Audio slideshow by Jane C. Timm.
Today, rhetoric became reality.
NYU Abu Dhabi — the university's satellite campus in the United Arab Emirates — held its first classes this morning. After years of preparation, negotiation and controversy, NYUAD is open for business.
NYU President John Sexton is a driving force behind NYUAD. He speaks about the satellite campus with charisma and an almost religious sense of urgency. For him, it is more than a pet project.
Sexton's hands-on involvement in the tiny program is considerable. He flies to the Emirates regularly to teach a class for local Emirati students. He will teach the same seminar to NYUAD freshman, too, beginning in October. He says he writes 15 to 20 e-mails to students a day — many of them NYUAD applicants and incoming freshmen.
I've been writing about NYU Abu Dhabi for more than two years. In that time, I've talked with more than 50 prospective and admitted NYUAD students. I've interviewed dozens of faculty and administrators about NYUAD dozens of times.
In February, NYU flew me to the Emirates to see the school.
And yet, the story of NYUAD is a difficult one to tell, because the real story has yet to unfold. The school still feels so much like a vision — Sexton's vision. Even though this week, today, that vision has become reality.
THE NEW NYU
NYUAD is not a study abroad site; it is a fully functioning university. It will attract, recruit, admit and educate its own students, who come from all over the world. They will graduate with degrees that read, "New York University Abu Dhabi."
It is vastly different from its counterpart in New York. NYU is a large research university; NYUAD is a small liberal arts college. Together these two campuses and two student bodies will compose the new NYU — even though their students, for the time being, may never interact.
Whereas NYU's budget is primarily tuition dependent, NYUAD's construction, expansion and operating expenses will be fully funded by the Abu Dhabi government. Students who demonstrate need will receive their tuition, room and board, travel and living expenses in financial aid. A full ride is approximately $62,454 a year, but NYUAD has vowed that no student will have to take on debt to pay for their education. That money is a huge draw for students who cannot foot the hefty tuition bills from top American universities.
Whereas NYU's acceptance rate hovers around 30 percent, in its inaugural admissions process, NYUAD's acceptance rate was much lower than Harvard and Yale's, coming in at 2.1 percent. NYUAD has a yield — the percentage of students who accept offers of admission — of 79.37 percent, higher than both Harvard and Cooper Union, and more than twice NYU's yield of 34.6 percent.
Alex Wang, an incoming NYUAD freshman from Doylestown, Pa, said his financial aid package was a big factor in his decision to attend, especially because his father lost his job recently.
"If I didn't have the full ride, I would probably be considering Berkeley and Tufts a lot more seriously," he said.
I met Alex in February at a Candidate's Weekend — a recruitment and interview event for prospective students. There were 46 candidates from 17 different countries. For the first time in two years, I began to see the rhetoric of NYUAD — Sexton has long boasted it would attract international, highly competitive students — take shape.
18-year-old Alex Daifotus was another candidate. Unlike most of them, however, he ended up turning down an offer to the school. He was one of just 39.
Daifotus says he was extremely impressed with NYUAD during his visit in February.
"It wasn't a high priority on my list until I went out and visited, at which point it bolted to high on my list," he said.
Daifotus and I spoke several times in Abu Dhabi and each time, his interest seemed to have grown. On his second night, he described it as the kind of place where a modern day "Great Gatsby" could exist. But months later, back in the U.S., he wasn't so smitten with the city.
"It takes a very special type of person to want to go [to Abu Dhabi]," he said. "[It's a] concrete empire in the middle of nowhere. It's there because the money is there, not because it's an intellectual capital,"
Daifotus still speaks enthusiastically about the school and program and hopes to pursue a semester abroad there, but in the end he chose Princeton University.
"The kids that are going to Abu Dhabi are ones that can be bought. If money wasn't a factor at all, maybe these kids wouldn't be going to Abu Dhabi," he said.
THE NEW KIDS
Together, the 50 candidates I met in February spoke 26 languages. At the opening breakfast they were invited to introduce themselves in the language they preferred. Daria Karaulova introduced herself in Russian. Bagdat Skakov introduced himself in Kazak. Daifotus introduced himself in Latin.
As the students got to know each other, the discussions drifted from religion to pop culture, literature to sports. Casual conversation quickly turned to debate as they became more comfortable with each other. Some of the questions batted around: Do you believe in God? Should religion be incorporated into government?
The introductions continued. Laith Aqel hails from Wayne, N.J.; he's first in his class and his GPA is a weighted 4.6. He's conversational in Arabic and knows Spanish, too. He dreams of traveling and writing.
Ketan Kumar is second in his graduating class in New Delhi; he speaks Hindi and is excited about systems biology.
Charlotte Wang who is from Plymouth, Minn., meanwhile, is passionate about the environment. She didn't know much about NYUAD before being invited to visit, but she always knew she wanted to spend time abroad during college; this might be exactly what she is looking for, she thinks.
