Vol. XLI, No. 5 Thursday, November 17, 2011
2011 Annual SRC elections: A smooth run-through Tracy Dariane Member at Large / Mohammad B. Azzam Photographer
The hype and intensity of the American University of Beirut’s yearly Student Representative Committee (SRC) elections came to an end with several close ties between the different student coalitions. Despite external media sources stating that the Students at Work coalition had the majority of the votes, the proliferation of ties impedes the official results. On Wednesday November 16, around 5.30 p.m., cheering and booing began outside West Hall as the candidates were entering the West Hall, and making their ways to the different counting rooms. The whole area was filled with security to ensure that no tension rose among all the students. The Dean was standing in the no-man’s-land between the divided parties giving announcements and calling out for the candidates to go into the hall. On one side, a pool of red and white students was observed; the other side was one of green and yellow. Reflecting on the overall ambiance of the elections, the Dean of Student Affairs, Talal Nizameddin remarked, “The voting itself has gone well, although the rain might have affected the turnout; but I would say that the voting has been smoother than usual and there was less tension. www.aub.edu.lb/outlook
It has been peaceful and calm in general. However, there were the usual complaints of intimidation and threats.” Patrick McGreevy, the Dean of Arts and Sciences who was supervising the FAS’ counting in West Hall’s common room also reflected on the electoral scene said, “Compared to previous years, elections ran smoothly; I think that the initial indication was that the turnout was lower, maybe due to the rain.” He added that there was good cooperation amongst the candidates who were taking the process seriously. He also said that although the overall feel was smooth, some tensions were found during the counting process. Tamim Bou Karroum, the project coordinator of the NGO, Lebanese Association for Democratic Election said, “The elections ran smoothly in general. They were well organized on AUB’s part. There was also a lot of national politics reflected in the attitudes of the students. ” He explained that, for the second year, they worked in coordination with AUB, in order to observe the electoral process, and write a report post-elections that they will be handing in to the univer-
sity. He explained that 18 personnel were spread throughout the faculties, in order to observe the voting and counting process. The FAS counting room, for example, was being overlooked by two observers. Kamal Bou Hadir, a Chemistry Associate Professor who was on one of the counting tables said, “Everything ran smoothly. The candidates were friendly, and there was no intense spirit of competition like the previous year.” In contrast to the united support observed among the AUB student body during the first round of the World Cup 2014’s qualifications of Lebanon versus South Korea, the AUB elections reflected an obvious separation especially between the two popular coalitions during the electoral process. Despite the intense divisions, the voters, supporters, candidates, and winners, left the West Hall scene in peace with victories, defeats, and an array of wet flyers, as candidate name lists scattered across the asphalted ground.
Bliss Street, West Hall 208 tel: 01 350 000 ext. 3193
readoutlook@gmail.com
Elections Freshman
Thursday, November 17, 2011
FAS
Sophomore
Nadine Tabbara (126) Mohamad El Hamwi (123) Hadi Hamasni (122) Majd Eid (117) Youssef Sandakli (115) Junior Amin Nassar (150) Moukhtar Nsouli (133) Nivine Jalfi (130) Rawad Chalhoub (128) Madeleine Yehia (123) Nancy Ezzedine (123) Jawad Haydar (121) Graduate Huda Nassar (91) Mario Abou Zeid (83) Bilal Nasr (80) Josiane Salameh (75) Mark Francis (74)
Noor El Boukhari (276) Abbas Matar (274) Bassel Assi (263) Elie El Rassi (251) Jamil Bitar (249) Hadi Kabbani (245) Tamara Hosny (239) Anthony Haddad (237) Bernard Doueihy (235) Samir Abdul Salam (233) Jad Intabli (231) Senior Maan Al Halabi (128) Elie Finianos (123) Hisham Mansour (122) Mohamad Al Masri (117) Nassib Abou Haidar (117) Nour Fakih (117)
Nursing II Mohammad Jouni (Acclamation) Nursing IV Rayane Cheikh (14)
Nursing III Rawad Hajj Hussein (14) Graduate Fatima Dirani (Acclamation)
Engineering I Jawad Chukrallah (123) Mia Salameh (122) Carine Atie (120) Abdallah Makarem (117) Engineering III Tarek Daher (129) Ghaith El Hajjar (127) Cynthia Akiki (127) Hayan Harb (126) Architecture I & II Melissa Sofoian (19) Graphic Design I & II Tala El Hallak (Acclamation) Graduate Chadi Mansour (79) Mazen El-Khoury (78)
