A Critique on Kardan University

One of my classmates –actually not exactly classmate, but in the same semester—has written a paper titled “Kardan University: Difficulties, and Solutions” including some critiques about Kardan University. I got it from an email which had been sent to all guys in the D3. I printed it to read carefully. You can find it in here.

In this paper -- which has been written on Dec 25-- it was discussed on many issues related to Kardan University and its problems such as, the legal problems of the Kardan University in Ministry of Higher Education, tuition fees, parking lot for the University students, the inappropriate behavior of receptionists and other staffs of the University, the methods of teaching, the problems related to examinations and many more things which fairly are our problems and we all hope to be solved as soon as it’s possible; and of course we know all that this is an incredible dream!

The article is in three papers and in the first glance it looks like a “party statement”! The writer has not mentioned his or her name and this is not a good thing for someone who has a critique on something and wishes the weaknesses and problems to be eliminated. Of course the writer is not completely unknown! On the top of the first page, on the right corner it has been motioned “Some of the Students of the Third Semester”. Well, at least we have a clue about the writer! Ok, this is enough for us and after all we don’t need the name of the writer, but we want to know that what the content of the article is all about.

As I said, in the first glance the article looks like a “party statement”, it has been started by a foreword. In this part you can read:

“We as the first students of the first program of the Kardan University… it is a long time that have observed the weaknesses and inconsistencies in this academic center… After long consultations, we got to this point that we should have stated our remarks and notes through which it has been recognized the difficulties towards the University to achieve its goals and also the suggestions to remove and eliminate them.”

Good words! I agree; and guess everyone else thinks so. We “as the first student of the first program of the Kardan University” know that we have taken a big risk coming to a university which still officially is not recognized as a “University” and we all know that prestige of Kardan University is our own prestige.

After this short foreword, another short paragraph has been allocated to purpose of writing the paper, titled “Why Are We Writing?” I think this part was not necessary to be written and should have been removed or connected to the previous part.

But another strange section of the article and comparatively longer than other parts is titled again “foreword”. I forgot to say that the previous foreword was actually a “fore-foreword”! And this part is the real “foreword”. Ok, this is an initiative itself.

In this part about the same, we, the people of the Third-World countries get used to talk about the necessities and basis and looking for the traces back to the Ancient Greece when we want to discuss even about most unimportant and pettiest things! So, I thing it should be eliminated too. The writer in a paragraph at the end of the article has said that the Kardan students are so busy and do not have time to be assigned by a very tough and complicated time schedule. So the writer at least should have observed this matter. I can not understand the necessity of writing of such a long article just to mention the difficulties and the solutions. We could expect the reasons and necessities of writing the paragraph like this, only if we did not agree with that and writer should have tried to convinces us, then. But we all agree with this matter that the weaknesses of Kardan University must be removed; don’t you?

From then on, the writer has tried to give the difficulties and fairly they are. I want to now talk about some of them in brief.

The problem of Kardan University in the Ministry of Higher Education is a serious problem for us to worry about. What will feel if you go someday to Kardan and see that a small piece of paper is stuck on the door of Kardan University and written “the University is an illegal entity and must be closed” on it? I do not know the exact words used for that! Kardan has closed its eyes and ears and does not pay attention to any warning from the Ministry of Higher Education. But this is not the way. We have the right to discuss with the authorities of Kardan on this issue. I am repeating again, the prestige of Kardan is our prestige. I don’t want to learn the principles of legal and scientific management from a person who does not respect to law himself.

The “educational facilities” are other problems notable to think about. Up to this semester, third semester the University never has started and finished a semester in the time it is already announced. The third semester should have been finished up to December, but have not.

The teachers and their methods must be discussed in a separate paper, because there are so many problems which they are out of the breadth of that and this fragment.

Oh, My God! What the hell is this color paper that is issued in the name of Kardan University! It is shameful! I do not even want to talk about it.

