On the evening of Sept. 29, the West Forum was filled with students waiting for John Sexton’s — President Emeritus of NYU — highly anticipated talk dubbed Another Octave. Sexton returned to NYU Abu Dhabi to ponder NYUAD’s existence, his vision for the school, the role of students in that vision as well as other topics.

Sexton spoke about the origins of his idea for NYUAD and their significance in his life, including inspiration from his early childhood and the importance of his late wife. The metaphor of “another octave” is a saying Sexton took from his own teacher, which calls for us to seek out the new and to strive to push our boundaries everyday. He left the audience with a greater appreciation for goal setting and an understanding that the vision of NYUAD is one which the students now need to mold and develop, as the global leaders of today.

“For me, playing another octave is a core value of NYUAD. It’s easy to get stuck in the academics and the stress, but thinking of this reminds me of the original reason why we all came here and makes me strive to achieve that in my everyday,” said Bhrigu Bhatra, Class of 2021, who attended the talk.

Following the talk and in honor of Sexton’s 76th birthday, Student Government created the #anotheroctave campaign. Students are invited to share their own stories about how they have played another octave since becoming a part of NYUAD as a way of celebrating NYUAD’s successes and cementing Sexton’s vision for the institute. Some students have already taken to Facebook to share their experiences.

On the evening of Oct. 5, Blacksmith Café became a stage for Yalla Laughs Comedy Club’s stand-up comedy event. The show featured a variety of local comedians. The audience enjoyed the show along with a cup of Blacksmith coffee. Around 35 people from of-campus, as well as NYUAD students made up the crowd.

Yalla Laughs Comedy Club is self-proclaimed as “Abu Dhabi’s only local comedy club.” The club boasts numerous local and UAE-based international comedians, some of whom made an appearance at Blacksmith Café on Oct. 5. The comedians who made an appearance at the event included Erik Thornquist from the U.S., Collin Armstrong from the U.K. and Maha Wry from Somalia, among others.

Camilo Cortes, the manager of Blacksmith Café, was satisfied with the success of the event. He expressed that Blacksmith Café will be planning similar events in the future, however on weekdays so as to attract more of the NYUAD community.

“It was a night full of laughter and frivolity and the crowd was very engaged,” said Cortes.

At 6 p.m. on Oct. 4, REACH hosted a workshop in collaboration with NYUAD’s Health and Wellness counselor, Dr. Mladina Vedrana, titled How to Support a Friend. The aim of the workshop was to provide students with concrete tools and advice on how to be an effective support system for friends who have dealt with sexual misconduct. The event was part of NYUAD’s Sexual Respect Awareness Week.

The first part of the workshop was led by members of REACH in order to provide a space for peer-led discussion. The discussion revolved around how students can approach issues of sexual misconduct, mental health and other topics with their friends in a constructive way. Advice was given on how to provide aid without diminishing the sensitive issues at hand. The topic of cultural norms was also brought up as a way of drawing attention to the fact that different cultures and regions approach mental health and sexual misconduct differently. Dr. Vedrana came as a guest to the discussion to provide a professional insight on these topics.

“It’s about acknowledging people’s feelings, but it’s also okay to tell your friend that you are worried about them,” said Dr. Vedrana. “It’s always better to dare to ask people if they need help than not to because we weren’t sure, even if we aren’t comfortable ourselves, because that might just make a difference.”

Additionally, Dr. Vedrana drew attention to the 2018 World Mental Health Day which will take place on Oct. 10. This year’s theme is young people and mental health in a changing world. She cited this workshop as a good start to an important conversation concerning mental well-being on campus.