Congratulations to 343 new graduates

University president Dr Lance de Masi urged graduates to "set the beat to [their] own march to destiny".

"...Spend the rest of your life becoming truly worth of the word ‘educated'. A market place is in need of graduates who are ‘instructed'. A society depends on those who are ‘educated'."

Elias Bou Sa'ab, the university executive vice-president said: "Always put your vision first, even before yourself. Never let your ego keep you from listening to others."

Guest speaker: "After the end of the cold war and the fall of the Berlin Wall in the 1990s, we thought everything will be fine, but then came the invasion of Iraq. Our generation had failed this generation. The only solution I see for the problem in Iraq is that we [US] withdraw by midnight tonight, if not, by midnight tomorrow.

"Dubai though stands out with a tremendous vision and leadership. It is great to see a country where its leadership is truly loved. In the US we are counting 620 days till the end of [George] Bush's presidency… Today I was driven to this event by the [UAE] Prime Minister with no security and this says a lot about this country."

- Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer prize-winner and journalist who broke the Abu Ghraib story.

The Valedictorian: "On this unique occasion, we celebrate our personal development and ignite a new spark in life's spectrum of experiences. Congratulations to us all! The tassle is, indeed, worth the hassle!

"I would personally like to thank those who kept my flame alive… Allow me your Highness [Shaikh Mohammad] to express to you how grateful I am to have been one of the students who experienced your generosity… The generous scholarship that you bestowed upon me helped me…

"At AUD we have grown culturally sensitive. With opportunities for artistic forms of expression and stage plays, we have grown the passion for art and creativity. Through leadership programmes, we have grown personally and socially. Through course projects and conferences, we have grown intellectually and developed new perspectives… we have grown!

"Today is the day of records that marks the inauguration of our glow beyond AUD to the world… all races and all sacrifices… the world in need of every ray of our glow to lighten up the darkness in every daunting corner and to warm up cold hearts…"
- Samar Naeem, business graduate

Parents: "I am so proud and happy and excited and I cannot express how I feel. I am very proud of my son and what else can I say…" said the father of a graduate before giving his son a bear-hug.

What Notes overheard: Two graduates were getting ready when one looked at the other while fixing her tassle: "is it to the right or the left?"

Announcement

Executive Vice-President of the American University in Dubai Elias Bou Sa'ab, announced the university's plans to open a School of Media and Information.

"His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has charged AUD with a new challenges. This fall the university will open a new school in Media and Information Studies offering degrees in television, film, radio and journalism," he said.

Student honoured:

• Samar Naeem, School of Business Administration (undergraduate programme)
• Ebrahim Naji Jadalla for Masters in Business Administration
• Bashar Al Rawi, School of Engineering
• Mark Nader, Department of Information Technology
• Sheldon Rodrigues, Department of Visual

Communication

• Fathia Mohammad, Department of Interior Design