Issue 4 - University of Sharjah

UOSTimes
UOS Times is an English version of AL ETISAL (Arabic) | January 2016
Produced by Mass Communication in English Students
College of Communication | University of Sharjah
YEARS OF UOS TIMES!
Mass Communication Students From University of Sharjah Win 2 Awards
Anime-azing Sharjah: Where Heritage & Modernity Meet
Congratulations Grads!
Issue 4, January 2016
PUBLISHED BY
General Mass Comunication in English (MCE) students,
College of Communication,
University of Sharjah.
DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATION
Dr. Abderrahmane Azzi,
Dean of the College of Communication.
EDITORIAL COMMITTEE:
SUPERVISOR
Dr. Suzana D. Zdravkovska
COPY EDITORS (Students)
Rujman Ishtiaq
Ivana J. Swarna
SECTION EDITORS (Students)
Sara Tamim
Amirah Abdallah
Mikail Atiyeh
DESIGNERS (Students)
Rujman Ishtiaq
Ivana J. Swarna
CONTRIBUTORS
Ali Al Absi
Noor Al Rawi
2
C O N TENT
UOSTimes
E
AL
Games You M
Most Frustratingly D
NEWS
Mass Communication Students from University of Sharjah win 2 Awards : 4
An Hour of Manifested words : 6
Two Days of Innovation : 7
ENTERTAINMENT
10 Years Ago : 8
League of Your Own : 9
Anime-azing : 10
Must Play During Your Lifetime : 12
Difficult Games That You’ll Ever Play : 14
FEATURE
Congratulations Grads ! : 16
TRENDS
Snapchat Obsession : 20
Rise of Vine : 21
STUDENTS’ OPINION
Sharjah: Where Heritage & Modernity Meet : 22
The Most Relatable Horror : 24
Trustworthiness of Mainstream Media : 25
#PrayForTheWorld or #PrayForParis ? : 26
REVIEW
Tuesday People : 28
CREATIVE WRITING
Lies Are Always Oversold : 30
Little Girl : 31
3
News | Mass Communication Students from UOS win 2 awards in the Arab Innovation Media Festival in Cairo
Mass Communication Students from
in the Arab Innovation
Chancellor of University of Sharjah,
Professor Hamid M.K. AlNaimiy, congratulated
the students of the Mass Communication
(English) program for winning two awards in the
first “Arab Innovation Media Festival” held in
Cairo. The event took place on 15 December,
2015 at the Egyptian Opera House with the
participation of 7 countries and 9 universities. The
students were honored at the chancellor’s office
in the presence of Professor Abderrahmane Azzi,
Dean of the College of Communication, and
Dr. Suzana Dzamtoska-Zdravkovska, Coordinator
of the Mass Communication Program in English.
Creativity of Media Students
The chancellor expressed his pride for the
excellence and creativity of the media students
and their success represents the university’s
efforts in supporting its students academically
and professionally. He also stated the fact that
the University of Sharjah holds the first rank
worldwide in the diversity of its faculty members
(according to the QS World University Rankings)
and the ninth in the cultural diversity of its
students (94 countries).
“Kont”, a film done by Nadeen Esam Nasr
and her colleague Rawan Sami Mohammed,
won the Short Dramatic Films Award. The film
discusses the extent to which society can
forgive individuals who recover from drug
addiction. On the other hand, students May
Ramez Mahrat, Ivana J. Swarna and Rujman
Ishtiaq won the second place in the
Journalistic Magazines Award category for the
third issue of “UOS Times” magazine, themed
around the topic of “diversity”.
The 3-day festival was held by October
University for Modern Sciences and Arts under
the slogan “Towards a Unified Arab Identity…
The Strength in Our Differences”, making it the
first Arab artistic academic festival in the Arab
region. The festival awarded projects
submitted by university students in three
categories: Television and broadcasting,
advertisement & public relations and
journalism. The closing ceremony was
attended by Egyptian Culture Minister, Helmy
Al Namnam, Minister of Tourism, Hisham Zazou
and a large number of artists, university
professors, Arab ambassadors, Chancellors of
Egyptian universities and a number of leading
Arab figures in the arts.
The Chancellor, Dr. Azzi and
Dr.Suzana with the award winners.
Dr. Medhat Al Adl and
Nadine Essam
4
m University of Sharjah win 2 Awards
Media Festival in Cairo
Festival of Outstanding Projects
The jury consisted of judges specialized in
the fields of drama and media, including artist
Ezzat Al Alayli, artist Mohammed Sobhi, film writer Dr. Medhat El Adl, cinematographer
Dr. Ramsis Marzouk, actress Lubna Abdulaziz,
director Marianne Khoury, director Mohammed
Khan, and in the field of journalism journalist
Iqbal Baraka, writer Sakina Fouad, and Dr. Said
Sadek.
Participants in the festival included University of Sharjah, King Saud University of Saudi Arabia, Yarmouk University of The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, University of Tunis, American
University of Kuwait, Beirut Arab University,
University of Bahrain, in addition to Cairo
University, The American University in Cairo
and the organizer of the event, University of
October for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA).
The festival aimed to recognize
outstanding projects of media students,
support unity among Arab nations through its
students and promote tourism in Egypt in the
long run.
The festival also included a speech on
the United Arab Identity and Role of Arabic
Media which was given by artist Mohammed
Sobhi. In addition to the closing ceremony, the
festival included award distribution and a
number of artistic and ethnic shows from Egypt
and other Arab countries.
The Chancellor, Professor Hamid M.K.
AlNaimiy, in meeting with the Mass
Communication (English) students
May Mahrat accepting her certificate from the
Chancellor, Professor Hamid M.K.
AlNaimiy
5
News | An Hour of Manifested Words!
An Hour of Manifested
Words!
By: Salwa Jakvani
Poetry lovers had an amazing hour of Read Out Loud
Poetry on Friday, 6th of November, 2015 in the session ‘Poetry
Friday’ which was hosted by the Sharjah International Book
Fair (SIBF). The session was steered by Dr. Ghanim Samarrai
and featured four international poets: Anthony Grooms, Arun
Budhathoki, Peter Solis Nery and Ko Ko Thett.
Each poet brought along with them their own intellects
which were heavily influenced by their cultures; hence, this
contributed as a unique factor when their masterpieces were
read out aloud. Four different minds came together in one hour
and read out their experiences in form of poetry.
Haruka Murakami inspired him to write his piece, ‘Japanese Book’
which brought another culture to life. He his last words at the
end of the session expressed great appreciation and also said, ‘It
was great to hear other poetry, so diverse and deep.’
