Adelphi Connects to the 2014 Global Citizen Festival

The 2014 Festival takes place on Saturday, September 27 and will feature JAY Z, No Doubt, Carrie Underwood, fun., The Roots, and Tiesto
We’re giving away VIP backstage passes!

Adelphi University is proud to be home to students and alums who are citizens of the world. Enas Elmohands ’14 is a recent graduate who created her own program of learning as an interdisciplinary studies major at the university when she found it hard to narrow her interests.

Being of Egyptian descent, Ms. Elmohands was sensitive to the global unrest that was springing up, specifically in the Middle East. She explained, “I realized I wanted to study human rights, but that it was not offered as a major or a program—so I created one.”

In this nontraditional undertaking, students combine studies from two or more departments to create a one-of-a-kind major, and meet regularly with a committee of advisers to track their progress. Ms. Elmohands’ program consists of courses based on the concept of human rights. According to College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Dean, Ruth McShane, Ph.D., administrator of the interdisciplinary studies program, a student can apply for entrance into this major before his or her fifth semester. “Students must be extremely driven and capable of working independently to be successful—at most we have a handful each year that pursue the program,” Dr. McShane said.

It’s that drive and independence that have also allowed Ms. Elmohands to delve into the world of slam poetry and hip-hop. “That’s when I began to realize the connection between my art and the rights of people,” she said. She could use her work as a way to share stories about global struggles around the world, making sure the efforts of others were not forgotten.

Adelphi is at the forefront of educating the next generation of global leaders, like Ms. Elmohands, with a commitment to social responsibility and justice, civic participation, community engagement, global awareness and global activism. Adelphi University has partnered with the Global Poverty Project for the second consecutive year to raise awareness of global issues such as ending poverty and hunger, increasing accessible education and promoting environmental sustainability–all initiatives that the University has been spearheading for several years.

Adelphi University and the Global Poverty Project aim to highlight human rights struggles all over the world at the 2014 Global Citizen Festival. The Global Citizen Festival is a free ticketed concert on Saturday, September 27 on the Great Lawn of Central Park– just 23 miles from the Garden City campus. It will feature musical performances by JAY Z, No Doubt, Carrie Underwood, fun., The Roots, and Tiësto. Audience tickets cannot be bought but rather earned by taking action on social issues.

For more information about the Global Citizen Festival and Adelphi University partnership, please visit globalcitizen.org.