The Great Nurdle Hunt On Feb. 16, 200 volunteers from across the UAE came together in teams and competed to collect over 29,000 nurdles on Saadiyat Beach in just one hour. Nurdles are small plastic pellets used in the manufacturing of plastic products that often end up in the ocean. The educational event was organized to raise awareness of the harmful effects of pollution on marine life.

Organized by the NYUAD Office of Community Outreach as part of NYUAD’s Service Kashtah program, it had the largest attendance this event has seen. The group aspires to connect NYUAD to the wider UAE community through service and generate a greater sense of collective responsibility.

Cuban-Khaleeji Project On Feb. 20 the NYUAD Arts Center hosted the world premiere of the Cuban-Khaleeji Project. Six-time Grammy Award Winner Arturo O’Farrill and his 18-piece Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra were joined by special guests and collaborators: Yazz Ahmed, Boom.Diwan, Ali Obaid and Malika Zarra. They performed a musical exploration of the Afro-Latin and Afro-Cuban music’s North African, Arab and Moorish origins in the Arts Center’s Red Theater.

“The music of the Khaleeji people, the Middle East, Spain, and Morocco is embedded in the DNA of Northern and Western Africa, which is the source of nutrition for all the music we call Afro-Latin,” O’Farrill said.

Swim Team Places Second in Intercollegiate Meet Last friday, the NYUAD intercollegiate swim team hosted their first meet of the semester on campus. There were several outstanding performances, especially from the women’s team, who placed first in many events. Several new school and intercollegiate records were made, such as Captain Toby Tinson’s, Class of 2022, performance in the 400 meter swim. It was announced during the event that the Athletics Department eventually hopes to host as many as three intercollegiate meets per semester.