Thirdly, Peter Solis Nery from Philippines
brightened up the environment with his colorful and lively aura.
The intimacy from his poetry collection, 100 Erotic Sonnets, had
led the audiences’ imagination reach great heights and caused a
humor among them. Calling himself a ‘people’s poet’ and ‘
notorious’, he read out many of his collection written on simple
things of life such as punctuation, colors and other simplistic
aspects that make him stand out and gives him his unique
identity. The colorful poet, as known by his country, advised the
audience in the end to ‘open themselves to possibilities’ which
might ‘inspire creativity within’ referring to the Fair’s motto this
year.
Lastly, Ko Ko Thett, a Burmese poet, joined in late, came
with a bang and, ironically enough, started off by reading the
poem, Traffic, which is what caused the delay in his arrival. what
caused the delay in his arrival. With his enthusiasm he continued
the last few minutes of the session with a short poem and then
another piece, A Walk with History, which he dedicated to his
former
English teacher. Despite being late, he had held the standards
and expectations of the audience; it was his great strength,
spirit and devotion that had maintained the level of expression
and imagination built up earlier.
Salwa Jakvani at ‘Poetry Friday’
Anthony Grooms, a poet from Louisa, Virgina, family has
won several awards for his writings. Coming from an
African-American family, he is a steadfast fighter against
racism; therefore, his words are also inspired by his beliefs.
During the time he was given, he stunned the audience with
some lucid and graphic poems of different topics such as
nature, death, and books and also presented an excerpt from
his novel, Bombingham. He had developed a stirring and
vibrant environment which was maintained throughout by the
rest of the poets.
The session was a huge success as it had brought together four mind-blowing poets from around the world together. The
34th SBIF held annually in Expo Center, Sharjah, UAE and has a
great turnout every time. It is indeed a great event that
promotes the art of writing and the beauty of reading!
Following him was Arun Budhathoki, a poet and a
storywriter from Nepal, also known as Daniel Song who brought
his personal encounters into poetry and then to life by
reading it out loud. It was almost as if he brought Nepal to
Sharjah! He recited numerous poems from one of his published
work, Prisoner of an iPad. ‘The Fountain’, a poem based on
Kathmandu’s specialty of fountains, was great original piece
that uplifted the beauty of the region. Also, being a fan of
6
Salwa Jakvani with Anthony Grooms.
News | Two Days of Innovation
two days of Innovation
By: Amirah Mohammad Jawad Abdallah
On 22nd -23rd November, 2015, University of Sharjah
hosted a two-day innovation strategy workshop. This event
was held in the College of Business Administration. It was
attended by the Chancellor of the University of Sharjah,
Professor Hamid M.K. AlNaimiy, Dean of the College of Business
Administration, Professor Abu Bakr Ibrahim and of course the
faculty members of the College were present too.
It was fun and a form of ice-breaker for the teams. The second session
of the day was to come up with an idea of a product or service. The
organizers
distributed
booklets
which
had
questions about the product a team will invent. After answering
all the questions, the teams were given tools to create a model
about their product.
The workshop involved about 20 teams, who had the
chance to create their own innovative product or service and
the team who creates the most innovative product or service
will be given 1000 DHS cash prize. The workshop was held for
two consecutive days and was sponsored by a company called
Ruwad. The first day had two sessions: The first session was full of
activities where each team had to build any shape with very
simple tools, such as pins and rubber bands.
On the second and the last day of the
workshop,
teams
were
asked
to
design
a
poster for their product that would capture the
attention of the judges. There were a lot of
creative posters and it was a hard decision for the judges, but
there had to pick a winner. There were six winning teams, where
each team won cash prizes and certificates. Two of the winning
teams were from the College of Communication, Mass
Communication in English Program, who had very innovative and
creative ideas.
MCE students working in the competition
Some of the prize w
inne
rs of the workshop
7
Entertainment | 10 Years Ago
Brofist!
10
Years Ago
By: Yara Mansour
10
years ago, no one would’ve thought that sitting in front of a camera and playing video
games had a possibility of being a potential career choice. Today, YouTube gaming is an actual job
where a person (YouTuber) records videos of himself/herself playing video games and provides a
commentary, while receiving pay-checks for it. Gaming videos have become so popular worldwide
due to the games itself, the YouTuber and the overall entertainment it involves.
One of the main reasons people watch these videos are because of the games. Watching someone else
play a game helps gamers get a better idea about it more than any form of marketing ever does! They
watch these videos to know how good the game is and if it’s worth buying or not. It also helps gamers
play certain levels in a game or unlock something new in a game. Many video games have more than
one ending and are choice based games, such as “The Walking Dead” and “Until Dawn”. Whether a
gamer played the game or not, they always want to find out the different endings to a game, or how
another player’s choices affect it. Also, some people cannot afford buying some games so they turn to
these videos to watch them and know more about these games. Hence, gaming videos are a very good
source to discover new information about a particular game or just find out new games!
Another main factor to the popularity of these videos is the players or the YouTubers themselves.
There are many famous YouTube gamers like, PewDiePie, Yogscast, Smosh, Markiplier and many
others. Every viewer is attracted to a certain YouTuber based on their different personalities and
commentary. For example, PewDiePie is known to be the funniest gamer on YouTube and that’s why
his channel is the most subscribed YouTube channel with 39 million subscribers. Gamer’s videos
affect the game industry itself, because companies make sure to watch their videos for feedback on
their games and for future adjustments. This industry definitely wouldn’t be the same without the
different gamers who get paid to make these videos.
Entertainment is another big factor that plays a major role as to why people watch gaming
videos. It is exactly like how many people around the world enjoy watching sports without exactly
participating in the sport itself. This same concept applies to watching gaming videos. It is another
source of entertainment, just like watching movies or reality shows or sports.
YouTube gaming definitely deserves the popularity it has gained over the years. We can now have
a source of entertainment for all gamers out there, as well as a new way of discovering games while
enjoying it with some amazing and funny commentary!
8
Entertainment | A League of your Own
A
A
LEAGUE OF YOUR
OWN
By: Sarah Tamim and Omar Majd
nyone that has ever played video games before will surely know how addicting it can get. Up
until online games were introduced, nobody had an idea on how severe the “video games addiction”
phenomenon was getting. A lot of people wonder why video games are becoming a “thing” but, I’m
not here to talk about why all video/online games are causing such a huge fuss. I’m here to tell you
all about the game that brought millions of people together using only 9 servers from all around
the world – League of Legends.