One of the issues mentioned on the paper is the problem we have with the library. Can you really call it a library?! I can’t believe I have paid 20 dollars for this! No book (actually there are a few, but so few that you can read them in one day!). Yesterday I went there to study a little, but it was so cold, I prefer to go outside, because it was much warmer!

But after all one thing is not mentioned that it should have. In the months January and February in which the University is off, why do we have to pay the tuition fees? Do you think it is fair? The authorities of Kardan argued that we must pay the building rent, lecturers’ salaries, and etc. Ok, but at least they can discount it say up to %50. Because there will be no charges for heating system, water, electricity and many more that I can’t remember now.

At the end of the paper, it has been given some suggestion such as, “opening weblog, website, cooperation fund (or something like that), and issuing a magazine or something like that. I myself opened a weblog; as you see. I expect it to become a place for ideas and opinions to be shared. But I now realized that the guys are too busy to pay attention to these kinds of things. I even give my lecture in EPS class about “weblog”. But no ones paid attention to that. I hope with this kind of papers, our friends can realized the importance and significance of weblog in our era.
At the end, I want to appreciate the writer of this paper and encourage him or her and also all of the students of Kardan University to write more and more and not keeping silence as they do now. In this fragment I wanted to express my own comment about the article itself and the issues discussed in it. I hope you also share your comments and queries in here and anywhere else to be read by the Kardan students.

Season’s Greeting

I want to present my profound Greeting on the New Year to all guys at Kardan University and also to all guys at all universities throughout the world. Hope you have finished up the year 2007 and wish you begin and pass a perfectly successful New Year. Hope the year 2008 to be a year free of war, violence, suicide attacks, explosion, extremism, terrorism, and hope to be a year of integrity, prosperity, happiness, success, unity, and a lot more good words, that I can’t remember now. And I hope I can have good year of blogging!

A Merry-Christmas with Delay

In fact, I must have said this the day before yesterday but for some reason I could not. Anyway, I am saying that now: MERRY CRISTMASS!

One of the reasons for this delay is the problem with electricity. In this country, we just have three days a week the opportunity of having electricity and just at night for a five or sometime six hours and not more; especially in winters. And at the nights that we have electricity, we are so happy and warm that we do not feel the coldness of the winter in Kabul. But, at the nights we don’t have any electricity, you can feel the smell of death; you can touch the fear; you can…

The other reason was… forget about it! It is not so important…

Why Am I blogging in Here?

Let me think: What was the reason of opening this blog? I mean what for I opened it? A blog that is in English; a language I don't know so well, as my own mother tongue and I can't write in that as easy as I write in another weblog called Chang (meaning "harp") that is in Persian. I write –or better to say, I blog—in Chang very easy; why am I using this word? Maybe because I want to say that you can think just in your own mother tongue and even though, you know a second language very well, but you have to first think in the first language and then translate it into the second one. But I do not have this problem while I am blogging in Persian; but just write, write, and write…

Anyway, let’s come back to the question: what happened that I decided opening this weblog and blogging in it? I could just blog in my Persian weblog, if I just wanted to blog. So, it can’t be the reason.

I remember I wrote a prologue as the first post in the University Campus, but that doesn’t solve the problem. I can’t be convinced with that as the initial aim to start blogging. I think I should go deeper. It is little funny: sometime you do something that you don’t know what has been the primary goal of starting that!

My Persian weblog (Chang) is a weblog as I am still in Iran atmosphere. And maybe you know or not, but I know that talking and writing in Iranian accent is not so welcomed here, in Kabul. So, I could not share my blogging in Chang with my friends in here. And also, I did not want to close Chang and open a new weblog just for these guys. Because I have some readers and friends that I have made through blogging in there and I don’t want to lose them.

Anyway, I think, little by little, I am closing to the point. I wanted to share some ideas and opinions and experiences which could not be understood here or we can say, my friends in here were not interested in them. I wanted to create an atmosphere different from that of Chang.

