All Around
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar student newspaper since 2004
April 12, 2007
Vol. 4 Issue 3
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
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Student Majlis attends retreat with advisors
By Sahrr Malik
Secretary, Student Government
Now that the elections are over, the
promises made by the Student Majlis have become
a platform for our goals this year. We plan to be a
proactive participant in the Carnegie Mellon Qatar
community.
To determine how the Majlis was going to live
up to its election promises, its members gathered
together with advisors at the Diplomatic Club on
February 17th.
The goal of this retreat was to bring the
Student Majlis together as a cohesive organization.
In this first and crucial meeting, initial strategies
were developed to achieve the stated goals of the
members.
The retreat began with a light-hearted bonding
activity to bring our members closer together.
Each member picked a number and answered a
corresponding question.
While I will not disclose the names of my
colleagues, I must admit that some answers were
quite revealing. For example, I learned that someone
has a very strange phobia of Barbie dolls. Needless to
say, our bonding activity was a success that brought
us closer as an organization and, more importantly,
as friends.
After a few laughs, the Student Majlis was
ready to get to work. The first topic on the agenda
was Student Majlis roles. We discussed, expanded
on and clarified the roles and the positions of the
Members of the Carnegie Mellon Qatar Student Majlis at
their retreat in February.
Student Majlis members. Each member became
clear as to what was expected of him or her and
how he or she could implement desired goals in the
community.
Following this, the Student Majlis met with
former president Nora Al-Subai, former vice president
Jinnane Tabra and activities coordinator Mohammed
Abu-Zainab for some advice. They advised us on the
pressures of student council, activity planning and,
most importantly, on the importance of effective
communication within the Student Majlis.
Their advice was carried over into a delicious
lunch and a discussion of the Student Majlis logo.
The latest idea of the Student Majlis has been to
develop a logo for people around Education City to
be able to recognize us.
We received many innovative logos and it was
very difficult to choose only one. Instead, we decided
that the individuals who submitted logos would
work on a new one together. Our discussion of the
logo brought out the creative sides of our members
as they began to throw out possible logo ideas. It
was the perfect moment in time for a brainstorming
session.
On a more serious note, one of the main
goals of the Student Majlis this year has been
to become more of a governance organization as
opposed to planning activities. We discussed in our
brainstorming session the logistics of making this
goal become a reality. Issues discussed involved
community standards, academic integrity and
activities planned through clubs and organizations.
Last but not least, we planning the calendar
of activities for this semester. The presidents of clubs
and organizations from the community were invited
to discuss their ideas and plans for this semester.
Each president came with enthusiastic and creative
ideas of their future plans.
Our mission for this retreat had been to
discuss the broad issues that surrounded the Student
Majlis as well as to unify us as an organization, and
we did that successfully.
Lastly, we want all of the members of the
Carnegie Mellon Qatar community to know that this
is only the beginning of the new Student Majlis.
Doha Debates talks about whether the niqab is a barrier with the West
By Bryan Zerbe
Director of Admissions, Carnegie Mellon Qatar
I had the opportunity to attend the February
Doha Debate, which presented the motion “The veil
is a barrier to integration with the West.”
Moderator Tim Sebastian of the BBC hosted
four Muslim speakers, three of whom lived in the
U.K. and one from the U.S. Nazir Ahmed, of Rotherham, a member of the House of Lords, and Reem
Maghribi, founder of the Al-Sharq lifestyle magazine
for British Muslims, spoke for the motion.
Ayshah Ismail, a teacher at a Muslim girls’
school in northern England and Ahmed Younis, the
former director of the U.S. Muslim Public Affairs
Council and an adviser to U.S. presidential candidates, spoke against the motion.
This was my first Doha Debate and many of
my impressions of the event were positive.
The logistics and set were extremely well organized and the format allowed for plenty of questions and interaction from the audience, which
numbered more than 300 and included HH Sheikah
Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned and several other
Qatar Foundation board members.
As an experienced moderator and talk show
host, Sebastian was able to maintain a good balance
of questions and comments supporting and opposing
the motion. As a Westerner, it was very enlightening
for me to see that there was disagreement among
Muslims as to whether wearing the niqab, which is
a face veil covering the lower part of the face, is a
religious decision or a fashion decision.
Less impressive was the audience’s, and at
times the speakers’, tendency to stray from the motion under debate. Comments and questions often
drifted away from the premise of the niqab being a
barrier and focused instead on whether women have
the right to wear it, which is a related but ultimately
different question.
