####End of the Year Event

On a starry Thursday night, almost 300 NYU Abu Dhabi students adorned in suits and dresses made their way to the St. Regis Hotel on the Corniche. The end of the year event, held on April 20, was a gala organized by NYUAD Student Government. With an all-night buffet, a DJ and a dance floor, students danced and ate away their end-of-the-semester stress. Alia Ozair, class of 2020, who led the organizing committee for the gala, said, “It's crazy when you realize how many little details are involved in planning a large-scale event like this. But all the craziness was worth it when the guests started coming in and everything began to come together so nicely. There were really good vibes in that room, and I think that helped everyone become comfortable enough to just let loose and have fun.”

Tickets went on sale on April 12, with all 250 tickets selling out in a matter of hours. Due to requests from several people to expand the event, the organizing committee opened up the sale of 50 extra tickets on April 16.

####Student Government Elections

In a somber and largely empty room on April 16, students running for Student Government Executive Board positions for the next academic year delivered their platforms and answered questions from the audience. “Sadly, at the Forum there were more candidates and organizers than attendants. I hope that next semester we will see an increase in student engagement,” said Diego Arias, class of 2020, who is running for class of 2020 representative.

After the platforms of the candidates were published, Anita Duskova, class of 2019, posted on the NYUAD Forum Facebook page on April 20. Her post included a screenshot of one of the candidates’ platforms, with the caption, “Did anybody even read these [the platforms]? ... Cause some of them are hilarious … and scary cause half of the positions are going to freshmen or to people who are making a joke of it.” The post garnered a lot of attention, with one of the dozens of comments reaching over 100 likes. Some students called out Duskova on her singling out of a single candidate’s platform, others disagreed with her suggestion that there is something wrong with the large number of freshmen candidates and yet others defended Duskova’s right to express her opinion on the elections.

Voting began on April 20 for the 20 candidates who are running for 11 different positions. The results of the elections will be announced on April 23.

####Track Attack

While most people were relaxing on a Friday night, some NYUAD students battled in the first annual Track Attack. The event was a cycling race organized by the Inter-Residence Hall Council in collaboration with the Athletics Department. 12 teams of two to four riders attempted to complete 100 laps around the track in the NYUAD stadium in 1 hour and 45 minutes. During the race, the 1979 film Breaking Away was screened for the spectators. The audience could also view the game from an inflatable pool set up by the track and devour some fried chicken as they cheered on their friends. The winners of the race were Alexander Mackay and Raitis Pekuss, both class of 2019. They were each awarded a 100 AED Go Sport gift card for their victory.