By Noel Ceriani
UNIVERSITY CITY, SHARJAH – The demands of being a College of Architecture, Art and Design student at the American University of Sharjah are so rigorous that a “CAAD students have no life” stereotype exists on campus.
That at least is what CAAD students interviewed in February said. All maintained that the program requires effective time management skills.
“I don’t have time,” said Aisha Ibrahimbasha, a freshman multimedia student. “If I have free time I try to rest or because I have a lot of projects I try to finish them. There’s never a day without a project and my only activity outside of CAAD is tennis.”
Due to the new three-day weekend, Ibrahimbasha added she has less time during the week but gets her work done during the weekend.
“The new three-day weekend is so much better,” said Kamya Kansra, a junior architecture student. “We have more time to do work and homework. Personally I get to catch up on some sleep, which is nice. Everyone’s sleep schedule in CAAD is terrible as we barely get any.”
Ayesha Fernandes, a sophomore visual communications student, said her classes are two to three hours long depending on the course.
“I take a bus to the university everyday and I’m on campus from eight in the morning to around six or seven at night,” added Fernandes. “The classes are quite intense so every class I have to show new work.”
CAAD students live both on and off campus. But some say it is better to live in the residential halls.
“In CAAD it’s hard to have a personal life so living in dorms is pretty convenient, even if you have to do most stuff yourself,” added Kansra. “One thing I love about living in dorms is having easy access to the CAAD building for printing and scanning, even in the weekends.”
Having good time management comes with experience, and living in the residential halls helps to maintain it.
Ramsha Mashood, a senior interior design student, said “Dorm people have an advantage because they can come at anytime if they forgot something and have special printers always available.”
Mashood added that she takes 18 credits every semester or else she has to take summer courses to graduate in time. She always finishes classes at around 5:30 p.m. and takes many CAAD electives, which are usually in the afternoon.