Based on the tone of the questions and comments from the audience, I expected the majority to
oppose the motion. I was therefore surprised when
57% of the audience voted in favor of it.
My personal viewpoint is that for Muslims
living in Western countries where the niqab is not
worn, the niqab does present a barrier to societal
cohesion. However, I also believe that people have
the right to dress as they choose, within the bounds
of decency, and that efforts to ban the niqab in some
European countries are misguided.
The Doha Debates are an outstanding forum
for Education City students to learn about issues
affecting this region and the world at large. If you
have not yet had the opportunity to attend one, I
strongly urge you to go.
April 12, 2007
All Around
Page 3
1, 2, 3, Blank: Dive into a day in a fish’s world
By Lina El-Manshawy
Features Editor
“You have a memory of a goldfish!”
That is how people would make fun of their
forgetful friends. Goldfish are said to have really
short memory spans. Until a couple of years back,
scientists believed that fish in general have three
second memory spans. This explains how a goldfish kept in a bowl on your windowsill will not die of
boredom. As a goldfish finishes one lap around its
fishbowl it forgets all about it and starts over again.
This is a classic translation by Doctor Johnson of the thoughts of a male goldfish:
«Food? No. False alarm. Another fish? Female? Yes!
Chase. Breed? No, not ready. Chase anyway. No
good. Another fish, chase? yes. Not female. Chase
anyway. No good. Chasing me. Got away. Another
fish. No, same fish. Chasing me. Got away. Another fish? Female? Chase. Not female. Fun to chase.
Food? No. False alarm. Food? No. False alarm. Another fish. Female? Yes. Chase. Not ready.
Fun to chase anyway. Food? Yes! That one
brought food! Swim up. Eat. Others eating. Less food
for me. Hurry to eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Food gone. More?
No. Another fish. Female? Chase. Not female. Fun
to chase. Food? No. False alarm. Food? No. False
alarm. Another fish? Female? Yes. Chase. Not ready.
Fun to chase anyway. Food?”
In the past year, scientific studies were done
to test the short term memory spans of fish. In one
study involving building a maze full of holes in water, fish proved to be much smarter than previously
thought.
Experiments showed fish became faster as
they started recognizing which holes led to the end
of the maze and which ones had food. This study
triggered a two-sided argument between scientists.
Some believed that this experiment proved that fish
have “conditional” or selective memories.
They believed that fish had instinctive abilities that allow them to differentiate between whether
an action is the right one to take or whether this
action will bring harm. When fish owners approach
the fish tank, the fish directly swims to the top of because of the instinct that food always gets dropped
when the owner comes.
On the other hand, some researches oppose
this idea of fish having instinctive feelings to take
actions. They simply believe that fish have memory spans that are able to last a minimum of three
months. Those researchers have conducted further
studies about goldfish including an experiment
which demonstrates that not only can fish think and
remember, but also tell time and adapt to new and
unknown changes in the environment.
In this experiment, a fish was placed in
a bowl and not given food until it pressed a lever
switch and gradually, the fish realized that food will
only come when that lever is pressed. As part of the
A Day in the Life o f a Goldfish
experiment, the lever switch was switched off and
turned on one hour everyday. Soon enough, the fish
recognized that the lever does not bring food except
for an hour each day and surprisingly only attempted to press the lever in that hour interval everyday.
Although a three month memory span is
relatively short, fish have proven that they are not
as stupid as we believed they were. Scientists will
continue to quarrel upon whether or not the fish’s
memory span reaches three months but until then,
at least we know that they are not just swimming
laps in their tanks repeating the same actions every
three seconds.
Stage Fright: tips and tricks on avoiding and dealing with it
By Wesam Said
Features Editor
Statistics show that people’s number one fear is public speaking. This
means that an average person would rather die, than speak in public.
As we take part in stage demanding activities such as case competition
presentations and Business Communication presentations among other things
we are learning what stage fright is all about.
College is an excellent preparation for you to learn how to deal with your
mistakes before you enter the real world. Don’t be discouraged; the fact that you
made it through a stage experience makes you a hero.
The idea of critical eyes watching you and the pressure you put on yourself to please the public eye can be awfully intimidating. Your mouth is dry, you
throat is tight, you have a fast pulse, sweaty and shaky hands. The good news
is that once you’re on the stage, you don’t feel the fear as much as you did beforehand. So how do you overcome the anxiety, and control the symptoms?