Ok… at the time I am writing these I am in the work place and I don’t have any more time to continue about such fucking and nonsense points—but important, at least for myself. And also I don’t want to give your time anymore—though I know, you never put your time to read such… but Ok, I just wanted to recover my mind just for myself. But if you want to read it, you may!
Fragments, From the-Words-of-My-Heart

Blog: the New Generation of Mass Media

Today, I have a lecture and honestly I worry so much about it! It is out of my control, though I have several years experience of teaching and this is a little strange; at least, for me. I have no difficulty with being in front of for example 50 or 60 people or being laughed or nobody listens to me. But I don’t know still it seems difficult.

The topic of my lecture is the same the title of this fragment. You know I live this phenomenon! And also there are enough materials to cover the topic on the internet. Google is still alive and speedy. I have collected my necessary materials and my slides has been prepared, but still...

Well, I can’t say what will be happened. Let’s see…

Twelve Dollar Babies

Who has seen the movie Million Dollar Baby? That’s wonderful. I really love it and though I have seen that for five times, but it is not boring for me. Anytime I watch this movie, I get a new point from that.

This movie is the story of a girl who wants to learn boxing and be a champion and becomes rich. She goes to a well-known and old trainer who at first does not want to train her. But little by little, he agrees to train the girl. The girl does work very smart and just through several fights becomes very famous and earns a lot of money, so much that she could buy a new house for her mother.

Anyway, but in a great fight with a boxer called “Big Bear”, she is wounded. She is taken to hospital. In hospital, though so many struggles from her doctors, she can not be survived. At last, the trainer prefers mercy killing and…

The ending sequence of the Million Dollar Baby is deeply sad, even, you want to cry.

Forget it… just I wanted to talk about our own Twelve Dollar Babies. But now, I can’t. So, just for another time.

Another Terrible Semester

The new semester has been begun; the third semester, a semi-semester. I don’t know why, Kardan wants to finish the program so fast. I am not myself in a hurry to finish it. I want to be stayed in the university campus –though we don’t have such a place— for a long time. I don’t want it to be finished so soon.

Anyway, the third semester has been begun with three subject; the ones I love the most: EPS, Micro Economics, and Retail Management; specially, Micro Economics. I have already studied a book titled Macro Economics Today and it was really wonderful. I had borrowed it from the Library of Kardan. I can’t remember now the author’s name. But anyway, I learned a lot of new things about the world of economics.

But Kardan, as in the second semester did, destroyed all. Of course the subject EPS is good; the lecturer I mean. But the two other: I still have no idea about the Retail Management and its lecturer. We will see. But Micro Economics: unfortunately, I have got to say, with this new lecturer, we won’t have good time in Micro Economics classes. I don’t want to judge unfairly, but how can he teach us Micro Economics, while he is saying, “I don’t have any information about Afghanistan”. I don’t know why he said this sentence. But I can’t think of that as an intellectual sentence, anyway. He is not able to teach- this is all I want to say. When you see him, at the first glance, you say, “wow! What a handsome man”. But, when he begins to speak, he is like J.C II!

Well, I don’t want to destroy your good mood as Kardan did with me and you. Just I must say that we have started another terrible semester! But no problem, we have got used to that!

A New Measure for Checking out Lecturers’ Confidence

On Monday October 22, during the time of Business Mathematics class Mr. Usmani said that at the end of the class somebody would come and would teach you accounting and you could ask him any question. Ok, but who was that person and what was the story?

Actually, he was a new lecturer and that was a testing session before being employed. We were all waiting for this man and very curious that what he would be like.

At last, he came. At the first glance it could be guessed that was not able to teach. But that was not fair. We must have let him to show himself. And we did. Everybody was completely silent and just listening to him that how he wanted to present his lecture. Unfortunately, our guess was true and very easily, even from the first sentence he said, it could be understood that he was not ready for teaching. Helplessness was appeared from his top to toe. Little by little, Mr. Shams and Mr. Nasir came. Mr. Usmani and Mr. Niazi were already there. Wow! With those very many Mr.s how could he control himself, then!?

