JEDDAH, 28 August 2007 — Student councils have widely been recognized as a vital part of campus life worldwide, but only recently has the organization of such a student government system been viewed as a priority in the Kingdom’s schools and colleges.
The Student Chapter, the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), at King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in Dhahran, organized in 1996, was one of the first student bodies in the Kingdom. It currently has 151 chapters in 42 countries.
“The role of the chapter reflects many things in student life. It provides the necessary encouragement for a student to increase his understanding on a technical and professional level with hopes of leading to outstanding performance,” said Hussein Ramis, head adviser for the Dhahran Student Chapter.
Ramis said the student chapter had been responsible for organizing more than 32 activities last year, of which six were community-oriented events such as beach cleaning, volunteer day and projects for providing books for the campus library. As a result the SPE Dhahran student chapter has been placed among the top five SPE chapters worldwide.
The advantages haven’t stopped there. According to Rania Ibrahim, vice dean of Student Affairs at Effat College in Jeddah, student governance has proved to be a great tool for increasing communication between students and the college administration.
“This is the third year we have had student committee elections,” said Ibrahim. “This year students have been particularly active with the current student committee president, Areeb Yassin, organizing activities, not only on campus but off campus as well.”
In addition to the student committee, Effat College has been holding elections to choose the student who receives the Queen Effat Citizen Award.
“The student who wins this award has to show academic excellence as well as extracurricular activism,” she said. “I believe that the idea behind the Queen Effat Citizen Award is excellent in the sense that it provided a good communication channel and greater understanding between the college and students. It also gives them an opportunity to take part in the democratic process.”
Ibrahim said that election time has usually been hectic with students utilizing the latest technology such as SMS messaging and e-mails to canvass votes and to rally everyone to take part in the elections.
Riyadh’s Prince Sultan University Women’s College is the latest addition and another prime example of the fulfillment of the growing need for student councils across the country.
Wadha Al-Rashid, president of the University Student Council (USC), explained what it was like running in an election.
“There has been a lot of pressure because this is the first year the USC has been in existence, but it has been good because it gave us the opportunity and responsibility to make a change,” said Rashid.