Know that your stress is excitement; The symptoms associated with your
nervousness, are the same symptoms you get when you’re riding a roller coaster
or getting married. Your job is to associate being on stage with fun, rather than
with fright.
Move your muscles around. Walk around the building and move your
arms to stretch as if you’re warming up for a game. The stretch helps you relax.
Take deep breaths. You hear this a lot, but it is really important. As you exhale
you trick your body into thinking that you are relieved. This helps lower your
stress level.
Watch what you eat. You may not feel like eating, but if you don’t,
you start to feel low blood sugar symptoms (The same symptoms of stage fright).
However, it’s smart to eat a few hours before, not right before. Avoid steak &
milk (dairy can irritate the vocal chords). Also, try to not eat candy bars; they
only give you energy for a short time and then tire you out. Most importantly,
eat carbohydrates for energy.
This may be hard but avoid drinking caffeine or smoking for the
obvious reason that you are raising your stress level. However, if you are a
smoker, it may be harder to relax your nerves without smoking.
Exercising also can help relax your nerves as it releases endorphins. So not only do you feel happy but you boost your self-confidence. Even
if you just exercise the night before your presentation, you will be surprised at
the effect it has on your mentality.
My advice to you is to really think of what you are saying and
how you are delivering it. In the end do not stress so much on what people think
of you at that moment; you’re better off proving that you’ve got what they are
looking for.
Mehrunissa Anis (Tepper 2009) tries to deal with her stage fright.
Page 2
All Around
April 12, 2007
Doha Debates discusses wearing the niqab
By Naif Al-Kaabi
BA student Ambassador, Student Government
The Doha Debates Series is a program where
two sides argue over a proposed issue: one side for
the issue and the other against it. The debate is
moderated by Tim Sebastian of the BBC.
In the last Doha Debates the issue was “This
House believes the face veil is a barrier to integration
in the West.”
The side speaking for the issue explained
how the veil is in fact a barrier and, in support of
their claims, they raised interesting points.
First they illustrated how people in the western societies (U.S and Europe) hesitate when approaching or communicating with veiled women.
Since the incident of 9/11 many view wearing a veil
as a symbol of terrorism; therefore making the veil a
barrier of integration.
On the contrary, the side speaking against
the motion illustrated that the veil is not a barrier.
During the discussion they pointed out ideas to support their claim. For example, one of the ladies who
wears the niqab explained how she lives and works
in London as a teacher and is an active member in
the society. She claims that the veil does not stop
her from having a normal engaging life in London.
Another point that was brought up in the
discussion is that wearing the veil should not be a
barrier, since people have the right to choose what
they wear and how they appear in public. Moreover,
a quote that emphasizes such an important point is
“it is not the veil that is the barrier it is the ignorance
surrounding it.”
Picture source: news.bbc.co.uk
The other speaker against the motion suggested that
if small steps toward the western society cause Muslims to give up some parts of their culture and that
could start a snowball affect where Muslims in the
end lose their culture completely. The team for the
motion pointed out that we are not living in Utopia
and that although the law (in most countries) gives
people the right to wear what they desire, that right
is not granted by the society itself.
They added that Muslims should make small
steps towards the western society to find a middle
ground that both agree on and so that the western
society in turn be able to understand Muslims better.
Another key point was raised by a member
of the audience when she asked both sides who to
blame for the bad image of the veil in western societies. The team speaking for the motion put some of
the blame on the media and western societies but at
the same time argued that Muslims have the biggest
responsibility of creating or not correcting that image.
In opposition, the other team partly blames
the Muslim society for not correcting the bad image
and fully recognizes the responsibility of the media
in creating a bad image of the veil in the western
society.
Personally it was a great experience, away
from all the meaningless arguments that most people
have, seeing people discuss such issues in a modern
way helps the society go forward. At the end of the
debate, 57% of the audience decided that the veil is
indeed a barrier of integration in western societies.
The voting clearly shows that people have the
right to express their opinion; I only wish they have
the ability to freely choose their clothing as well.
By Yasser M. Khan
Web Editor
Many people think it would be crazy to spend
spring break doing something that involves work or
studying.
Yet many of us chose to head to Al-Khor to
attend LeaderShape, which is one the best leadership conferences ever. Since this is the first time it
was being held outside of the United States, none of
us knew what we were getting ourselves into.
