable
to a wide a range of careers. My favorite aspect of this multifaceted field of study is that I get to be a part of a variety of
professions, including the medical, journalistic, legal, business
and entertainment.
A student who specializes in Professional Writing builds
communication bridges between different masses through his
proficiency in professional and technical written expression.
A popular saying goes: “A picture is worth a thousand
words.” My belief is that likewise, a few words skillfully fashioned and devised are enough to create vivid and alive scenes
in the audience’s minds. I believe that possessing writing skills
for the professions is not just a need in our increasingly global
world, but also an art.
To successfully communicate the essentials of
a topic to a group, which would generally have little to
do with the topic, or perhaps effectively conduct written communication with professionals in one’s own
field requires not only accurate information, but also
diligence and creativity.
There are ample ways to utilize and improve
your writing skills, such as taking at least one writing intensive course each semester, reading a wide
range of literary materials, writing for your college
newspaper and participating in poetry and essay competitions.
One can harbor a plethora of knowledge, though without the ability to communicate it to a wide audience, the knowledge is not of much use. Therefore, in order to carve a niche
for oneself in the Business, Computer Science or Information
Systems field, strong writing skills that create a lasting impact
are crucial.
Student Majlis
Continual and unconditional support for clubs and organizations
By Dana Hadan
News Editor
K
icking off the new academic year, Carnegie Mellon Qatar’s clubs and organizations excitedly engage in yet another year packed with events, activities and lots
of excitement.
Furthermore, new clubs take their first steps towards having a solid foundation.
Currently there are 15 active clubs, including five clubs that received recognition from
the Student Majlis for the first time and several that have been central participants in
campus life during previous years.
Among the new clubs are: The Human Rights Club; Live Green; NeoMotion;
Health and Fitness Club, CCSC (Computer Science Club); and Model Arab League.
Older clubs which are now established in student life and activities include All Around
– The Official Carnegie Mellon Qatar newspaper; the Culture Club; the Indoor Gaming
Club; Funlimited; MyEC; Kinezex; cMBA Business Club; Fine Arts and Society; and
the Active Women's Club.
All of the clubs and organizations provide an excellent way for students to become involved in current events, student activities and community service. The array of
clubs and organizations on campus meet almost all the needs and interests of students,
and work to bring students of similar interests together and provide them with opportunities to become effective leaders.
These clubs and organizations enhance the quality of student life by fostering social interaction, leadership development and school spirit, while also promoting
activities, diversity, service and learning outside of the classroom.
Due to Student Majlis' emphasis on student involvement in all facets of campus life and ensuring that clubs operate excellently and efficiently, it held information
workshops to help students familiarize themselves with the clubs' executives and their
policies.
Budget allocation, event
promotion, advertisement and
facilities were some of the topics
discussed in order to experience
another successful year.
Md Rezwan Al Islam (Tepper
2010), VP of Clubs and Organizations, Basheera Banu (Tepper
2009), VP of Finance and Maha
Mahmoud (Tepper 2009), Secretary/Treasurer, spoke to club
presidents and treasurers and
introduced them to the Student
Activities page.
This is where they can turn to
whenever they need to download
any forms, learn more about
a certain aspect of the event
organization process or refer to
general policies. The three also
explained important procedures,
should they need to apply for clubs or official positions within the clubs.
Students interacted in an active and positive manner, and asked many questions
that reflected their excitement about planning and being part of successful events and
activities this year.
Student Majlis intends to keep up to its promise, as in the past years, to support
and cooperate with the individual clubs and organizations in order to work together
toward improving Carnegie Mellon Qatar students’ university experience.
Feeling bored: fill your mind with useless facts
• Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, began programming computers at age 13.
• A man named Charles Osborne had the hiccups
for approximately sixty-nine years.
