Last Sunday, Fahad Al-Jefairi, a business administration student, was elected the first president of Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar's (CMU-Q) student body. 

"I am honored to be responsible for our students," Al-Jefairi commented shortly after winning the election. "I am also obligated to fulfill my duty towards the students who I consider my brothers and sisters."

CMU-Q's inaugural class held its first-ever Student Majlis elections in room A156 of the WeillCornellMedicalCollege building between 12:00 and 1:00 pm Sunday. Thirty-six of the forty-one business and computer science majors that comprise the CMU-Q class of 2008, or 88 percent of the student body, voted in the elections.

The title for the student governing body, Student Majlis, was decided upon during orientation week.  Majlis is an Arabic translation of the word senate. The name is the first example of CMU-Q students adapting traditions created in Pittsburgh to better reflect the environment in Qatar.

Students elected six executive officers and five representatives to a one-year term. In addition to Al-Jefairi, the following students were elected to the Student Majlis: Omar Khan, vice president; Wesam Said, secretary; Hala Abbas, activities coordinator; Rasha Mkachar, academic coordinator; Imran Karim, treasurer; Maha Obaidan, representative; Rooda Al-Neama, representative; Nora Al-Subai, representative; Lulwah Al-Thani, representative; and Anirban Lahiri, representative.

Al-Jefairi won the presidency with an overwhelming 55 percent of the vote; his closest competitor received only 25 percent. However, the races for the six other executive positions were very close – one or two votes decided the races for secretary, academic coordinator, and college liaison. The top overall vote-getter was Rooda Al-Neama: she received 24 votes for majlis representative.

"It's hard to believe that two weeks ago we were in orientation discussing the future of the student majlis," Al-Neama said after hearing the election results, "I hope we are up to the expectations of the students who elected us!"

Seven of the eleven total seats went to business administration students, with computer science students picking up the college liaison position and three of the four majlis representative positions. Although business administration students make up a majority of the majlis, Al-Jefairi stressed that "success is interdependent…. I can't achieve success alone, [success can only be achieved] with the help of all students along with creativity and a clear vision."

Kristin Gilmore, the director of student activities, tabulated the results, which were verified by Keith Marsh, student services specialist. The majlis will meet for the first time Tuesday, September 14 at 12:00 p.m. in room C121. The agenda for the first meeting includes writing a constitution and refining job descriptions for the executive officers – setting the precedent for student governance at CMU-Q. Al-Jefairi stated that he is up to the challenge, commenting: "I hope that the student majlis at CMU-Q will be the best in Qatar."