We departed on a Friday afternoon, having
waited outside in the sweltering heat. People had
doubts regarding this, but I told them that this is
the risk that we have chosen to take. It’s part of our
lives, and we will build upon this.
Who would want to throw away an opportunity to develop oneself as a leader that would bring
about great change? As I love to say: Take Chances,
Make Mistakes and Get Messy!
We endured a half hour journey to our destination – Al-Sultan Beach Resort. The surprising
part was that some of us had randomly assigned
roommates, while others got to stay alone. How fortunate.
After separating ourselves from our luggage,
we directly embarked on the highlight of our six day
stay – training ourselves to be the leaders of the future that are forward looking and thinking, strongwilled, courageous and more.
One of the best parts of LeaderShape was the
so-called concept of “family clusters.” We were randomly assigned to the clusters, which were tasked
with creating their own identity. My cluster already
had one: Nokheta, which is the leader of the pearl
diving ship.
The personal touch and the closed community gave us the feeling that we were one big family,
and allowed us to express our deepest thoughts and
feelings to our members. The bond that we established has helped us to learn from each other. Even
our beloved mail-bags gave us the sense of being
part of a bigger family. People would tend to drop
notes into other people’s mailbag, usually when
they are not around. I know mine was stuffed like a
Christmas stocking hanging near the chimney.
These six days pushed us to the limit. One of
our activities tested the level of trust and belief that
a person possessed. It was code named StarPower.
We weren’t allowed to talk at all until we could shake
hands and agree on a trade. Talk about communicating with people.
The outdoor team challenge exercised our
cognitive strategies and physical abilities in the blistering heat. Good thing I brought my SPF 50 sunscreen. I could literally stand in the heat for hours
and not feel a thing.
The biggest lesson I learned is not how capable I am at being a leader, but rather how I never
really knew myself deeply. People helped me recognize that. I may have underestimated my personal
character and abilities.
I learned that being a leader is not just about
leading people. It’s about formulating a vision for the
benefit of the community. A true leader is selfless in
his actions and shows concern for issues that affect
the community as a whole.
I also learned that to achieve one’s goals and
ambitions, one must be committed to taking the action to implement change. By putting our thoughts
to pen and paper and narrowing our focus to the
issue that one feels is very important, nothing is impossible.
LeaderShape taught me that “Leaders have
a healthy disregard for the impossible.” We can
achieve our vision if we work towards it.
However, all things do come to an end. Even
to this very moment, I miss my beloved family cluster. Not just myself, but every one of the participants.
Too bad we couldn’t spend an extra day or two.
The memories still live on in our minds and
hearts, but they will live on even longer since I im-
LeaderShape
LeaderShape 2007: a six-day journey to success
mortalized them in the videos and photos that I have
been recording.
LeaderShape in Doha would not have been a
reality if it weren’t for the effort and determination
of the one person who had that vision: our very own
Dave Stanfield.
On behalf of the participants, we are thankful to you and we will support you in any endeavor
you pursue. We even extend our sincere gratitude to
Qatar Foundation and RasGas for supporting this
initiative and giving us the opportunity to be the first
to participate in LeaderShape.
All Around
April 12, 2007
Page 5
STUDENT INTERVIEW
Iran’s Current Political Position
By Hanadie Yousef
Politics/World Events Editor
Hadi Darwishi is a freshman at Georgetown University, studying in the Foreign Services program. He is of Iranian nationality and
lives here in Qatar.
What do you think of Iran’s nuclear power program?
Is it truly for peaceful purposes or do you think there is a
goal of shifting Middle East power and making a weapon?
People look at Iran as being a backwards country and usually
attribute this to the system of government. The nuclear program is
seen as something that can help improve Iran’s economy by helping
the country advance. There is no reason why Iran shouldn’t have a
nuclear program.
In regards to shifting power in the middle-east by acquiring
technology to make a nuclear weapon, I see it as a feasible possibility.
Any country in Iran’s political position would want to have some sort
of muscle in order to not be a push-over, as most of the Arab nations
have come to be, or come to look like.
I don’t see Iran sending any nuclear bombs over to Israel to
“wipe them off the map” because it’s just not realistic. The only way
Iran’s power in the middle-east can shift is if it faces an attack from
the United States, in which case I don’t see a war weary country (the
USA) being very successful in another war while not yet done with its
war in Iraq.