So what is League of Legends or what people like to call it these days, LoL or League all about?
League of legends is a team-oriented strategy game, giving 5 players who are kept in a specific
map of choice. The goal is to bring down the enemy’s “nexus” with your team members before the
opposing team takes down yours. In order for you to reach the enemy base, your team needs to split
up and spread throughout the map and fight whatever comes your way. It might sound like a very
easy thing to do, but here’s where the fun part comes in. LoL has created about 127 characters
(champions) all of whom have their own unique strengths, personalities and stories. Some champs
look like normal human beings, some look like cute and fuzzy animals and others like hideous,
freaky monsters. However, you like to get things done, and there’s always a champ out there for you
who matches your style. Team players usually compete in matches that typically last 20-60 minutes,
and each game you play helps you gain points that level you up until you reach level 30: the level
cap.
League of Legends is not just any other video game with a specific story to be told, it’s mainly based
on people that are searching for competition. This game wasn’t designed to play and relax, and it’s
definitely not a game you could play in between your 10 minute breaks! This game needs a whole lot
of commitment and time in order for you to not to let your team members down. I know how stupid
and childish this game may sound to you, but did you know that there are actual colleges that are
currently offering League of Legends scholarships to pro players that want to take their gaming
hobbies to a whole new level? You think this sounds crazy? Well, what if I told you that China
has actually opened up the first ever “League of Legends University” for all sorts of players that
are interested in learning more about the game and becoming pro at it – sounds pretty cool, right?
Many other games that practice competitions for professionals are: Mortal Kombat rewards
winners with 10k dollars, Street Fighter’s V rewards the winner with 25k dollars, and Counter
Strike: Global Offense rewards up to 250k dollars. But League of legends championship usually
has a prize pool of 2 Million dollars to the winner… You can’t ignore this number. Especially
now that pro gamers travel around the world with “athlete’s passports”, this makes video games
somewhat of an official sport. Now you can imagine the role a game like League of Legends,
that has one of the biggest fan base in the world – over 70 million players worldwide and still
growing – plays in professional gaming!
League isn’t just a game that people waste their time playing, League provides us with skills that
can’t be taught in schools. It teaches commitment, team work, patience and lastly, it teaches how
victory can bring joy and happiness, and how devastating and heart breaking losing a game can be.
I’m sure all of this sounds silly to most of you and makes sense to only those people that have played
games in general. No matter how many numbers and facts we can fit in, you can’t appreciate a
Legend by hearing about it. You need to either witness a Legend doing his/her thing or the best way
is to become a “Legend” yourself.
9
ANIME
Entertainment | Anime-azing
I was talking to my friends about some normal and mundane
things, when out of the blue a friend of mine comes over with
a very animated and excited expression on her face and starts
telling me about a new series she had started watching. Of
course, as any other person who doesn’t have a life and
watches TV series to fill that empty void, I started getting
excited too because finding a good TV series equates to finding
the Pandora box. But, once she began speaking I knew that my
whole excitement was for nothing. You see she started
speaking about “Anime”. Anime, as told by yours truly
Google, is a style of Japanese film and television animation
that is aimed for both children and adults. Now, I have
nothing against anime but I found the idea of it kind of
immature and every time someone says anime a picture of
Naruto, a very famous anime series, flashes in my mind and
the idea of me watching it instantly shuts down. Little did I
know that a little bit of nagging and begging from my friend
would lead me to getting sucked into that world.
What is Anime?
Anime, as previously stated, is a style of Japanese animation
that is for both children and adults. At first in the early 20th
century, Japanese artists were inspired by the comic strips that
western newspapers provided and also their motion picture.
Soon after, famous artists like Rakiten Kitazawa and Ippei
Okamoto started producing their own serialised newspaper
prints that is now known in the modern world as “Mangas”.
Later on, Osamu Tzeko happened and the success of anime
and manga rests firmly on his shoulders. He became a
cartoonist after World War II and had his first significant
work shown in 1947 when he was only 20. After few years, he
became the most famous manga artist and was later called the
“Lord of Manga”. His illustrations depended on the expressive
details of the character’s emotions, and was inspired by the
cartoons he saw when he was a kid and how their emotions
showed clearly. This lead him to drawing simplified facial
feature and Frisbee-sized eye balls, and this style is now called
the manga-style animation form.
10
A Little Background
In mid-50s, production companies in Japan started trying
out to create the same animation movies Walt Disney have
managed to create, but some films failed while others didn’t.
In the 70s, the animation that was produced was strictly
aimed for children, but until the oddly named manga artist
Monkey Punch created an anime series called “Lupin
Sansie”. This series featured a main character that was a
master thief. Packed with adult humour and slapstick
violence, Lupin Sansie was aimed directly at a more mature
audience. When science-fiction literature became more
popular in the 80s, manga and anime artist were among
the first to grab this style of imagery and visualisation and
run with it.The success of such movies that weren’t comedy
or action oriented and were based on Japanese literature,
showed that anime had finally broken free “the children’s
only” policy and has now a highbrow acceptance.
Anime’s success can be credited to the unwavering
keenness of many Japanese artists who were willing to
experiment and exploit animation as a fully creative
medium and understand that they could do more with
moving pictures than just entertain kids. This is what had
made anime more dynamic and appealing to many people.
AZING
By: Hiba Abu-Kuhail
Now, even after knowing all this (because there was
once a time where I didn’t even know what anime
is!), I wasn’t really sold on this idea. The idea of adults
watching cartoon was really absurd to me, and didn’t
even remotely stir me into watching it. But, since the
constant nagging of my friend got to me, I gave in and
watched it. I watched an anime called Anohana: The
Flower We Saw that Day. It isn’t my typical genre to
watch, but boy did it draw me in so deep into its vortex
that I didn’t even realise that I has finished an entire
series in one day! One day only. That in itself was a feat
to me, because I usually don’t like finishing things early
and wanting to savour everything that happens, but I
finished this in one day only. I was deeply shocked, and
in an instant I was back again on my computer searching for other anime series to watch. And then I
gradually started watching more and more series, I
started getting into more discussions about it with
friends that were also into it.
