A fundamental requirement for a university is self-governance. With the increased involvement of Tamkeen in university life on Saadiyat, NYU Abu Dhabi is in a precarious position.

Tamkeen now seems to control many aspects of life on Saadiyat. In moving to the new campus, students have not been consulted about substantive changes to their dining options. With no alternative options within walking distance of campus, students must be involved in any further changes to the dining system. How can the university, or whoever is actually in control of the university, say that it is serving the students?

Future student input is hampered by the lack of any transparency between NYUAD and Tamkeen, the government body which seems to have a say in many of the changes which students find abrasive. Student Government would be the ideal form for this interaction between staff and students to take place. However, a lack of information and policies implemented from the top down means Student Government is left toothless and lost for direction. Some steps in the right direction have been made: with NYUAD resuming control over the ADNH Compass contract, among others, the university community, not an unknown entity, may have a greater say.

These concerns are not superficial but instead strike to the heart of what NYUAD is to become. Will we be a hothouse for a globalized elite, designed to enhance the prestige of Abu Dhabi and the UAE or are we spreading the principles of liberal education and engaging in cross-cultural exchange? As students, staff and faculty we need to come together to decide this, not have this foisted upon us.