What is your opinion on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Do
you think he makes bold statements, such as questioning the
holocaust? Is he a good leader? Are his political actions in the favor of the people?
I’m personally a very realistic person when it comes to politics and people in political positions. Presidents as elected individuals have to serve the
interests of the people, while at the same time looking to secure the country’s
interests as a whole on a national and international theater.
These often come into conflict with one another, and so criticism of not
doing enough is something that every president will face and be accountable
for. They can’t always keep everyone happy. I don’t live in Iran so I can’t really
judge on whether or not he’s doing any good for his people, but those I’ve talked
to maintain that he’s a “people’s President.” After all, Iran is made up of a large
population of poor people, and it was the poor who he got most of his votes
from.
Do you think Iran is meddling in Iraq?
With the Iraq issue, it would be quite viable to contest that Iran is “meddling” with the situation because of the party politics that is going on there. It
would obviously be in Iran’s favor to have the Iraqi leadership under Shi’a control. As far as whether or not they are actually involved in anything, there have
been claims, but very little evidence, and I read in a news article on BBC that
a lot of the things that the American and British governments use as evidence
have been fabricated in the past, and this was coming from an American source
(link below). Another thing is that with some violence going on in Iran concerning minority Sunni groups on the boarders, in places like Ahvaz, Iran has consistently claimed that the British and Americans have been stirring up trouble.
So these allegations have been going both ways.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6353923.stm
What is your opinion on Iran’s support of the Palestinians? On the
Funding of Hizbollah? In general, on actions in the greater Middle
East? Do you think Iran is trying to shift control of power?
Iran has been funding Hezbollah for quite some time because no one
else has been. And it can be safely contended that there would be no Palestine
if it wasn’t for assistance from Iran. I don’t know whether they’re trying to shift
power or not in this situation, but I can imagine that the Iranian government
doesn’t want Israel to take complete control of the area – it wouldn’t be in Iran’s
or the region’s interest if they do so.
I doubt much power would shift towards Iran’s benefit if the fight in
Lebanon is kept up, so I see it as more of an ideological fight. If ideology is the
question here, then the trouble is that the Arab countries, which are majority
Hadi Darwishi, freshman at Georgetown University (le ), and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (right). Ahmadinejad photo source www.siyassa.
Sunni, will fear that Iran will want to come across as the country that is trying
to take power, which is what the American government will want to feed them.
“No money,
no war.”
What do you think about Iran’s relationship with the US and Europe? Do
you think Iran is in trouble? What are your future predictions?
The possibility of a war, as far as I personally see is very unlikely. There
is a danger of a bad defeat if America goes to war because of how the American
people have had enough of it.
On a separate note, I don’t see congress funding another costly war.
No money, no war. America went into Iraq with the WMDs being the reason for
it. When they didn’t find anything, they tried to divert people’s attentions with
what I see as nothing more than a show trial of Saddam to keep people busy
with something else besides the WMDs. It can even be argued that the Iran issue has been exploited by the government through the media for the same purpose, to divert people’s attentions away from Iraq. But again, that’s just another
theory.
The Mddle East does need a leading country in the region to put against
super powers like the USA and the EU. The problem though is that they’re all
divided. In the unlikelihood of an American invasion, the people would probably
side with Iran, while the “people’s governments” will stand by the US because
they have economic interests that will prevail.
Either this, or they will take up a “neutral” stance, in which case it
would be another way of saying they’re on the American side. Unless the Arab
countries put aside the Shi’a vs. Sunni issue that has divided the region for so
long, there will be no conciliation to form a powerful stance with Iran against the
West. The other reason for a power not forming is that almost all the countries
in the middle-east or the Gulf at least, are quite content with their situations
and will not want to get involved.
However, one must ask questions like: will Qatar for example, with the
biggest American base abroad, want to have operations and commands coming
out from its grounds with Iran right above it in the case of a war? It’s very likely
that Iran will counter if this does happen, in which case Qatar will have to make
a choice. I’d call that a dilemma.
Page 4
All Around
April 12, 2007
Facebook: a social monopoly of poking and tagging
By Siddharth Arora
Contributing Writer
Life at Carnegie Mellon Qatar is more than just taking loads of courses
in a semester, staring blankly at mundane Power Point slides during classes,
and picking on zombies who occasionally emerge from
the A055 computer lab and haunt social meeting places
like the recreation room.