There are a lot of classical anime that is a must to watch
like Cowboy Bepop, Sailor Moon, Pokémon and many
others. Tokyo Ghoul, a recently watched one, though
bloody and gory and isn’t advised for the light-hearted
to watch, is one of the best anime to be created The
amazing illustrations of the characters and the action
in the anime, how complex the characters are and how
the situations they’re put in are very unrealistic but
feels so real, just makes anyone get addicted to this
series. One of my friends, knowing that bloody and
gory scenes interest me more, suggested Attack on
Titans and ever since, I’ve watched the series for 4 times
and if that doesn’t prove how much this series is good
then I don’t know what will! The plot of the story and
the characters are astounding, and also the best action
illustrated animation makes this series that much
better. But the anime world is a very diverse one and
anyone who doesn’t get interested in things like that
would always find something else to watch that would
interest them to no end and would surely get them
hooked.
After all this I realised that even if I have previously thought of something as absurd or
unnecessary, it doesn’t hurt to try new things. Especially if it saves you the endless amount
of I told you so’s that will be definitely thrown your way and also the embarrassing dance
said friend demonstrates after telling you that.
11
Entertainment | Games you must play during your Lifetime
Journey
Journey is a beautiful game that will move your imagination
and take your breath away with its visuals and music. So save
this game for a rainy day where you’re feeling a little down, a
little tired of the world around you, close the door on
society and make sure no one can interrupt you for the next
few hours and be absorbed into what will be the most
touching few hours of your life!
#9
#10
Shadow of the Colossus
Simply stunning and fantastically surreal, it’s a Japanese adventure
game where your task is to defeat sixteen monumental colossuses
in a story where you must bring a young woman to life whose fate
is unknown. It is the very definition of epic.
Games You Must Play
In this day of age, there are tons of amazing games out there for everyone – and depending on when you grew
However, there are some games that stand out more than the rest for being special, original and offering an
perhaps life-changing, here’s a compiled list of games you must play
The Mass Effect Seies
he Mass Effect trilogy is one the most epic journeys in video game
history. Offering a massive galaxy that is open for you to explore,
personal interactions between various characters that make for
many different situations, and a deep story that makes you decide
on all sorts of choices that will affect the overall plot of the game.
Put simply, the game series is a blast to play through.
#7
#8
Portal 2
Portal was introduced to the world as an experiment that was
received with praise by everyone who played it. But what makes
Portal so unique? Well, it’s a puzzle game where you must shoot two
portals and walk through one to get to the other which allowed for
challenging puzzles – that not only made you feel smart, but very
enjoyable to solve. All in all, it’s a pretty awesome game.
LittleBigPlanet 2
LittleBigPlanet 2 is a game that shows being creative can be so
much fun. It makes for hours of enjoyment and with the ability
to create levels yourselves fairly easily through an advanced
level editor also means endless possibilities. But even to those
who’d rather play a game than make one, the community
section of the game allows you to play any of the millions of
levels created by players – making LittleBigPlanet 2 a game that can be
12
played forever
#6
Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
#5
This is the kind of game that comes every once a generation.
Skyrim will have you spending dozens of hours to fully explore its
vast world. It’s a mesmerizing game that will draw you into its
fictional universe which will consistently surprise you. It doesn’t
just tell you a story, it gives you the chance to tell a story of your
own. So if you’re looking for one crazy adventure that offers an
endless variety of fun and immersion, then make your way to the
snowy mountainous lands of Skyrim and experience the thrill of
becoming your own adventurer.
Uncharted
It is an amazing and rich cinematic adventure game that will
pull you in straight away in its fantastical world of hunting for
treasures, exploring ancient ruins and surviving the
impossible. There’s so much fun to be had with this game,
without a doubt.
#4
During Your Lifetime
up and what video games you grew up with - you’ll probably have your own personal list of favorite games.
experience like no other. For all the game enthusiasts out there looking for something extraordinary and
at least once during your lifetime.
By: Mikail Atiyeh
#3
Bioshock Series
There’s honestly no other game that is like Bioshock. It creates such
a believable and engaging game world and has gone a path :that very
few games have ever gone. The combination of a great story and
fantastic game play with wonderful scenery has been so well created
into an all around well crafted game that it would be a shame to miss
out on playing it.
Red Dead Redemption
The real magic of Red Dead Redemption is its world, which feels
so believable and creates such a wonderful vibe that you don’t
want to leave it – in a old wild west setting of which we don’t see
a lot these days. It has such a beautiful world with an enormous
amount of things to do, an exciting story and fantastic action. It’s
an amazing ride that won’t you forget very easily.
#1
#2
The Last of Us
The Last of Us is a masterpiece – a case study on how video games
can immerse you, tell a fascinating story and make you really care
about character. It’s a survivor horror game that tells the gripping
story of two characters who will become something more,
something real, something that will make you remember a one of
a kind experience in a crumbling world of decay. The Last of Us is
truly a special one of a kind game. So if you have yet to play it, then
make sure that you do – it’s a life-changing experience.
13
Entertainment | Most Frustratingly Difficult Games That You’ll Ever Play
Most Frustratingly
You’ll E
Video Games in general are supposed to be challenging, but there are some games that take it w
think you’re a pro at videogames? Well here are
By: Mikail
#8
Flappy Bird
Flappy Bird has made its mark as being one of the most frustrating
mobile games of all time. The game’s objective is to simply keep
the bird afloat in a steady pace while flying across a set of pipes. It
is simple in every way, yet, it takes forever to master. However, the
game proved to be too addicting to the point the developer himself
had to remove it from the digital stores claiming that he didn’t want
people to spend hours at a time playing it.
Surgeon Simulator
Surgeon Simulator 2013 is one of those games that was made solely
for the purpose of making any gamer frustrated. The whole
objective of the game is to perform a variety of surgeries on subjects
while controlling a surgeon’s hand. The downside is that the control
scheme for the hand is ridiculous. Controlling each individual
finger while performing a heart operation is an absolute nightmare,
and makes the most simple of tasks nearly impossible.
#6
#7
QWOP
QWOP is a game that seems fun to play at first, but the fun quickly
turns into rage the moment you start playing. Similar to Surgeon
Simulator 2013, you must control a track racer through the use of
his legs, and they can only be controlled through four keys. Q and
W to control your right and left thighs while O and P to control
your right and left legs. All this so you can sprint your character to
a 100-meter finish line, which feels light years away. At best you’ll
only end up flipping your character all over the place and get
nowhere near as close to finishing the game.
Unfair Platformer
Unfair Platformer teaches gamers a valuable lesson – that life isn’t
always fair. Aside from that, the game almost plays and feels like a
Super Mario game, but instead it makes all the effort in the world to
be as frustratingly hard as possible. Almost every move you make
in this game determines whether you will live and move on to the
next obstacle or die while miserably learning from your mistakes.
