Junior Alejandra Pinto Miguel had always been interested in taking part in a publication. After contributing to The Fishbowl Tribune, an online student publication that disbanded her sophomore year, Miguel decided to direct her focus to entertaining the NYUAD community with music.

“By the time I created On The Beat, there was no other student publication, and I thought NYUAD needed something like that,” said Miguel. “I also thought we needed more entertainment, and music has a lot of space to provide that. Not only through the monthly publications, or the Facebook page postings, but think of the campaigns, for example — we photograph our classmates being silly and post them around campus. It's something fun, and it feels very rewarding when your classmates share their gratitude with you.”

With her newfound inspiration, Miguel turned to fellow junior Jessica Tattersall with budding ideas for a publication that merged music and writing. Tattersall agreed to take on a role as an editor, and she, along with many members of the Music Society, contributed to the first few editions.

“As the newsletter started gaining more popularity, more people were interested in writing for OTB,” added Miguel. “By the Fall semester, we had successfully published three editions.”

Despite their quick success, Miguel and Tattersall, soon bumped into the obstacle of study abroad.

“We didn't really know how we were going to keep publishing and working with OTB,” said Miguel. “Luckily, by J-Term we managed to publish our J-Term edition. This gave me a lot of confidence because it proved we were going to be able to publish [throughout] the semester [while I was abroad],” added Miguel.

Now, the OTB publication has established itself as a thriving dynamo of writing, editing, designing and printing – despite the fact that members of the publication team are sprinkled around the globe.

Miguel maintains that OTB owes their smoothly-run system to e-mail and Facebook messenger, which the team uses to communicate with one another. OTB has also directed their use of social media to the student body in order to provide an interactive forum that remains widely open to the public and immune to the strains of GNU distance.

“It’s like our own live-streaming,” said Miguel. “I think it is a great thing to be abroad, and to be able to be posted on the things that happen in Abu Dhabi. We are trying to keep our community connected with the hope of entertaining them.”

OTB publishes a monthly newsletter, as well as regular videos and song clips on their Facebook page. Students who wish to contribute may contact Miguel via Facebook or e-mail.

“I think the role music plays in our community is a big one,” remarked Miguel. “I would definitely say, even though it will sound cheesy, it defines many things we do in our community, and it brings us together. On the other hand, I think music should be a more regular thing. We don't really notice it, but our spirit changes when we hear a good tune, or when someone is playing in DTC. We love it, and I think more people should work together to make this happen more often.”

Below is an OTB study playlist, an example of one of the many themed playlists that the publication creates for its readers and listeners. This playlist, created just in time for exams, includes calm and peaceful songs that provide the perfect soundtrack for hitting the books.

Only Love by Ben Howard Hinnom, TX by Bon Iver Blood Bank by Bon Iver Boundaries by AM Escriban Mas Canciones by Jarabe de Palo Boy With A Coin by Iron and Wine

Lights Out, Words Gone by Bombay Bicycle Club Manhattan by Kings Of Leon Blindsided by Bon Iver Further Away by Ben Howard Don't Panic by Coldplay Into The Mystic by Van Morrison Belle by Jack Johnson Heartbeats by Jose Gonzales World Spins Madly On by The Weepies

The playlist can also be found on OTB's Grooveshark page.