It’s also about more than eating the same bland
food at the cafeteria week after week. Those freshman
without cars know what I mean.
I’m a semester old in this university now. When
I entered, I was basically told to come equipped with
some things that I’d need for college, which were:
1. The phone numbers to all the fast food joints
in the Rayyan area, including those food stalls which
you’d never normally go. Well, that’s because it’s only
these food stalls that save you at 3 a.m. during “allnighters” at university.
2. Five alarms to wake me up for Professor Oliver’s classes at the dawn of each day.
3. A bunch of 1 Riyal bills to feed those nasty
vending machines and keep my caffeine intake stable
(well, if you don’t have these bills, you can still beg your
way across, people are nice enough)
4. An ATM card
5. A Facebook account
Most of the things above seemed understandable, except for that last one: A Facebook account.
Though I had heard remotely about the social networking site before, I chose not to pay attention to it.
What then followed was the Facebook revolution, a process of smooth transition between high school
and college, and an attempt to join an improvement
over crappy old school social networks like hi5. So I
created an account and immediately got introduced to
this whole new world of “writing on walls,” “pokes” and
“tags.”
So now that weird conversation that I overheard during orientation made
more sense than before, since I just couldn’t understand back then what two
sophomore kids were saying during the orientation when they were fighting over
why they kept poking each other. Thank God it made sense finally since I had
started giving creepy looks to these two.
The Facebook fiasco carried on and it still does, though in a relatively
lesser way. I joined these groups, where you can basically write something on
the “wall” once for a certain topic of interest and then forget the group even exists. I initially took pride in the fact that I was a
tagged element in absolutely random pictures,
until it became quite irritating to have my Web
mail flooded with tags and wall posts.
The advantage however, was that I found
a lot of my long lost friends whom I’ve still managed to stay in contact with. However it just irritates me to be updated that a random long lost
friend of mine is attending a random mid semester ball in an even more random Bryan Hall or
somewhere else in the middle of nowhere.
Another of one of the biggest tick offs are
those ridiculous pokes, where I’m poked by
weird looking friends whom I’ve added from the
Carnegie Mellon Pittsburgh campus and the
conversation proceeds only from mutual pokes
unless I stop for fear of losing it.
Although it is packaged with all these absolutely funny and nonsensical frustrating features, it still is the biggest most popular social
network today followed by “my space” and the
rest of the Brady bunch. Thus, on a more serious
note, I’d like to request everyone keep a check
on their Facebook profiles especially around the
time when you might be looking to be employed
or selected for internships.
Companies also have access to Facebook
now and so, honestly, you don’t really want
prospective employers to check you out in your
prom queen makeover for a Halloween fancy
dress party.
So, this is what I think of the situation. For now, its time you got back to
what you were doing before you stumbled onto this issue of All Around. Excuse
me for now but I need to go poking.
Islam and the economies of love in a changing world
By Omar Khan
Contributing Writer
Many people believe that since Islam does
not condone the celebration of Valentine’s Day that
it is against “spreading love.” I would like to make it
clear that Islam is not against love but rather has set
noble principles for achieving a loving and healthy
relationship between spouses.
I’d like to present acts of love from an economical perspective in which I address them as a
commodity. Thus the value added by acts of love
would be the strength of the bond between two individuals.
In economics there is a concept that the value
added of a particular substance decreases the more
of it that is consumed (rate of diminishing return).
When a human being falls in love with another human being its basic building block is sacrifice. When
in love, a person wishes to sacrifice themselves,
whether it be their time money etc. to please their
loved one.
This is done through multiple manners such
as sharing thoughts, hanging out, exchanging gifts
and physical play. Now let us take a look at two
cases: in one case a person stays committed to a
particular person before which they had no relationships with the opposite gender. On the other hand,
the person had relationships and is now in love with
another person.
Some may say they are the same. But that
would be a half truth. The truth is that they are in
love. However, one scenario is much more fruitful
than the other, as I will explain.
Do you remember when you really wanted a
particular toy; it could be a doll or a remote control
car. When you got that toy for the first time it was
awesome. But the more you played with it the less
awesome it became. The next time you got a similar
toy it was just another toy.
Well just think about that. That is a part of
human nature, is it not? Okay, so returning to the
subject at hand: when a person has a relationship
they share acts of love, moments, gifts and physical
play with their loved one naturally. The first time a
person does such things they never forget it.