Aqel was accepted and will matriculate in the fall; Kumar withdrew his application after being accepted early decision to Tufts University. Charlotte turned down an admissions offer from Brown University — the kind of school, she said, she'd always dreamed she'd attend — for Abu Dhabi.
Most of the candidates had never been to the UAE and many had never seen anything like the desert at night. Some were on their first trip outside their home countries.
Daifotus, however, is skeptical of the supposedly elite student body at NYUAD. Without the name and prestige of an Ivy League, he doesn't think that NYUAD will be able to attract the U.S.' most elite students.
"You're not getting that super top elite level of students," he said. "Part of it's the NYU name. You're never going to attract an Andover kid who is at the top of his class who could go to Harvard, Princeton or Yale."
THE TABULA RASA
Sitting in the cafe at the NYUAD center during Candidate's Weekend, I had a moment to talk with Sexton alone.
"We can bring people from New York and unleash them here to create an ideal world," Sexton said. "The mandate is excellence."
NYU dedicated its greatest minds to designing the project. Professors, deans and administrators from around the university have worked in focus groups for years to build the best programs possible.
NYU Abu Dhabi's campus looks like NYU in Washington Square. The design feels familiar; purple flags, signs and torches claim the space.
It will be a small school. Classes will have less than 12 students, though in early years, they'll be even smaller. The atmosphere is already decidedly intellectual. The education will be multi-disciplinary and seminar-focused. Students are encouraged to try a variety of subjects and concentrations before settling on a major. Students will live in centrally located dormitories alongside NYU professors and administrators in faculty housing. The school has all the money it needs and more — projects that need funding receive it.
Sound like NYU?
Not to me. My largest classes have exceeded 400 students. Our dormitories are all over the city and students jump into major classes in their freshmen year.
In New York, the university is cash-strapped and financial aid offerings are painfully limited. In Abu Dhabi, NYU was given a blank slate — the funding and means to build an ideal school. What the university has created is very, very different from the NYU experience students already know.
Its closest relative in the NYU family is, almost ironically, the Liberal Studies Program — a small program on Washington Square. LSP is primarily a two-year liberal arts program that some students are placed into if they are not offered admission into their first-choice college. Among students, even after its name was changed from the General Studies Program in 2008, it carries a less-than-elite reputation.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER
"Sex and the City 2" primarily takes place in Abu Dhabi. In the film, Samantha (Kim Cattrall) heralds it as "the new Middle East" and somehow swings an extravagant trip for herself and her friends, fully paid for by one of the Emirate's Sheikhs. She later changes her mind about the city's progressiveness after she's arrested for kissing on the beach. In Abu Dhabi, romantic displays are unacceptable — culturally and, in many cases, legally.
The oversimplified Abu Dhabi portrayed in the movie is not exactly true to life. The film was shot in Morocco and is banned in the UAE. But it does highlight, in a ridiculous way, how very different Abu Dhabi is from New York.
For 18-year-old Charlotte, the conservative nature of the city is just part and parcel of cultural immersion.
"I guess it's something we're going to have to go through," she said.
Sexton agrees: "The theory of the global network university is taking them out of their comfort zone."
He adds, however, that the decision to attend is not one that should be made lightly. At each recruitment weekend, Sexton meets personally with students, and according to the president, he advises them to take the decision very seriously.
"If in doubt, do not come," he recalled saying.
Women's rights have improved in Abu Dhabi over the last few decades, but women are still treated as second-class citizens. Gay rights are nonexistent; homosexuality is illegal. Sentences can include jail time, fines and even the death penalty.
In Abu Dhabi, sex is a taboo subject.
Sexton says his students won't be ignorant about the conservative nature of the city.
"We can't leave students in a state of naivete," he said. "We will be very aggressive with orientation. The Reality Show is gonna be different over there."
That's right: NYUAD has plans to stage The Reality Show, a production about the transition to college, in Abu Dhabi in the future.
Still, it remains to be seen how NYU will maintain its identity — and its students identities — in the restrictive cultural climate.
TAKE BACK ABU DHABI?
NYU is well-known for its protests. The Kimmel Occupation more than a year ago, in which the organization Take Back NYU barricaded themselves inside the third-floor Marketplace, made national news. Political protests and stunts by the College Republicans and Democrats continually stir the pot.
But in Abu Dhabi, where publically criticizing the government is illegal and religion and tradition put a huge emphasis on manners, propriety and hospitality, protests are not well-received. Indeed, they rarely occur.
Alex Wang said he is worried about living in a country where he sees social and political intolerance and might not be able to speak out against it.
"It makes me a little uncomfortable to be in a culture where [speaking out] is demonized," he said. "When I'm over there, am I just supposed to say 'I'm just gonna take this' while I'm in the place where it's happening and then go home and organize a protest about it?"
"Even if I make a club [for activism], it's not like I can organize the kind of events I'm used to," Alex, who spent his high school years organizing protests and working for local Democrats in Pennsylvania, said.
