On May 5, the final General Assembly of the 2018/19 academic year was held in the West Forum. As the last GA of the semester, it had no agenda so that all students could bring issues to Student Government and brainstorm for the year to come. The discussion, for the most part, centered around student response to comments made by NYU President Andrew Hamilton in his response to a Wall Street Journal opinion piece. Members of NYU Abu Dhabi’s Student for Justice in Palestine complained of a run in with President Hamilton following Vice Chancellor Al Bloom’s goodbye event where they described President Hamilton as defensive and impolite.

May 4. Attitude dance group performed Exposure, the recital that showcased their work this semester in the NYUAD Art Center’s Black Box. With over 70 dancers, including both students and community members, the 50 minute-long performance was well-attended.

This semester, Attitude and the NYUAD Physical Education program offered multiple dance classes, with styles ranging from hip hop, to ballet, to broadway jazz and K-pop. These, however, were only a fraction of the groups who performed in the recital. Individual dancers and a Bollywood group also performed, along with Attitude Junior, Attitude’s spinoff dance group for children and teens.

Multiple groups from outside of the university, also took the stage. Among these were professional dancers from the local ballet group, Fantasia, and a group from Cranleigh School Abu Dhabi.

“I loved all of the dances,” said Attitude President, Usman Ali.

“Especially K-Pop, Fantasia, and Attitude Juniors’ because it was so cute.”

The Attitude Executive Board, who organized the recital, were apprehensive, as some last minute setbacks changed up their plans. Some performers were unfortunately injured, changing the schedule. In addition, the group was forced to officially close to the public, as they couldn’t get all of the documents required by the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism together. Despite these bumps in the road, the recital ran smoothly, providing few disappointments for the sold out house.

“The curtain call was really, really amazing for me,” Ali said. “Because seeing everyone when they come and get their applause from the crowd, and everyone is together at the end, that was really fun.”