Engineering II Jad Sabra (201) Wissam Bechara (187) Mark Jean Sfeir (184) Elie Charbel (177) Elie Moussallem (176) Engineering IV Mohamad Dia (94) Joseph Bou Sleiman (93) Rayan Sleem (92) Fady Fadel (92) Architecture III, IV, & V Ahmad Nour Al Deen (45) Graphic Design III & IV Ghassan Nassar (15)
HSN FEA
FAFS
Agribusiness and Veterinary Sciences Elie Daoud (39) Wael Darwish (37) Agriculture I Sara Halwani (18) Mohamad Al Charif (14) Mohammad Saleh (14) Agriculture II Hisham Kreitem (9) Agriculture III & IV Mahmoud Sbeity (16) Landscape Design I & II Yara Barqawi (23) Landscape III & IV Yasmin Naji (Acclamation)
Public Health I Aya Hage (43) Tony Kanaan (41) Public Health III Ali Ayoub (19) Tala Mdeihli (17)
FHS
OSB
Graduate Karl Hilan (21) Ali Abdel Sater (19) Aiman Suleiman (16) Nutrition I Zeinab Rammal (14) Nutrition II Nisrine Kawa (15) Zainab Kauther Attara (15) Nutrition III & IV Dina Sakr (17) Food Science I Cherine Fawaz (12) Food Science II Rita Feghaly (14) Food Science III Nadine Hariri (11) Public Health II Mohamed Homayed (20) Nur Beyhan Annan (18) Graduate Saja Michael (49) Sazan Baban (36) Seraphine Zeitouny (30)
Sophomore Mohammad Bekdache (133) Pernilla Arbajian (131) Karim Hakawati (128) Antony Chamieh (123) Junior Emile Maamary (162) Rayan Rifai (153) Auguste Nehme (149) Lara Eid (146) Omar Fakhoury (138)
Senior Ralph Boghos (103) Rami Al Mabsout (101) Rim Mecherkany (100) Basma El Zoghbi (96) Graduate Ali Hajj (Acclamation) Nour Bitar (Acclamation)
Medicine I Ali Haidar (44) Joe Eid (44) Medicine II Jean Chalhoub (45) Heba El Ayash (43) Graduate Ahmad Osman (Acclamation)
Medicine III Jad El Masri (32) Lana Hamieh (24) Medicine IV Abdallah Aragi (27) Randa Akel (21)
FM
PAGE 2
Elections
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Page 3
FHS SRC: Approachable, Available and Responsible Rida Daher Staff Writer & Mohamad Al Medawar Webmaster / Tugce Coskun Photographer
“I want to revive FHS,” “ I want to live the SRC experience,” “I want to represent the student’s voices,” “ I plan to fulfill our Faculty needs,” expressed Crista Bassil, Nadine Ammar, Ali Ayoub and Tala Mdeihli, senior FHS candidates, respectively. In an effort to familiarize the students with their SRC candidates, FHS-Civic Engagement Task Force organized an election forum on Tuesday November 15, 2011, in which SRC undergraduate candidates presented their platforms, proposals, ideas, and goals to the students. The forum organizer, Liann Abou Salman, commented, “We were hoping that regardless of people’s political opinions, they can actually come and think about why would I want to vote for someone, the student body is now involved in the decision making process.” Reasonable representation and addressing faculty needs were the main themes that candidates raised during this event. Many students chose to run independently, even though some political platforms were opted by other candidates. Although an electrified atmosphere was observed, FHS, being one of the smallest faculties on campus, was able to maintain a friendly mood among the hype of the elections. Senior independent candidate, Ali Ayoub, a winner in this year’s SRC elections, invited students earlier to vote for platforms, rather than misleading political slogans. On the other hand, notably running for the second time, senior candidate
Crista Bassil backed by a student coalition, said that FHS is not receiving enough funding from the USFC, subsequently making one of her platform goals to organize fundraising activities and try to increase the allocated yearly budget. However, Bassil won’t have the chance to revive her faculty remarking, “I won once, it’s time for other people to win and try the experience.” Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that a student coalition repeated its successful 2005 strategy, as “ICAN” campaign. Junior candidate enlisted under this campaign, Salim Abou Assi, wished the winners good luck and hoped for the best in next year’s elections. Junior independent SRC, NurBeyhan Annan, on the other hand, promised she would try her best to make a difference. To add more to the above, honesty seemed to dominate some statements. MLS senior candidate, Nadine Ammar, expressed that she was seeking recognition. Another MLS senior candidate, Tala Mdeihli, noted that the competition was not fair when three MLS students from the same class are running against each other. Nonetheless, this didn’t prevent her from reserving a seat as an SRC.