In Abu Dhabi, peaceful protests like the ones Alex organizes at home have been shut down by the police.
Alex e-mailed NYUAD's dean of students, Jim Larimore, over the issue, noting the legal and societal difficulties protests will encounter.
"It is against the law to criticize the government here," Larimore wrote back. He noted that the government is making significant and productive changes.
"In a society that prizes graciousness and hospitality, confrontational tactics are likely to push people away rather than draw them near, so protests and demonstrations, as you know them in the U.S., might be the least effective strategies for garnering or exercising influence," he said. "Respectful dialogue, on the other hand, might just be the best path forward. So, local context will matter a great deal, and part of our work together will be to think through just these types of questions and issues."
Wang is not alone. Many of the students have been vocal and curious about the potential for student activism at NYUAD. But Sexton isn't worried.
"My guess is that, far more than in Greenwich Village, the emphasis will be on actual progress rather than symbolic politics," he said in an interview. "In any case, I would be disappointed if our students were not even more committed than the NYU students in New York — and, believe me, they are committed; but I also would be disappointed if our students did not play out their commitment with a sensitivity to the environment."
ABU DHABI AFTER HOURS
You probably remember the first time you experimented with alcohol. It's likely that your only punishment was a painful headache and an embarrassing Facebook photo or two.
But in Abu Dhabi, public drunkenness — especially among underage drinkers — is illegal and punishable by jail sentences and fines. For Muslims, the punishment can also include lashings, because the consumption of alcohol is also against religious law.
According to the U.S. State Department's travel briefing on the UAE, alcohol-related offenses are taken very seriously.
The State Department advises travelers in the region: "Drinking or possession of alcohol without a Ministry of Interior liquor permit is illegal and could result in arrest and/or fines and imprisonment. Alcohol is served at bars and in most major hotels, but it's intended for guests of the hotel. Persons who are not guests of the hotel, and who consume alcohol in the restaurants and bars, technically are required to have their own personal liquor licenses."
Liquor licenses are issued to non-Muslim residents over 21 who have residency permits.
Anti-drug laws are even stricter; the death sentence is imposed against convicted drug traffickers. Even having trace amounts of illegal drugs has resulted in sentences of four years imprisonment for foreign citizens in the UAE.
This difference is not lost on incoming students.
"I've had this conversation like a billion times with all the other applicants," Alex said in an interview. "We've all been raised to think that when you go to college, you do the crazy drinking and all that business. But I wonder if that's an American outlook, if we're going to be truly international students, maybe it's not something that's going to exist."
Like many others, Alex seems more worried about the social isolation of the program.
"150 kids. I'm gonna get tired of some people, some people are gonna get tired of me," he said, joking, "I'm a pretty annoying person."
College is about learning to deal with each other. We make friends, we lose friends, we go out, we date, we break up.
Imagine dating in Abu Dhabi, where holding hands in public could cause a scene. Tourists have been arrested and given lengthy jail sentences for kissing in public. Pre-marital sex is also illegal. Imagine looking for dates in a school with less than 150 students, especially compared to the 4,600 new freshman who step foot in Washington Square Park each year.
SEEING NYUAD
I'm often asked what I think of NYUAD.
I see enormous promise. I see passionate faculty from all over the world who are not only top researchers and scholars, but are excited to teach and work with students. I see undeniably smart students turning down acceptances to Ivy League schools to attend NYUAD. I see an exciting, rapidly developing country.
I see the foundations of a symbiotic relationship — NYU will bring talent and great scholars; Abu Dhabi will bring the resources to facilitate education, research and growth. I see an unparalleled international education in the making.
All of the students I interviewed were unfailingly bright and interesting. Throughout my weekend in Abu Dhabi, I considered one of the biggest questions that critics of NYUAD have raised: whether opening an additional campus would devalue the NYU degree. I can't help but wonder if it might actually be the other way around.
I also see a lot of unknowns. Problems have yet to be encountered and battles have yet to be fought.
The success of the school has yet to be secured.
LEAP OF FAITH
Charlotte Wang is nervous.
"I feel like I'm taking a dive off a cliff and I have no idea where I'm going to end up," she said, her voice faltering slightly.
But her tone and confidence pick up instantly when she discusses her interest in bringing sustainable ideas to Abu Dhabi. "It's not a perfect city," she said, noting that there is no recycling system employed in the city. It is, actually, one of the reasons she is excited.
Alex Wang is scared, too.
"[This is] completely out of my comfort zone," he said. "More out of my comfort zone than I could ever imagine, but what keeps me coming back to the school over and over is just the thought that it might not be the most comfortable. I know I'll learn more."
According to Alex, Sexton played a big role in his decision to attend NYUAD. The two e-mailed back and forth about worries he and his parents had. But he said Sexton's faith in the program was contagious.
"Before he talked at our candidate's weekend, I was pretty set against going," Alex said. "I believe him when he talks. If he has that much faith, it's hard for me not to have that much faith."
