Smiles at university spreads cheer

Ajman

Four pupils from the College of Mass Communications and Technology in Ajman University of Science and Technology were inspired to raise the spirits of their fellow classmates and professors during the recent exam season.

Students Omar Al Shenti, Ismail Samhan, Suhaib Brahmah, and Daood Baalor have been credited with the launch of the university’s cheer-spreading initiative, which began with the group delivering flower bouquets to several members of the college’s staff along with the Arabic translations of the slogan, which later went on to become the name of the campaign: ‘Your smile, your touch’.

The institute’s media coordinator, Zainab Makki, told Gulf News that the staff was rendered speechless as the four didn’t stop at surprising their professors, but also the cleaning and security staff members.

“They were very overwhelmed by the positive response,” Makki said, about the students’ initiative.

‘Your smile, your touch’ is a product of the teachings of the Prophet Mohammad (Peace Be Upon Him), who encouraged promoting happiness amongst people, even counting it as a charitable act. This noble initiative can also be attributed to the student body’s desire to show appreciation for their peers as well as the university’s faculty. The college has since encouraged this movement in hopes that it will enrich the students both socially and academically.

The Vice President of the University, Osama Saeed Salman, said that “movements such as these are advantageous” in the sense that it teaches young people that every act of kindness goes a long way.

Hussam Salama, Department Head at the university’s College of Mass Communications, applauded the students for the timing of this initiative, which he believed assisted many in tackling their final exams with a more positive outlook.

In order to gauge the value of their efforts, the young men have designed a large poster with the movement’s logo to be signed by members of the university who support the cause, along with a short statement promoting cheerfulness.

Post-Ramadan, the young men, who hope to recruit more volunteers, will post several more posters in office spaces and malls all over Ajman to garner more support. The signed posters will be put together to create an artwork of inspiration that will continue to grow.

The team behind the enterprise has high hopes for the reach of the initiative, stating that they will soon take to social media channels and eventually begin physical campaigning for ‘Your smile, your touch’ outside the emirate. Hashtags have already been created in both Arabic and English, ‘#your_smile_is_your_touch’, to allow this college initiative to be accessible to a wider population.

Spreading smiles is at the top of the group’s agenda and so, although this movement is currently based in the university, the team wishes that their example encourages people all over the United Arab Emirates to bring hope and optimism to friends, family, colleagues, and teachers and continue the positive momentum that they have begun.

- The writer is an intern with the Readers Desk of the newspaper

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