By Zahra Rashid
UNIVERSITY CITY, SHARJAH – Based on instructions from the Ministry of Education, the American University of Sharjah has decided to put all upcoming in-person club events on hold till the spring semester, said Student Activities Coordinator Maha Jibril in a recent interview.
Students have been drawing comparisons with other universities in the United Arab Emirates who are partaking in extracurricular activities, she said. According to the MOE, however, universities only have the go-ahead for on-campus classes, Jibril emphasized.
This comes weeks before a large-scale club event planned by the Student Council was meant to take place, named “AUS Monopoly.” Jibril said it would have consisted of games, activities and performances at the AUS football fields.
“When EXPO 2020 started, we were hoping that we would get the go-ahead for extracurricular activities on campus,” she explained, although this has not been the case.
Jibril highlighted that there are alternate options for clubs and departments to participate in, such as trips to EXPO 2020, other educational trips or events that are organized by government-related entities.
“This decision will impact the inclusions, nature or mode of these events,” Jibril said, when asked about AUS Model United Nations and UAE National Day celebrations on campus. She noted that they will probably still be conducted on a smaller scale with a limited number of participants, to allow for COVID-19 precautionary measures to be practiced.
