On Friday, March 8, A group of NYU Abu Dhabi runners trekked up to the Hatta Hills, an enclave of Dubai sandwiched between Sharjah and Oman, to run the Hatta Hills Half Marathon. The group drove up at 9 p.m. on Thursday night, and camped out in order to make the 7 a.m. start time. The winding and uneven course had just under 400 meters in elevation gain, making it quite challenging. The young men and women from NYUAD, however, proved tougher than the mountain, placing well in their respective categories. Sebastian Kalos, Class of 2022, placed thirty-sixth overall out of nearly 400 participants, even after arriving too late to warm up and cramping midway through the race. “I looked back, and I realized, Oh, I’m actually near the front.” Kalos said. In addition, Kalos placed fourth in his age group with a time of 1:39, receiving a bronze medal due to a technicality. Several other runners from the group also performed well, with many in the top 100. Overall, the runners had an excellent and fun race. “It was just so comfortable. I felt like flying.” Kalos said, “Yeah, it went to hell in the end, but it was great.”

The NYU Abu Dhabi Arts Center continued their multicultural spring season this week with the multi-day Barzakh festival. On Wednesday, March 6, legacy Nigerian afrobeat artist, Seun Kuti, and Sudanese Electro-pop group, Alsarah & The Nubatones performed, singing vibrant, modern recreations of classic music from their home countries. The festival continued on Friday, March 8 with energetic performances from Egyptian alternative indie band, Lekhfa, and quirky Turkish psychedelic-folk band, Altin Gün. You can watch the stream of both events at the Arts Center’s Facebook page..

On Friday, March 8, the programming board organised a trip to see the newly released blockbuster movie from marvel studios, Captain Marvel. The group rented out an entire theater, with 166 students in attendance. Ratings of the movie are mixed with Marvel’s lowest Rotten Tomatoes score since Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015. That being said, the movie was nothing to laugh at. Captain Marvel is the Franchise’s first movie with a female lead, making it a new, but important addition to the Marvel cinematic universe. “I loved it. It’s an origin story, so it’s not free of clichés,” Máté Hekfusz, class of 2022 said. “But I thought the characters and their interactions (especially the dynamic between Carol and Fury) were great.”