Randomized traps and invisible platforms bury the player in
deceptions and false truth of what awaits in every obstacle.
14
#6
Difficult Games That
Ever Play
way too far – that go beyond the boundary of the norm and really test your capabilities. So you
some games that will really push your buttons.
Atiyeh
Give Up
#4
Just as the name of the game implies, the game wants you to give
up and admit defeat by pressing the “GIVE UP” button that hangs
under the screen while you suffer playing this game. It achieves this
by ramping up the difficulty into insane levels and pushing you
harder and harder to give up. It doesn’t help that the game
constantly mocks your skills by making every level more
impossible then the last. In conclusion, you will die many times
before accomplishing anything and that’s when you begin to realize
if it’s worth playing in the first place.
Super Meat Boy
Super Meat Boy is an old-school 2D platformer game but don’t let
that fool you. Super Meat Boy is a challenging game and you will die
A LOT! With only two controls – jump and sprint – you’ll carefully
navigate Meat Boy through many dangerous obstacles. There are
inventive boss fights at the end of each chapter, and you may breeze
through a couple levels only to die a hundred times on the next
stage. It’s a delightful and hilarious game but infuriatingly hard.
#3
The Impossible Game
#2
If dying over and over in a video game to the brink of insanity is what
you want, then The Impossible Game is what you’re setting up yourself
into. All the game is is an auto-scrolling platform – where the map
keeps moving and you have to keep up. You are a simple character, a
square to be exact, and must move by jumping over obstacles at a fast
and constant pace. As you progress, the game’s speed becomes
insanely fast and that’s when it really begins. The game requires
split-second reflexes and perfect timing, and if you don’t make a jump
and die, it’s back to the beginning of the game and you have to do it
all over again. It’s surprisingly addicting – it’s fun in its simplicity and
torment, and will keep you occupied but angry.
Dark Souls
Dark Souls series is all about the satisfaction you feel after finally
overcoming its harsh difficulty. Dark Souls takes “challenging” to
whole new level, because there is so much frustration in-between
the dungeon exploring and facing against enemies that make the
overall experience a complete nightmare. It is a fact that any
gamer will have a bad time playing this game. The overpowered
foes, random life-threatening traps, tough bosses, limited health
and stamina and much more make the game frustratingly hard and
you will end up dying countless of times. Although it’s a game that
is actually fun and rewarding, it will shatter your heart by being
monstrously difficult.
#1
15
Feature | Congratulations Grads !
Graduation
Exhibition
16
n Projects’
n , fall 2015
17
Feature | Congratulations Grads !
CONGRATULAT
On December 16, 2015 the College of Communication held an event to
showcase the graduation projects of the Fall Semester 2015/2016 graduates. The event started at 10:00 AM
and ended at 2:00 PM. Movies and documentries done by the students were also screened from 11:00 AM in
the college building.
Among these graduating students, some of them were from the
Mass Communication in English Program, and we got in touch with them to tell us briefly regarding their
graduation projects!
EDUCATION IN ACTION
By: Lamis Fayez, Heba Khalid & Shahla Manku
"Tell me and I will forget, show me and I might
remember, involve me and I will understand", our
graduation project focuses on a very important
aspect in our lives: education. Our aim is to build
awareness about practical education by emphasizing
on its importance. We also wanted to show how it
effects the students’ perception of both knowledge
and information. As most of the information that
sticks to our mind are the information that uses more
than one sense to store it. Hence, all students should
experience what they learn, they should be given
reasons and be taught how to form links between
what they learn and how to use it in their practical
life.
18
ATIONS GRADS!
NOVETALENT
By: Nada J. Al Zara, Zainab N. Arab & Mira Aldukhan
In Novetalent (November + Talent), we believe that everyone
has a talent: hidden or not. So we started first by going through
all the female colleges in the university and asked them randomly
whether they are interested in discovering their talents and
promoting them.
Based on this research, 88% of the students said they have no talent
and that they would like to discover if they have any. The rest knew
their talents, and wanted to share their talents and promote them.
Moving on to the second step, which was the scientific test
session on the 10th of November, 2015. Over 50 people
attended the session and took the test that was available in both,
Arabic and English.The test consisted of 105
questions based on scientific researches and studies. The results of
the test were distributed and over 100 participants joined the
workshop where they tried and observed their hidden talents on
reality. This was the third stage and the workshop consisted of 6
stations. Each station was for a specific talent and most of the
participants who attended were satisfied with their results.
SEA SALT
By: May Mahrat
An observational documentary that exposes the daily lives of fishermen in the gulf to the audience. Filmed in
Sharjah Edited at the studios of University of Sharjah, without a narrator, the film opens the window for viewers to
observe and emotionally engage with the daily routine of fishermen who tend to live on their boats and spend weeks
in the middle of the sea. Concepts and meanings of belonging, attachments, happiness and satisfaction are discussed
throughout the documentary. It also brings a live example of people living positively in a life full of uncertainty and
tiredness. Sea Salt is the type of documentaries that raises questions more than answering them and communicates
to the hearts more than minds.
19
Trends | The Era of Snapchat
The era of
Snapchat
By: Sara Tamim
It’s the 21st century, and if you don’t know what Snapchat is or haven’t heard of it by now then I must ask you, what planet are you living on?!
Snapchat is an application that was made to define the social media. It not only represents the greatest existential threat to Facebook, but
it has also set the bar too high and created a huge challenge to all the other applications that are being created after it.
When Snapchat started, it was a very simple
application with simple features. But each year, the
creators of Snapchat tried taking it to another level by
adding features that are unique and one of a kind which
seemed to work perfectly since in 2015, it was reported
that the application has hit at least 50+ million users.
What makes Snapchat different?
After moving the teens away from the more traditional
social media networks, the question was: why are they
loving it so much? Many teenagers love Snapchat simply
because they have this belief that it gets their parents off
their backs since it is more of a private network compared
to all other social networks. However,
research shows that teenagers are growing up in a world
that is becoming way more visual which has led the
digitally native generation to go for visual
communication more than any other.
Growing up as teenagers, we all learnt the hard way how
everything we do or every picture we post online, the good,
the bad, and the inappropriate stays there forever! And
after so many years we tend to regret everything we
shared with the whole world. With that being said,
today’s teens are having it the easier way. And so they’ve
been signing up for Snapchat, with its Mission: Impossible
style detonation technology in huge amounts.
