Looking good
Part-2

You know how some celebrities manage to look sexy in just a sleeveless T-shirt and a pair of jeans? Well now you can quit being jealous because it's your time to dress right and carry it off (and look sexy if that's what you want). Like I mentioned before, do this for nobody but you. Now, let's get down to business. First of all, if you have a closet piled up with a mountain of clothes that threatens to topple over any second, then push your sleeves up because its time to tidy up! Before you start buying new clothes, it would be a wise decision to see what can be done with your current wardrobe. Pick out t-shirts, shirts, pants and kameez's that you owned since you were in 6th grade and that don't fit you anymore. Then of course, you give them away.

Your shape
Identifying which body shape you have is one of the key elements of dressing good. Once you find out your body shape- Pear, Apple, Hourglass, Vase etc. Having done that, the next step is to see which sort of clothes will flatter your body the most and compliment your shape. For example, Hourglass figures look best with perfectly fitted clothes that show off every single curve of the body. On the other hand, a Skittle shaped figure demands that you focus on the upper part of your body the most. For more information on body shapes and finding your own shape, visit this website: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-488236/Trinny-Susannah-reveal-12-womens-body-types--you.html

New stuff
Phase two would be shopping. Make a list of clothes that you need so that you don't end up buying garments that you might never wear. If you have t-shirts but not a single decent pair of jeans or if you don't have fancy party clothes, then you know what to add to that list. You could take a trip to the shops and boutiques at Gulshan but if your wallet is not that heavy, then perhaps you could try out the ever so popular place that is opposite to Dhaka College. Keep in mind that you need clothes for different occasions and buy accordingly. And don't forget the old clothes either. By the way, since its winter, layering and hats are in again. Combine shirts, t-shirts, tank tops and jackets or pullovers to give you that trendy look.

So girls, since you now know what to wear, next week, we shall discuss make-up do's and don'ts. Till then, don't forget that there's nothing bad about looking good!

By Nayeema Reza

Campus insight:
How green is the grass on the other side

I’ve read a lot of articles about the experience of Bangladeshi students studying abroad and they probably have been helpful to many.

Personally, I could recognise the authenticity of their opinions due to the fact that I'd been studying abroad since the age of nine but now that I'm at UCL, London, a University where I'd think many Bangladeshi students are planning to study at ( We have 8 Bangladeshis doing 1st year Undergrad Economics alone!), I'd like to give my perspective of perusing higher studies abroad.

No matter what the reputation of top Universities such as LSE and UCL, there's absolutely no way these institutions are as good as what people believe them to be, I can tell because I'm studying at one and I've also studied at another international school. The standards are very, very high but not due to the University in itself. To start off with, the quantity and quality of the course material in Bangladesh is far superior to that in the UK, albeit the same cannot be said of the faculty. However, that is not a situation that cannot be remedied. It's quite unfair that a Masters degree from Bangladesh is underestimated on an international scale.

One of the reasons why that may be is that students in London and particularly of the likes of UCL have an enormous amount of outside opportunities open to them. For e.g., a lot of top companies host spring week internship programmes for first year students, which can act as a spring board for a much longer summer internship programme which in turn may lead to a full time job offer and as you can imagine, preference will be given to UCL students rather than say, London Metropolitan University, with all due respect to that well established institution.

The question is, why are UCL or LSE students regarded more highly than Imperial or King's? Several factors are responsible, such as world rankings shaping the flow of applications from the top students in the world to quality of teaching staff but I would consider them short-term reasons. In my view, UCL stands out because over the years, it has been able to sell itself to the media and to top firms and also because of the wide range of extra curricular that they have on offer. Now I know that a lot of people are thinking at this point that “Well, that's in London, facilities are sparse in Bangladesh!” Perhaps true to some extent but I've seen that a lot can be achieved through initiative on the part of the students.

For instance, encourage your University to involve its students with organisations such as AIESEC, invite companies to promote themselves on campus and to see the quality of your students. Start clubs and societies (which by the way, are all done by students here), nothing big to start with, maybe a table tennis or badminton club and slowly progress to societies as diverse as the Chocolate Society, Entrepreneurs Society and Thai Martial Arts. What is key is that you should never miss an opportunity to promote the image of your University and take the initiative to enrich student culture.

It's understandable if you feel that it is overwhelming or a waste of time, what with all the exams and lectures but do remember that in the long term, you will benefit not just in terms of the way employers view your CV but along the way you may pick up several desirable traits such as leadership and good interpersonal skills. I'm sure that if the desire is there the talent will shine through.

I just want to clarify that I'm not discouraging my countrymen to apply overseas, this is a request, mainly to existing University students and also the management to try and absorb and implement positive ideas. I have a vision that sees Bangladeshi graduates being pioneers in various fields, especially in Bangladesh.

By Marzuk Hasnath

Water contaminated with arsenic has long been a major problem in rural Bangladesh and in many other parts of the world, affecting millions of people adversely. Hopefully that is about to change somewhat, because a Bangladeshi has discovered a simple device that can eliminate and filter out arsenic from water.

Professor Abul Hussam, who originally hails from Kushtia and is at present a professor in George Mason University in Virginia, discovered the 'SONO filter', a reasonably cheap and environment-friendly device which uses a 'composite iron matrix' to remove arsenic. This device can remove 98% arsenic from water and can also free water from other impurities.

According to TIME magazine, a $ 35 unit can serve two units and last for at least five years. For his brilliant discovery of the SONO filter, Professor Abul Hussam has been mentioned in the 'Heroes of the Environment' list of the TIME magazine. His invention has won him the 2007 National Academy of Engineering- Grainger Challenge Prize for Sustainability, and one million dollars. Most of this prize money has been given to a Bangladeshi organisation which manufactures the SONO filter in Bangladesh. The amount of SONO filters being used in Bangladesh exceeds 90,000, producing more than a billion litre of drinking water free from arsenic poisoning. There are plans to extend this project further by distributing it in different parts of the world where people are affected by arsenic.

Great job, we say!

Compiled by Anika Tabassum

"I saw a vegetarian wearing a furry coat. So I looked closer. It was made of grass."

Robert Schmidt