####Debate Team Goes to Oxford

From Oct. 11 to 13, the NYU Abu Dhabi Debate Union travelled to Oxford, U.K., to compete in the Oxford Open IV British parliamentary debate competition. Senior Rene Kukk and junior Justin Lee competed as NYU Abu Dhabi’s A team with junior Thomas Klein and sophomore Thomas Yates competing as the B team. Senior Dhia Fairus Shofia Fani, junior Tyler Headley and sophomores Sally Oh and Penny Peng served as adjudicators at the event.

Neither of the NYUAD teams broke at this year’s Oxford Open. Both teams missed qualifying by one point for the ESL and Novice brackets respectively. Nevertheless, the competition followed recent successes by the team in Hong Kong, where two of the three NYUAD teams broke.

Commenting on NYUAD’s showing at Oxford overall, veteran Oxford debater Rene Kukk was still optimistic. Kukk said,

“Oxford is always a good tournament to attend from a learning perspective because of the very high level of debates and adjudication. Also, just seeing the final rounds enables [us] to see some of the current best debaters in the world, and there is a lot to learn from them.”

The NYUAD Debate Union is expected to participate in another international tournament next semester.

####Asia-Pacific Night

On Nov. 17, the ASEAN Student Interest Group, the Chinese Cultural Club, the Dongari SIG and Taiwanese and Japanese students collaborated to hold Asia Pacific Night in the Arts Center foyer. The event aimed to introduce and celebrate East Asian and Pacific cultures through culinary richness, discussions and students' performances.

East Asian and Pacific food was served in the dining hall to celebrate the event. Organizers also served various desserts such as coconut cake, Japanese mochi, Chinese custard bun, Korean bokki and Taiwanese tea egg at stalls surrounding the performance stage. There were two different games at the competition — a ramen-eating competition and chicken leg game — where the audience could participate in speed-eating challenges.

Student performances at the event included K-pop dances, classical Chinese dances, martial arts and freestyle roller skating.

Junior Carrisa Tehputri, head of the ASEAN SIG, commented on the event.

“We are hoping to continue this tradition and to hold Asia-Pacific Night every semester to create a better and more widespread understanding and celebration of our culture.”

####Polish Independence Day Celebration

On Nov. 14, the Polish Cultural Association celebrated the Independence Day of the Republic of Poland with a variety of events. The main event was the piano recital Celebrating Independence — Celebrating Culture, by the Polish musician Artur Sychowski. It was co-organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Abu Dhabi and the Music Program at NYUAD. Sychowski, who has received several prizes in music competitions, built a special program for his performance. The program was made to commemorate his motherland, and it included some of the most important Polish classical pieces.

As explained in the program of the recital, “His intention is to take his audience on a musical journey through the history of Poland.”

After he finished playing the program, Sychowski started playing his own jazz compositions. The next day, the campus center was lit up white and red, the colors of the Polish flag, to honor Polish independence.

####Body Voices: Narrating Migration

From Nov.18 to 19 the second annual Body Voices Conference was held on campus. This year’s conference theme was Narrating Migration, including speakers from throughout the Middle East and as far away as Ukraine. The conference was organized by a group of students many of whom regularly participate in the NYUAD Attitude SIG. The event was further sponsored by the NYUAD Institute, the NYUAD Arts Center and the NYUAD Office of Student Activities.

Some of the modules related to migration included a presentation on dance anthropology by senior Xuexin Cai and a panel discussion on dance across borders by many of the conference’s dance professionals. Several NYUAD students also performed at the conference, including freshman Archita Arun who danced to the songs Time by Hans Zimmer and Abhi Mujh Mein Kahin by Sonu Nigam, which were played by senior Garreth Chan and junior Áron Braunsteiner.