When I walk around in my university campus, all that I see
these days are a group of girls and boys snapping each and
everything they do. I know you must be thinking of how silly
it sounds but to be honest, it’s how we have fun during our
busy schedules, running around from a class to class yet
capturing every minute of it for our friends to see… well,
only for 10 seconds anyway. Whether it was snapping your
meal, your outfit or even a fight that is happening in front
you, it’s a necessity for it to go out there.
20
New feature on Snapchat
As we all know and observed, people just love to be in
contact with the world in every way possible. But we
students are always busy and have no time to keep track of
everything that is happening around us and sit for hours just
to read about it. Thereby, the creators of Snapchat
created something that helps us stay connected with the
world. Snapchat now is not only about pictures and videos
that you share. A recent update was launched which
contained a section that is called Discover. It’s a new way to
explore and discover stories from different editorial teams.
It was a collaboration with the world-class leaders in media
such as CNN, MTV, Yahoo!, National Geographic, Daily Mail and
many more famous channels and magazines which helped
build a story format that puts the narrative first. Snapchat
also has a section called Live which shares live events of
things happening worldwide whether it was a sports event, a
carnival, a concert or even a riot.
Another feature that has made Snapchat seem more
interesting to us youngsters is the scores it keeps. For every
snap you send, you get a specific score for it and it keeps
adding up. I’m currently at a score of 25 thousand points
and yes, it really matters to some of us. All of these factors
have added up together and created a so called addiction for
teens and young adults to the point that it isn’t an application
anymore but a way of life.
It’s still a way of communication and without
communication, the world we are in right now wouldn’t have
existed. So, let’s look at it this way, it’s a trend that is bringing people closer and closer and strengthens their bonds and
the communication between them, just one click away. So
how bad could this trend really be?
Trends | Rise of Vine
Rise of
By: Tamara H. Abualhaija
Making six second videos doesn’t seem like it could be a
big deal or a trend, it’s too simple for people to
actually enjoy. It doesn’t seem like six seconds is enough
to do anything, but what if it was looped? Still doesn’t
make a difference. Until Vine popped in the picture.
What is Vine?
Vine is a new mobile application that loops six seconds
videos and in just a little over a year has about 40 million active users! It may not be that special but if it has
40 million users, it must be a big deal. To me, Vine is a
very important part of my day, I can’t go on with my
day if I haven’t watched some
vines -vines are the videos that are on vine- even if I
previously watched them?
YouTube makes videos and is also more successful than
Vine is right now, so why is Vine so interesting for users?
In my opinion, Vine is a challenge because some people
are able to tell stories, entertain, show creativity and so
many other things in the span of just six seconds.
Vine is no different than other applications or social
media; YouTube has youtubers and Vine has viners.
Viners are the people who make the looped videos. If
they get enough followers, loops, revines -the sharing
of a vine to show on a viewer’s page- and likes, Vine
becomes their job. Not everyone on Vine is a viner, just
like not everyone in Hollywood is a celebrity. Viners are
the people who made it on the app. There are so many
viners that have a high following, such as Rudy Mancuso,
Jerome Jarre, Destorm Power and Lele Pons.
Features of Vine
The app has so many categories including Arts &
Experimental, Comedy, Pets, Food, Beauty & Fashion
and many more. Sometimes, Vine also adds an additional category if there’s any special event such as New
Years’ or Christmas.
Vine is owned by Twitter, created by the end of 2012
and officially launched by January 2013, so the success
it has now is outstanding. People watch vines everyday
and the number of Vine users is still increasing every
minute, making more money and more success than it
already has.
Although, shortly after Vine was launched, Instagram
(photo/video sharing app) added a new feature, which
was the Instagram video. Even though there was a lot
of controversy on why Instagram would make
Instagram video after Vine showed up in the social
media picture, they still went back to Instagram instead
of Vine because Instagram was already very popular
and liked by everyone long before Vine came out.
However, viners were still a big attraction to people and
they had a job to do. People started coming back for
the viners and the many features that Vine added to
get its audience back, worked successfully.
People got so used to the six second vines that they
started thinking that youtube content was getting too
long. To be able to show so much in so little time is just
amazing. Some vines are just hilarious and can make
your day in six seconds, others show the cutest puppies,
and some also have very strong and deep messages for
people to learn and understand in a very simple way.
How to make Vines
Vine is so simple and it doesn’t need lights or big
cameras, producers or a professional script. It just needs
an idea, creativity and a phone to shoot it all. Editing
vines is very simple, too, making people in favor of using
it and trying to make vines because of how
approachable it may seem to be a big viner since it
doesn’t require that much work.
So is Vine here to stay? Yes. Or at least I hope so
because I need it in my life. It’s very addicting and has
got me hooked. Not going on Vine for a day can be so
hard because you jus miss so much and you can come
back the next day with a Vine trend all over the app
and you’re just thinking ‘where did this come from?’ or
‘I was just gone for a day!’. I remember not going on
Vine for two days, and when I opened every vine had
the voice of a child saying “YOU’RE NOT MY DAD”. It
took me such a long time to find the source of how it
all started, that it was frustrating. I can’t imagine what
might happen if Vine were to shut down…thinking
about it scares me.
Even though making six second videos may sound like
nothing and not interesting at all, Vine has made it one
of the most trending and entertaining platforms I can
think of. It’s simple, but effective.
21
Sha
Students’ Opinion | Sharjah : Where Heritage and Modernity Meet
Where Heritage &
By : Sar
In 1998, Sharjah got the title of
“Cultural capital of the Arab world” by UNESCO. Therefore, Sharjah is known as the culture & arts capital of
the UAE. The rulers of UAE strive to preserve the golden bits and pieces of its precious history and Sharjah
is the best place to see that. There are wonderful sightseeing opportunities and a lot of destinations for
families to visit in Sharjah and I will give you my top five.
1) Al Qasba Suburb
The home of entertainment and amusement, where you can enjoy the sky view of
the wonderful city of Sharjah riding the (Eye of the Emirates wheel) deserves to be in
the first place. It is ‘Al Qasba Suburb’ and it is located in Al Khan. In addition to the big
wheel, there is also a musical fountain in Al Qasba that dazzles and attracts families to
enjoy the magical view. Also, a lot of cafes and restaurants are opened there such as
Starbucks, Caribou, Gusto Gelato, Nando’s, and Stefano’s. After a tourist finishes his/
her round, he/she would enjoy a boat tour in Khalid Lake. This waterfront journey gives
visitors a chance to relax under the clear sky and to breathe in the fresh air.