• A jiffy is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a
second. Thus the saying, I will be there in a jiffy
• Bill Bowerman, the co-founder of the shoe
company Nike, got his first shoe idea after staring at
a waffle iron. This gave him the idea of using squared
spikes to make the shoes lighter.
• Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the
telephone, never telephoned his wife or mother because
they were both deaf.
• The first mosque in the United States was built
in 1893.
• At just four years old Mozart was able to learn
a piece of music in half an hour.
• People who studies laughter are called a “gelotologists.”
Page 6
All Around
October 24, 2007
Opinions... about Opinions
“What in your opinion is the opinion that is to be opinionated for the opinion page?” was the
question chosen to stump students and faculty this issue. Here is the best of what they said…
By Olympia Datta
Opinion Editor
Khaled Ziya Aeen (Tepper 2011)
“About politics!”
Mohammed Kaleemur Rahman (CS 2010)
“Music, Dj’s, sports, professors,” (winks),
“opinions about ‘Georgetowners!’”
Samira Islam (Tepper 2011)
“Jokes – FUNNY JOKES!”
Laila Ghassan Murad (CS 2011)
“Sophomores, juniors, seniors, important
things we need to know. Perhaps about
professors and their courses.”
Samreen Anjum ( CS 2011 )
Befuddled, mumbles, “How to
balance time at Carnegie Mellon
University!”
Fatima Abdulrahman Hilal
(Tepper 2011)
“Anything YOU like!”
Tarik Nazmi Abou-Galala (Tepper 2010)
“I would like to see all the opinions that were
given, all kinds of opinions by everybody,”
Wisely completes his sentence. “Coz someone else’s opinion can change my opinion!”
Wesam Ziad Said (Tepper 2008)
“In my opinion, the opinion that is to be
‘opinionated’ is one that the opinionator
opinionates freely to ‘opinionatee.’”
Professor Marion Oliver (Faculty)
“I haven’t got the foggiest idea!”
Walks away laughing.
October 24, 2007
s
Z
Z
Z
g
Catchin
Snoring...the disease we never want to hear
By Sara Al-Asmakh
Tepper 2009
Have you ever been in a situation when the person
next to you kept on snoring all night? Snoring perceived by
a snorer is annoying, but is it avoidable?
Did you know that about 30% to 50% of the United States population snores on regular basis? Here, we will
get to know what causes snoring, what are the factors of
snoring and what medical treatment could a snore use in
order to get rid of snoring.
What is snoring?
Snoring is a sound that occurs during sleep. This
sound is caused by the vibration of a tissue called “The Soft
Tissue” that is located in the upper plate of the throat.
FOR YOUR HEALTH
For people who do not snore air passes from their
nose and throat to their lungs without making any sound,
however for snorers something gets in the way and interrupts the air flow. It can be either a blocked nose or the soft
tissue that obstructs the air flow and starts vibrating.
During sleep, if a person has a blocked nose, he/
she can not breathe from their nose. Instead, they will
breathe from their mouth and try enforcing air into their
lungs. This enforcement will cause the soft tissue to vibrate and make a sound that may be uncomfortable and
noisy for most people.
co”) increases the probability of snoring. Thus the smoker
must make sure to smoke far away from children because
the smoke, which contains nicotine, released from the
cigarette may enlarge their risk of snoring. Another factor
that causes snoring is drinking. Alcohols relax the throat
muscles which increase the probability of snoring.
Obesity as well is another factor of snoring. People who are over weight tend to have fatty deposits in their
neck and throat. Those fats can damage and block the air
flow in the throat, and cause snoring. Aging is another common factor of snoring. If you are between the ages of 45-60
it is more likely that snoring will occur. Some people may
snore although they don’t smoke, drink, and are not over
weight. Here the reason may be heredity. Since snoring can
also be genetic.
Snoring Treatments
There are two methods to get rid of snoring. The
first one is to change your life style and the second is to try
some medical treatments. Let’s see first how you would
change your life style. Try avoiding alcohol. If you can
not spend a night without a drink, you can have a glass
of alcohol at least four hours before you go to bed. Quit
smoking.