As for Graduate candidates, independents claimed two seats; with Saja Michael stating that the process was “cool,” wishing it to be more fair, adding, “There’s a lot to do, this is just the start.” Nader Aboul-Hosn, on the other hand, expressed his relief stating, “ I’m happy even though I lost, for the winning candidates now have a lot of work to do.” In times where one vote can make a difference, each prayed for the odds to be in his/her favor. But in the end, ballot counting ended this democratic battle, and the long electoral day was smoothly completed.
FM and HSON SRC Elections: Healthy competition away from political tension continued on page 4 Jon Martin Cullell Staff Writer & Hadi Mehio Staff Writer / Tugce Coskun Photographer
Students at the Faculty of Medicine and the Hariri School of Nursing were deeply involved in the elections. The overall process was smooth despite minor disturbances and the majority of the winning candidates were independent. Med I Candidate Khodor Abou Daya praised the organization of the electoral process, applauding how the Dean of Student Affairs was “present on-site, making sure everything is okay.” On the eve of elections, most medicine and nursing students interviewed knew little about the programs of the candidates. Karine, a second year Nursing student, remarked that only one student of the three running for seats in the SRC for Nursing II had sent a program so far. This feeling of apparent disconnection between candidates and voters was also shared by Halam Dagher, first year Nursing student, who confessed not to know the candidates. “Last week’s stands at West Hall were not very useful, because candidates
didn’t come to us and motivate us to vote,” he said. Moreover, the Faculty of Medicine and the Office of Student Affairs sent an email notice to Med IV and Graduate Med students urging them to step forward and nominate themselves , as no one did during the regular nomination period. Three Graduate students expressed their frustration when they tried to vote and were unable to due to the ID conflict. These were not the only concerns voiced by FM students and candidates. Voters who did not renew or didn’t have their ID’s were not allowed to vote. According to the students, the Security team’s response was that they had already warned the student body at all entry points in the university about this requirement. Yet, medicine and nursing students strongly denied that this had been communicated to them, which owes a great deal to the fact that their buildings are located off the main campus.