2) Sharjah Maritime museum
Historically, Sharjah has always been linked closely to the water of the Arabian
gulf and that’s why this museum takes the second place. This highlights clearly the
importance of water in Sharjah’s development. Also, water was a vital part in the city’s
history and it is exhibited creatively in the museum. Visiting this museum is an
opportunity to explore the Emirate’s rich marine heritage which was collected and
documented by the Sharjah government.
22
rjah:
& Modernity meet
ah Kteish
3) Sharjah’s Central Market
This is the city’s most famous landmark and is known for its beautiful turquoise
tiles on its exterior. Also, there is a simple, artistic fountain that beautifies the front of
the market. There are over 600 shops inside and they are divided into sections based
on their products. This market offers traditional vintage masterpieces that are very
unique.
4) The Sharjah Art museum
This museum has a wide collection of modern and contemporary art done by
professional artists from the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries. Furthermore, it
hosts temporary art exhibitions that spark in the museum at different times during the
year.
5) The Sharjah Science museum
It is the first interactive science and technology center in the UAE and is designed
to stimulate the visitor’s curiosity about the world around them. The exhibit covers a
wide range of topics and pushes people to explore more and more by taking part in science demonstrations or through the planetarium shows. In addition to that, the learning
center is provided with modern science and computer laboratories that enable access
to curriculum-related workshops for schools, on a pre-book basis. This museum is only
about having fun with learning!
To conclude, Sharjah has many tourist attractions that fascinate people and compel them to visit these
places many times throughout the year. These places express the harmony of originality and modernity
of Sharjah.
Sharjah is a place where you live more than one era at once!
23
Students’ Opinion | The Most Relatable Horror
The Most Relatable
Horror
By: Hiba Abu-kuhail & Tamara H. Abualhaija
There are a lot of panic inducing incidents that happen in our everyday life, for example missing
the bus, being late to class or even worse, being late to a quiz or a final exam. But most of the population
would agree on one incident that could turn their lives upside down: losing their phones. I know most of
you would think that you won’t react much to losing a phone because you could easily get another one,
but what you didn’t know is that that’s not true. As much as we deny it, our whole lives revolve around
this tiny gadget. It’s the machine that binds everyone together and most of you can’t even imagine life
before this invention.
We went around University of Sharjah and asked students to tell us about what they’d do if they lost
their phone. Khalid, a student in MCE, stated that he wouldn’t panic much, and he’d try calling and finding
it before panicking and even then he’d be able to buy a new phone incase its lost for good. Hani Balqees,
a business student, on the other hand stated, “I would cry, and then I’d involve the police to try and find
it. I admit I’m very attached to it and I’m not ashamed of that.” Other statements from students varied
on the same levels, some went for the logical approach and others became emotional over losing their
phones.
Some students even told me about their experiences when they lost their phones. Dania, a fine arts
student, started talking about how crucial it was when she lost her inanimate friend. She became
emotional as she thought that she was basically cutting ties with everyone, and because she was broke
she couldn’t get another one. She stayed without a phone for 2 months and it was “very boring but
insightful”. She said :
“I learned a lot when my phone wasn’t with me. I didn’t
panic about not picking up when someone called, or get
distracted with social media when studying. All in all,
it wasn’t a bad
experience as I thought it would be at first, but still a
boring one.”
So the true fact that is staring at us is that mobile phones turned from being a luxury and a way of
entertaining oneself to being a way of life and a necessity that everyone had to have to continue living.
And now that they are a compulsory thing to have, not getting panicky and emotional over the loss of it
would be considered weird.
24
Students’ Opinion | Trustworthiness of Mainstream Media
TRUSTWORTHINESS OF
MAINSTREAM MEDIA
By: Mikail Atiyeh
In this day of age, everyone is bombarded with all sorts of information – so at what point can we
really trust media news? Usually it isn’t lack of access to information that makes the news
meaningless, but it’s the abundance of images that makes it so untrustworthy. For example, depending
on where you get your news, you’ll see evidence that climate change is a myth or a serious problem –
because if you look hard enough, you can always find the opposite of any event. These multiple
interpretations of events don’t make the world more accessible, because the explosion of information
of events makes the ability to understand the world nearly impossible.
When regarding the abundance of images, the camera lens makes every image worth thinking
about – war becomes more like a theatrical play, disease is reduced into some kind of television
programme to raise money for a cause and hunger becomes an appealing attribute to a magazine
cover. Therefore, the camera lens makes most events, whether appealing or atrocious, questionable. It
ends up being that every image is possibly staged, recreated or simulated for a political end or to push
a product.
There are hundreds of news channels all competing for viewers, followers and hashtaggers –
similar to advertising. When you think about it, media and advertising operate at the same wavelength,
and as a result, the line between reality, marketing and news is too blurred to tell the difference.
Media outlets and advertisers compete to keep viewers glued to their seats – continuously
entertained by the explosion of content on the screen. It’s the selling of a promise to the truth, as if
it provides meaning. That’s why reporters appear at the scene of serious events like war, crime and
natural occurrences – because the signs of disasters are images to be consumed.
While you feel there’s nothing happening around you, the news media reports that there are
interesting things taking place all over the world. It sells the promise that meaningful things do happen.
And they do this by broadcasting stories of actual events, but instead of providing access to the whole
truth, the media creates a copy of an event – they create non-events – that are easily ingested by
society that usually accept advertising and disinformation.
20th Century French socialist and philosopher, Jean Bauldrillard, claims that people in general
willingly choose deception – people want to be tricked, fooled and distracted from the
reality of their lives – simply put, we prefer the copy of reality. Luckily though, in today’s social media,
we’re no longer spectators – we can interact, create and dedicate news.
So I ask you dear reader, can you really trust the mainstream media? Well, I guess that’s for you
to decide.
25
#PrayfortheWorld
Students’ Opinion | #PrayForTheWorld or #PrayForParis
Over 43 are dead in the Beirut bombing. More
than 200,000 people displaced and dead in
Syria and a car bomb injured 48 in
Philippines. Eighty-nine Palestinians killed
and 10,000 injured since October 1. About
130 died in the Paris attack and many killed
in the Bagdad funeral bombing. One
forty-seven dead in the Kenya University
attack, 132 schoolchildren killed in the
Peshawar
terrorist attack. The list goes on and more
people continue to die every day.
Yes, I just mentioned Paris among many other
places. Yes, I didn’t point out Paris
separately.