Because the first time is always more enjoyable and it adds a great deal of value to that first
relationship. But, if the person starts to have multiple relationships, in that they break up with someone and go out with another, they reduce the value
added by doing such things because they are doing
it a second time.
So what? Well if the value added is reduced
then we know as I made clear the value added to a
relationship builds the strength of the bond between
two people. If this bond is weak the relationship is
likely to fail when it faces trials and tribulations.
On the other hand if a person sticks to a particular person and invests in them for a long term
relationship (marriage) instead of a short one the
value added to the relationship is also decreasing
over time but there is a huge build up of that value
meaning the bond is strong and the individuals find
it difficult to break apart because of all that they
shared.
So how does this tie into Valentine’s Day and
Islam’s opinion of it? On Valentine’s Day people do
things to “prove” their love for someone and at times
play jokes on one another. They send each other
roses, cards and candy although they are not in a
committed relationship (marriage).
This diminishes the value of such actions
when you would do it to someone you are really truly
committed to; thus weakening the person’s ability to
build that strong bond in the future. Thus leading
to families that are weak. In Islam the family is the
central unit or building block of the state, if families
are unhealthy the state will be unhealthy.
Families can be unhealthy in many ways.
One of these ways is when they break up easily over
silly issues or for instinctual desires. Islam wishes
to protect families from this. Since it understands
the nature of the human being it places a great emphasis on creating a strong relationship and to fill it
with love, which is concentrated and shared in order
to build a noble society of families.
Of course the arguments presented may have
flaws since I wrote them myself. The article does not
do justice to the topic as when commented on by
scholars of Islam, who use the sources of Islam in
their arguments.
I wish people read it for a taste of something
different and do not use it as a proof because I am
not an authority on our religion or economics.
April 12, 2007
All Around
Page 7
PROFESSIONAL DAY
All Around
A Stepping Stone to Success
Editor-in-Chief
Noor Al-Athirah
By Marium Chandna
Staff Writer
Business Manager
Noor Al-Jassim
In almost three years of it’s existence, several prominent events have
glorified the timeline of celebrations at
Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar.
The Business Administration
and Computer Science schools of Carnegie Mellon, which rank amongst the top
institutions in the United States, have
mirrored the excellence and high-class
standards of the home campus in every
aspect.
To add yet another feather in its
cap, Carnegie Mellon Qatar held it’s first
Professional Day on March 21st 2007.
This event saw the leading business houses and establishments in Qatar
come together under one roof to identify,
recognize and, hopefully, tap future leaders for their long-term growth and success.
Shortly after 5 p.m., the various
stalls had begun to flood with sharp-looking, confident students who did not fail
to build relations and make an exceedingly positive impression on these idols
of thorough professionalism in the fields
of business administration and computer
science.
The faculty and staff were also
present to welcome the participating
companies and provide constant support
to the students. For the first time in the
short history of Carnegie Mellon Qatar,
Ramsey Ramadan and Deloitte’s Representative (top).
students of the freshman, sophomore
Nasser Rowhani and Standard Chartered Bank Representative.
and junior years were subject to direct
exposure of the corporate world and rezons, while at the same time giving the corporate
ceived the opportunity to interact with
world a glimpse into the world of the future leaders.
real experts in both fields.
A total of 27 companies participated in this
Despite the relatively small size of Carnegie
Mellon Qatar, great effort, communication and rela- prestigious event. They were: Al Fardan Group, Al
tion-building activity on the part of the Student Af- Khaleeji Bank, CISCO, Commercial Bank, Conofairs team made this occasion not only possible, but coPhillips, Deloitte & Touche, Doha Bank, Dolphin
an evening to remember. Last but not least, a special Energy, ExxonMobil, General Electric, Gulf Business
note of appreciation is well-deserved by Khadra Du- Machines(GBM), Hewlett Packard, HSBC Bank, iHoaleh, Director Professional Development and Interna- rizons, International Bank of Qatar(IBQ), KPMG, Microsoft, Nestlé, Qatar Airways, Qatar Financial Centional Education.
To her goes the credit of making this event a tre Authority, Qatar Financial Regulatory Authority,
stepping-stone to the future success of the student Qatar Petroleum, Q-Tel, RasGas, Shell, Sidra Medical
community by broadening their professional hori- and Research Center and Standard Chartered Bank.
