JEDDAH, 1 May 2007 — “Vote for your favorite star” is the writing above pictures of 14 students on posters that have been distributed across the men’s campus of the King Abdulaziz University (KAU). The 14 students hope to gain the most votes by May 12 when election results will be released and one of them will be announced the university’s superstar.
“This is the first ever such competition at KAU,” said Ahmed Al-Zughbi, head of activities at KAU. “Every year, the Students’ Affairs Deanship holds a competition for students. This year, the deanship decided to hold a competition on extra-curricular activities,” he added.
The winner is set to take home a car that has been donated by Lama Advertising Est., which is sponsoring the competition. The superstar will also be given the opportunity to be the first candidate for university events. Voting is open to both students and members of the public.
Prospective candidates applied to partake in the competition, which was launched by KAU Dean Dr. Osama Al-Taib on Jan. 20, by filling forms detailing information about themselves and their talents, which included how much of the Qur’an they memorized, sports that they like, and their knowledge of languages.
KAU’s different faculties, known as colleges, transferred forms to the Students’ Affairs Deanship, which evaluated applications to decide the best student at each college. From 166 students, 14 were selected to represent the university’s 14 colleges: the Economy and Management College, the Arts and Humanities College, the College of Science, the College of Engineering, the Faculty of Medicine, the College of Earth Sciences, the College of Pharmacy, the College of Medical Sciences, the College of Society, the College of Marine Sciences, the College of Meteorology and Environment, and the Faculty of Dentistry.
The 14 students were selected according to their GPA and the results of an ability test that included questions relating to a variety of academic subjects, general information, and students’ skills and talents. The votes that the students receive will make up 20 percent of their final evaluation.
Al-Moiad Al-Kadam, a third year student in the Environmental Design College and trustee of the General Committee for Cultural Activities, said he has been working on improving extra-curricular activities at the university for a long time.
“Students are not yet the ones to decide and plan their own activities,” he said, adding that students who participate in these types of activities develop communicative skills and become successful in the job market.
Al-Kadam is now, together with a number of students from different colleges, spearheading an initiative entitled: “A New Vision for Students’ Activities.”
“We will write the recommendations to be addressed directly to the dean of KAU,” he said.
Aspiring doctor, Muhammad Aboud, a sixth year medicine student, heard of the competition and said he was unwilling to participate until his professor convinced him to do so. Aboud, who has memorized half of the Qur’an, was on the College of Medical Sciences’ football team, which came first in a local tournament. He has also partaken in various cultural activities relating to poetry.
“I hope that extra-curricular activities will add credits to students’ GPAs so that each student can benefit from their personal talents. ... Some students are better academically while others are brilliant sportsmen,” he said.
Ahmed Al-Hakeem, a first year English literature student who speaks Arabic, English and Farsi, said students are not interested in extra-curricular activities although there are facilities available in the Kingdom.
“Among almost 30,000 students in the university, the number of participants in cultural and sports competitions is very low. When I enter the gym, I barely see two or three students although sport events are advertised at the university,” he said.
“I wish I win the car. But even if I didn’t win the competition, it will be a pleasure to participate and to have been selected top student of the College of Arts and Humanities. I appreciate and thank all the people who vote for me,” he said.
“We are now in the stage of voting and it will continue until the date of announcing the KAU Superstar, which is May 12. Voting is open to everyone, not only students, and can be done through the KAU website www.kau.edu.sa,” Al-Zughbi said.
