A Day to Bring the Campus Together
BY MARIAM WAHBA
The university’s first Community Day took place on March 4 to bring together and celebrate the AUC community and to unveil the university’s new mascot.
“We wanted to bring the entire AUC community together on one day to have fun,” said Laura Saleh, a student ambassador.
This event was organized by more than 20 student organizations in collaboration with administrative offices and school departments.
The day’s main event, which was organized by the First Year Experience (FYE) program, was the reveal of the university’s new mascot. In June of last year, FYE launched a campaign for AUCians to submit concepts and ideas for the mascot. Students, staff, faculty, and alumni then voted.
There was a ceremony honoring AUC retirees and employees who have worked at AUC for 15 to 35 years to celebrate their long years of service in the university.
“The whole concept of it [is] to show how they are being appreciated and recognized by the administration,” said Jaylan El Esseily, director of the Training and Development Office.
People collected raffle tickets throughout the day by participating in the various activities organized by the university schools. At the end of the day, there was a raffle draw for prizes, including an iPad mini, jewelry from the Atef Wassef collection, and a special dinner at the Dusit Thani hotel.
“It’s nice to see different schools showcasing their activities and to be able to know what’s going on around you, since AUC is a huge community,” said Yasmine Fathy, a member of the Outreach Program at the School of Sciences and Engineering (SSE).
The SSE booth had activities under several categories, such as physics, geology, astronomy, biology, and the diving club. The physics section included a replica of the first sundial ever created, which allows people to tell the time using their own shadow.
The school of Humanities and Social Sciences (HUSS), the school of Continuing Education, and the school of Global Affairs and Public Policy (GAPP) also provided activities and entertainment for the attendees.
One such event GAPP organized was a project called “Zee3 Inta,” which consisted of a moving box-shaped studio with a built-in microphone and camera. Ahmed Sobhy, a Journalism and Mass Communication (JRMC) alumnus and the director of the project asked the participants certain questions, who then had to answer them without the pressure of any TV anchors.
The Student Union (SU) organized a talent show to give AUCians a chance to showcase their talents, including singing and dancing. Tarek El Ibiary and Omar El Saeed, AUC alumni who currently work in the entertainment industry were the judges at the show. Youssef Mandour, a freshman who rapped at the show, won the first prize.
After announcing Mandour’s win, President Lisa Anderson and Chair of the Board of Trustees Richard Bartlett, presented awards and prizes to other participants in the show.
Although the day’s turnout was not as high as some of the organizers were expecting, they were not discouraged. Saleh said that this is the first Community Day to take place and the organizers are accepting feedback in order to implement the day better next year.