Tragedies do not compete and, simply,
misfortunes cannot be compared. One cannot
mourn for Paris without mourning for all the
other places in pain. Why does
selective mourning even exist?
The whole world is in anguish; its hurting
everywhere. Not just Paris. Then why is that
we have changed our profile pictures to red,
white and blue? Why is it that we are posting
the Eiffel tower with #PrayforParis?
No doubt, the Paris attack was horrendous.
However, we have forgotten the many
atrocities that occur in the rest of the world
each day.
Perhaps, we fail to notice other stories that
should shake us in a similar way. Or merely,
those stories don’t get enough coverage.
26
or #PrayforParis?
By: Salwa Jakvani
How many times did your local news
channel repeat the Beirut incident? Was it as
much as the Paris attack? Souls out of Paris
deserve mourning too; they deserve our
attention too.
It is something to ponder about: why didn’t the
media update about the dozens of Palestinians
youth murdered, why aren’t Syrian and Iraqi
refugees referred to as ‘global civil society’.
Where is the human in all of us?
Surely, we wouldn’t have heard about Beirut
attack if the Paris attack hadn’t happened. Its
not a matter of mourning for Paris, it is the
matter of not mourning for the rest of the world.
Perhaps we should change our social media
display pictures to numerous flags of the world.
Or, merely, we should post, mourn and tag
#PrayfortheWorld. If nations want to mourn by
lighting up their building, they should light up
every flag of the nation that is in pain, every
nation that is losing their civilians to bombers,
bullets and inhumane, merciless murderers.
I do not want to underplay the Paris attack but
I want to push away this tradition of selective
mourning. Let us not be selective in our
mourning. Yes, I pray for Paris. But my prayers
are not only for Paris, Beirut, Kenya, Pakistan
or any other place. In fact, my prayers are for
this troubled world. My prayers are for the
people who continue to die as I write this and as
you read this. Hence, let us pray for the whole
world.
27
Review | Tuesday People
PEOPLE
TUESDAY
TUESDAY
PEOPLE
By: Hiba Abu-Kuhail
28
It all started when my friends
thrusted this book into my hands and told me
with their stern faces “Read it and your life
would change forever.” Well, no it wasn’t that
dramatic but they did tell me that it’s a really
x4 good book, and because I’m an avid reader
I decided that I should give it a go. And my life
has changed ever since.
Generally, readers are proven to be
more empathetic than the
average person that does nothing but eat,
sleep and search the internet for lives. So
when this book was given to me I thought it
would be like any other book I have read, may
cause an impact in a way but not so much...
but it did the complete opposite. This book
has impacted my life more than how sliced
bread changed the world drastically. Mitch
Albom certainly knew what he was doing
when he wrote Tuesdays with Morrie. It’s a
non-fictional book and to be quite honest, my
first non-fictional book ever. It was published
in 1997 and was the best seller for more than
four years and soon became to be the
bestselling memoir of all time!
The story is basically an
autobiography of a professor, Morrie
Schwartz, who taught Mitch Albom, the
writer, in college. He teaches for the last time
the fundamentals of life and the things that
human beings find the most important in their
lives. This non-fictional book grabs the attention to different aspects of life that people
have always thought about but neglected the
need to search for the answer. The book in all
its 192 pages has the ability to make the
reader think more about everything that
matters in one’s life. It doesn’t have to change
the readers’ lives per se, but it could make a
huge difference on how they generally view
life.
“‘I talk with my voice. I gesture with my
hands. This is how I give to people.’
‘How will you give when you can no longer
speak?’ Koppel asked.
Morrie shrugged.
‘Maybe I’ll have everyone ask me yes or no
questions.’ ”
The simplicity, the way he speaks, the
way he phrases those sentences to have the
maximum effect on a person, all adds up to
Morrie Schwartz, the
professor. Everyone who has read the book
would have done anything to have had only
one conversation with him and everyone who
will read it will eventually wish the same. His
personality that was clear and vivid as the sun,
in the book highlights how
simple yet complex his way of thinking is, how
the darkest and deepest things we question
about life could be answered in few simple
words by him.
For me, although I have read a lot of
books about the meaning of life and have
searched a lot of things
related to those deep questions, this book
would forever be the best of its kind for this
genre and Morrie’s sense of humour makes
it just that better. So for everyone who ever
wondered and questioned themselves about
what to do with their lives and how to go on
about it, this book is a must for you!
Morrie, I wish I was a Tuesday person
myself.
This is a review on “Tuesdays with Morrie” , a book by Mitch Albom.
29
Creative Writing | Lies Are Always Oversold
LIES ARE ALWAYS OVERSOLD
Lies are always oversold, while the truth is kept hidden and
never told,
Lies can be shaped, while the truth never had a mold,
A world driven by lies, such prophecies have been foretold,
For quite many reasons the truth can only be sought,
The truth needs one's self to be honest and bold,
It is a delicate thing, while searching one should behold,
With so many lies told around, one cannot withhold,
The inner desire to seek the truth and unfold,
At some point even one's curiosity becomes uncontrolled,
But the truth is stranger than fiction, more than one could take
hold,
Who knows if it'll warm you up or leave you in the cold,
But for its beauty, the hassle one goes through is worth twofold,
A sugar coated lie is but a fool's gold,
While the truth is the hidden and forgotten gold.
By: Ali Al Absi
College of Engineering, UOS
30
Creative Writing | Little Girl
LIttle girl
A little girl in me once lived,
Happy and sinless, in a white flawless dress.
She’d sang, laughed, kept me company,
And told me one piece of tip.
She asked me not to grow,
Not to lie, not to trust, not to fall.
She told me the darks of the world,
A place where werewolves lived.
A place where kindness became stupidity,
A place where lameness became the top.
I was both naive and hopeful,
I abounded the advice and took the trip.
Soon I was splotchy smothered in black,
Ugly, sinful, I was one of them.
A human wolf with a plastic face,
A murderer to the beauty of earth.
In the mirror I no longer recognise myself,
My pure graces were now all cursed.
I called upon me for the girl inside,
My friend, my sister, my interior sound.
But the little girl no longer existed,
As for I’ve murdered every nice thing.
She was gone, dead, buried in mud,
Nothing left but a meaningless name.
Consciousness, the little girl was named,
My consciousness I killed with bloody ice hands.
I was empty, numb, thoughtless and rude,
I was now the thing I hated the most.
A human I yet remained,
It was my humanity the thing I lost.
By: Noor Al Rawi
College of Pharmacy, UOS
31
MCE
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