At first glance, FM’s elections seemed less tied to political affiliations; Independent candidates usually play a bigger role than in other faculties. Med IV winner Abdallah Aragi praised this trend towards a bigger role of independent candidates. In his opinion, “electoral standards in FM are better. In other faculties, 2% of the students might care about your plan of action, but the others will vote according to their political affiliations.” For Med IV student Karine Feghali, her main criteria when voting for candidates are instead their seriousness and their plans of action. The relatively smaller number of FM students encouraged a vote based on friendship and the programs, rather than on ideologies. Med III candidate Nadine Hammoud said, “It is natural that independent candidates play a bigger role in FM.” She added, “Med students cannot be biased, because our job is to help people regardless their political or religious belonging.” Another Med II
Elections
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Page 4
OSB SRC Elections hailed as “democratic” Heather Jaber Staff Writer / Mohamad Azzam Photographer The annual Student Representative Committee (SRC) elections took place on a rainy Wednesday, November 16, 2011. With midterms rolling around the corner and rainy weather detracting crowds, the amount of people flooding West Hall was significantly less than the preceding years. Still, that did not stop the candidates from trying to round up last-minute voters throughout the damp afternoon. At the end of the day, the Students At Work and iCan (“Independent”) campaigns were the victors of the Olayan School of Business. The Graduate winners were Nour Bitar and Ali Hajj by acclamation. The Senior winners were Ralph Boghos with 103 votes, Rami Al Mabsout with 101, Rim Mecherkany with 100, and Basma El Zoghbi with 96. For the Juniors, the winners were Emile Maamari with 162 votes, Rayan Rifai with 153, Auguste Nehme with 149, Lara Eid with 146, and Omar Fakhoury with 138. The Sophomore winners were Mohammad Bekdache with 133 votes, Pernilla Arbajian with 131, Karim Hakawati with 128, and Antony Chamieh with 123. The day of elections was generally described as less exciting than the preceding years, due to the stormy weather that restricted socialization. Students had to avoid open areas where the voting was taking place due to the downpours. Still,
once the votes were tallied and the results started to come in, the usual crowds gathered at West Hall on their respective sides and cheered on the parties they were there to support. The candidates this year ran for the varying reasons. Many actually flat-out responded that they were basically running to round out their CVs. Forat Al-Hattab, who distinguished herself as the only OSB Junior running with the Alternative campaign, said that she chose to run because she believes “that politics can’t be the way to solve everything.” Of the campaigning process this year, winning candidate with Students At Work and OSB Junior, Omar Fakhoury, said “it was tough.” Similarly, Mayssam Ghibril, OSB Senior with Students At Work, described the campaigning as “nerve-wrecking.” Maher Bazzi, OSB Junior, who was running with the Freedom campaign, said he was “hoping to make a change at OSB…I’m hoping to work with [my] management teacher to help us, maybe take some of his ideas and some of ours and combine them through the limited resources we have at OSB and try to make the best change we can.” Also running under the Freedom campaign was Bilal Zeineddine, OSB Sophomore. He said that “we all should express our opinion in a dem-
ocratic way, and personally, I am for freedom and democracy.” Zayan Fakih, OSB Senior running with the Freedom campaign, called elections “a good experience; we’re all with our friends.” Candidate Mark Ziadeh, OSB Junior, found that this year’s events were “friendly elections…no hostility between the two parts.” Of course, as it has happened every year around this time, many people stated that they felt borderline harassed by the amount of times those campaigning would “gently” remind them about voting. Of this, Sara Sobh, Engineering student said, “The only way to get around AUB during elections was to just tell every candidate that you voted for them.” Ghada Ramadan OSB Senior with Students At Work, “Like usual, the election process was very democratic; everyone was given the right to vote. We aimed not to put a lot of pressure on [voters]...we tried to convince them with our platform…and they have the right to vote [for] whoever they want to.”
FM and HSON SRC Elections: Healthy competition away from political tension Jon Martin Cullell Staff Writer & Hadi Mehio Staff Writer / Tugce Coskun Photographer
student, announced, wit contrary thoughts that her intention was to cast an empty ballot, because “They [candidates] claim to be independent, but they are not entirely so”. Med II winner Jean Chalhoub admits he has his own political views, but he argues, “I am not running for them, but for what I think is best for the faculty.” “I thank everyone who voted for me, and it was a very nice experience,” he added after the results were announced. FM candidates’ plans of action included the
renovation of the computer lab, the installation of more printers in the Medical library and the lowering of the cafeteria prices as recurrent elements. Nadine Hammoud justified the similarities among the platforms, by saying that “They respond to the same requests and worries.”