Student Government Spending
By Siddharth Arora
Vice President of Finance, Student Government
The Vice President of Finance and the secretary/ treasurer work together to cater to the financial
requirements and budgeting for the diverse clubs and
organizations on campus. They also aid the students
of these clubs and organizations with the reimbursement process and the various procedures involved in
the accounting of their payments.
They, along with the Vice President of Clubs
and Organizations also offer advise to these clubs on
how to use their funding in the most appropriate and
justifiable manner, so that there are no conflicts with
the internal administration later on. Moreover, the
Student Majlis decided to submit a chart illustrating,
where the students activity money goes.
Club fund allocations
Equilibrium
funLimited
Active Women’s
!Xna
Sports Federation
Culture Club
Gaming Club
Kinezex
All Around
Total in QR
6250
8500
1500
2000
2000
2750
550
2000
11500
61652.7
Designer
Fatima Al-Rumaihi
Copy Editors
Amna Al Thani
Mona Maher
News Editors
Dana Hadan
Maha Obaidan
Features Editors
Lina El Menshawy
Wesam Said
Business Editor
Noora AlAnsari
Politics/World Events Editors
Walid Khwaja
Hanadie Yousef
Opinion Editor
Rooda Al Neama
Entertainment Editor
Aysha Siddique
Staff Writer
Marium Chandna
Web Editors
Yasser Khan
Shakir Hussein
Publishing Coordinators
Abdullah Al Othman
Iyed Jouini
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
Kristin Gilmore as their
advisor.
You may forward any contributions,
inquiries, questions, or suggestions
to our official e-mail address
all-around@qatar.cmu.edu
All Around
Page 6
April 12, 2007
What or who do you love most and why?
By Rooda Al Neama
Opinion Editor
We thought we would get a little personal with the students and see what they truly love about life.
Kaleem Rahman shrugs in
a cool manner: “God because that’s why I am here”
Shakir Hussain
pondering seriously
says: “Life…because...
because...because…its
EVERYTHING!”
Maha Obaidan blushes with a huge grin and says: “my parents,
my friends because my life would be incomplete without them!”
Reem Al Muftah with her subway sandwich and a huge smile says:
FOOD because its just so satisfying.” Then continues to eat her
subway sandwich.
Eatidal Al Qatami is confused by the question and then
answers: “Babies because
they’re so cute and innocent”
then bursts into laughter after
realizing what she said.
Anas Abu Qamar tells me he
needs to study when asked,
then answered quickly “actually my parents…why?...because they are the reason I am
here they took care of me, and
gave me everything I need.”
Shuaa Al Nasr with all confidence says “I don’t love anyone else but myself, oh and my handbags and Dubai!,” Maha
Obaidan confirms “Me too!”
Fatima Al Fakhri blushes sweetly and answers “I don’t know…”
while her friends scream you love pink! She answers, “I really do
love pink!”
Shahriar Haque answers firmly:
“My mom, and I don’t need a reason
to love her!”
Nasreen Zahan says with a grin and half her eyes closed “I love
sleep because I’m a lazy bum!”
A Word from the Editorial Board
By Noor Al-Athirah
Editor-in-Chief
The ultimate goal of publishing the
All Around is to communicate the opinions
of Carnegie Mellon University students to
readers. We work hard to deliver our views
and those of our fellow students in the best
fashion, hence the transformation from a
newsletter to a newspaper.
As of last issue, All Around has be-
come Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar’s
student newspaper. We were honored to receive your thoughtful feedback on the transformation.
We are thankful to those who stepped
forward to point out areas of improvement
and undetected errors in the issue.
We encourage all readers to participate in All Around’s success by sharing ideas, writing articles and pointing out
shortcomings, if any.
Rishav Bhowmick smilingly says: “Music because I can…because it
bring me to a better mood
when I’m in a bad mood,
and it makes chill!”
Maha Al Shirrawi answers: “I love my family and I love
designing things! Do you want to know what I hate?” No it
wasn’t the question, but a great idea for the next issue!
Corrections and apologies
In an attempt to improve the delivery of our messages, we would like to correct the errors made on the last issue.
The first error was in the spelling of our All Around staff writer
Marium Chandna. The second error was an incomplete article
titled Time to get active: Fitness Challenge 2007 is on, on the
last page.
We would like to apologize to Marium for the misspelling of her name and to all readers for the incomplete article.
We promise to continue to put great effort into avoiding these
mistakes.
Page 8
All Around
April 12, 2007