At last, his lecture was finished –I supposed, but I didn’t know exactly how- and it was the time of asking question. “No! Please!” During his lecture he did not let anyone to ask question. Mr. Niazi first asks him a question. Well, he was prior to everyone. Then, Mr. Shams. “Oh, My God! Stop it!” But there is no end; especially, in this class. After that, it was our turn to ask question and to pester him.

Anyway, asking questions was finished, too. He could go then. But these were all just for knowing our opinions about that new lecturer. But why our class? Wasn’t there any further class at this University to hold a testing session for a new lecturer? Of course, yes; but actually, not exactly like this one. “Hey man, what are you talking about?”

Nothing, but you can tell me, how many lecturers we have had conflict with, during this semester and the first semester. Ok, I’m not saying that it has been good or bad, but just talking about what we have been labeled as, at this university. What do you think?

Abbreviation or Acronym?

Just a few days ago, during the time of English Composition class, it was mentioned a point about the difference between the terms, “Abbreviation” and “Acronym” which I think Mr. Qasimi, some of my fellows and also myself, were all wrong. As a modern personality, I think of this as a responsibility to write about it and open that discussion a little bit more.

First I am going to give a definition for each term, “abbreviation” and “acronym”, then pay to the stated opinions to reject or approve them.

According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online, “abbreviation” is:

1. “A short form of a word or expression.”

And the example:

- “‘Dr’ is the written abbreviation of ‘Doctor’.”

The same dictionary defines “acronym” as:

- “A word made up from the first letters of the name of something such as an organization. For example NATO is an acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.”

The definition of “acronym” which Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary Online gives is:

- “An abbreviation consisting of the first letters of each word in the name of something, pronounced as a word”

And the example:

- “AIDS is an acronym for ‘Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome’.”

But what was the problem? In that session of English Composition class that was about “Letter Writing”, it was asked that what MZQ was at the end of the letter. Mr. Qasimi said it was an “abbreviation” of “Muhammad Zafeer Qasimi”. I disagreed with him and said it was an “acronym”. Also some of my fellows gave their opinions.

But after that session, through looking up some dictionaries, I got to the result that you considered and that, we both were wrong.

Now I want you to pay attention to the definition of “initial” according to Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary Online:

- “The first letter of a name, especially when used to represent a name.”

And the examples:

- “He wrote his initials, P.M.R., at the bottom of the page.”

- “Paul M. Reynolds refused to say what the initial "M" stood for.”

Therefore I think that “MZQ” must be an “initial” of “Muhammad Zafeer Qasimi” and neither an “abbreviation” nor “acronym”.

But as linguistics and translation are of my hobbies, this question arises (!) that, what words we can use in Persian for these terms, “abbreviation”, “acronym” and “initial”. Daryoush Ashouri’s Dictionary for Human Sciences suggests new words for these terms:

abbreviation: کوتهْ‌‌نوشت
acronym: سرواژه
initial: سرنام

Also you can click here to read a fragment about this point.

Your comments about this fragment are welcomed.

I Have Come!

I have come to write!

To write about anything, everything, nothing! About Kardan Uni­versity, our fellows, the handsome boys, pretty girls. For me eve­rything is important. I am going to write about everything hap­pened or let’s say related to this university.

I want to write freely. I don’t want to choose the bad or goods. I don’t want to judge morally. I want to talk about what I want to say, what I feel, I see, I like, I love, and much more.

I want to bring any idea, every idea—traditional and modern, religious and nonreligious, ethnical and non-ethical, etc.—to this page and you can share your ideas and comments with me and the others. All comments will be displayed definitely and nothing will be deleted!

I’m not going to talk too much. So I think that’s enough for now.

But, I have come to write!