Quitting smoking will reduce the swelling caused
by the mucous that forms as a result of smoking. Sleep on
your side not on your back. If you are suffering from the
noise that your bed partner makes during his/ her sleep,
make them sleep on their side.
One suggestion to make them sleep in their side is
to put a tennis ball at the back in their pajama pants so they
can not sleep on their back. You must also have scheduled
sleeping pattern.
Just try to go to bed at the same time every day.
Before you go to bed avoid having certain food that contain fats (fried food, pizza, frozen food and chocolate) and
dairy products. Try losing weight! You can do this by and
reducing your consumption of fatty food and exercising.
If changing your life style is difficult, medication
is your solution. There are many medical treatments that
will help you recover from snoring such as Throat sprays
and nasal dilation. Throat sprays cover and dry the soft
tissues in the throat which stops the vibration of the soft
tissue. Nasal strips can be used if the person suffers from a
nose blockage and feels uncomfortable breathing from her/
his mouth.
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 Writers
Yara Saeed, Benazir Anis
Web Editors
Yasser Khan, Shashank Jariwala
Publishing Coordinators
Abdullah Alothman, Iyed Jouini,
Mohammed El Haja
But, you may wonder why snorers snore specifically at
night. You may also ask your self ‘if they have a blockage in their nose or throat shouldn’t they be snoring all the
time!’ Well the answer for this question is simple. During
the day, the muscles in the throat are strong enough to hold
the soft tissue while at night, during sleep, the muscles in
the throat relax. When they relax it is easy for the powerful
inhaled air to cause the soft tissue to vibrate.
Factors that Cause Snoring
There are lots of factors that cause snoring. An important one is smoking as it damages some vessels in the
lung which in turns makes it harder to inhale and exhale
the air. Moreover, it may also cause the outer layer of nose
and throat to swell due to the smoke that is inhaled from
the mouth.
Sometimes this smoke is exhaled from their nose.
Both, the swelling of the throat and nose and the damages
of the vessels in the lungs, can cause snoring. Because of
smoking, the width of the airway in the throat shrinks. A
mucous that forms from smoking and the smoke itself are
associated with the decrease in the size of this airway.
The nicotine (“a colorless, oily, water-soluble,
highly toxic, liquid alkaloid, C10H14N2, found in tobac-
Page 7
All Around
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 nasal strips will keep their nose open all night
and make the breathing process much easier. However, the
best treatment is The Pillar Procedure. The Pillars contain
three natural fiber inserts that are placed on the soft tissue
of the throat in order to stop the vibration of the tissue. In
other words, placing those pillars on the soft tissue will
immediately prevent snoring.
Next time when you suffer from snoring noise
that your bed partner makes, just remember that snoring
could be treated medically and is avoidable by changing
the snorer’s lifestyle.
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
October 24, 2007
All Around
Entertainment Page
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Pick up the next issue of the All Around to find the answer
your secret?
Don’t be shy, share it on the Post Secret Wall
THE FOREST
Creepers, once weary, fight and trail their way in the
intense undergrowth with an animated vigor.
Wild flowers bloom dotting the forest, in patches of vibrant colors.
A transparent little drop slowly slides down the dark leaf,
reminiscent of the rain that day, the first of that season, that year.
The beasts and their prey have awoken from their slumber,
breathing the freshness of the jungle as they roam amidst the shadows.
Slimy creatures crawl sneakily out of the shrubbery.
By: Basheera Banu (Tepper 2009)
Beza & BuJava
Under the clear blue sky, washed anew, the dry dying soul of the forest is enlivened again.
The green forest smells of life, raw and rife.
The life of
What’s
High up among the branches of trees, birds flap their wings, drying them.
Gradually, the silent woods become the whispering jungle
before transforming into a loud, lively and dense forest.