Elections
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Page 5
FEA SRC Elections: Battle of the FEA…a close one ! Emile Zankoul and Karim Zahed Public Relations Manager and Staff Writer After a week of campaigning on West Hall, D-day was finally here. What most candidates feared came true on Wednesday, November 16. Heavy rain fell in the nick of time to extinguish the heat and excitement governing the elections. Many supporters believed that this was not of their luck, as the rain was expected to drop the rates of voting on campus … or did it? As a matter of fact, the voting rates were around 80% in most engineering years except for the graduates where about only half of them participated. The pre-electoral ambiance was rather peaceful and opinions concerning the elections varied. Mohamad Awada, third year CCE student, said: “I don’t believe these candidates can go far because they represent political parties.” On another hand, Weam Dalal, second year Chemical Engineering student, stated “The environment is perhaps the best among all other universities in Lebanon. I support the presence of politics because it does not cancel hard work, or the other way around. “ Most candidates ran under “The Order of Engineers”’ campaign or under the one called “Students at Work.” We also had two candidates under what was known as “ICan” movement. However, one type of candidate that were not to be missed were the ones running independently, although there were very few. Rabih Youness, fourth year Civil Engineering and independent candidate explained his view “I am looking forward to see-
ing how many students are politically unbiased. Even though I don’t have high hopes of winning, I am still going to participate to prove a point.” At 5:00 PM all ballots were closed and Candidates gathered for the vote counting. The results between the different campaigns were very close where in the end, nine candidates were from the “Order of Engineers,” eight from the “Students at Work,” one from the “ICan” and three independent candidates from Architecture and Graphic Design department. What spiced things up was the tie that occurred between the fourth year candidates. This seat would determine whether “Students at Work” or the “Order of Engineers” would attain the majority in the Faculty. The winners in E1 were Jawad Chukrallah, Abdallah Makarem, Carine Atie and Mia Salameh. As for E2, it was “Students at Work’s” year, as they managed to take four out of the five seats. The winners were Jad Sabra, Marc-Jean Sfeir, Elie Charbel, Elie Moussallem and Wissam Bechara, the last being the only “Order of Engineers”’ winner. Sabra, with a record of 201 votes said “It was a very nice experience. I got to meet everyone and I hope I can measure up to the responsibility. Thank you to every person who believed in my message.” The E3 was very close as both major sides gained equal seats (2-2). Tarek Daher, Hayan Harb, Cynthia Akiki and Ghaith Hajjar are the ones that made it. Akiki expressed her joy “I am very happy
and excited to have won! I’m looking forward to start working as an FEA-SRC for the students!” On another note, Harb was surprised by how close the results were. E4 made things interesting with a tie between Fady Fadel and Rayan Sleem, the settlement of which will be done soon to determine who is going to join Joseph Bou Sleiman and Mohammad Dia from “Order of Engineers.” Engineering Graduate students Mazen El Khoury and Chadi Mansour both from the Order were elected. And as for the Architecture and Graphic Design department, more independent students were gained victory. Melissa Sofoian won in Architecture (1,2), Ahmad Noureddine in Architecture(3,4,5), Tala El Hallak (“Students at Work”) was the only candidate in Graphic Design (1,2) and thus won by default and finally Ghassan Nassar in Graphic Design (3,4). Noureddine proud of being independent clarified “Architecture has always been independent. We are like a microcosm; we’re the image of what we should be. We don’t want politics involved in the university elections!” As usual, the SRC elections procedure went smoothly with no reported incidents. However, the results are still vague as the tie in the fourth year will be determining, after the settlement of which, the cabinet and USFC will be finally decided
FAFS SRC Elections: Ties and Independents continued on page 6 Dalia Hosn News Executive The SRC elections for the Faculty of Agriculture and Food Science ran in an orderly fashion and came to a close, Thursday, November 17. The results varied according to year and specification, with various Students At Work and Active Students dispersed amongst the different departments, and a surprising number of successful independent candidates. Due to a number of ties, the victor remains to be decided. The results cannot be completely conclusive as there are still a number of seats crippled by ties. For the Agriculture Department, Sara Halawi won with 18 votes, while Mohamad Al Charif and Mohammad Salleh are still stuck in a tie at 14 votes each. Similarly, the Nutrition 2 candidates, Nisrine Kawa and Zainab Kauther Attara, are also stuck in a tie at 15 votes, pending reelections, the dates of which will be announced later on. It is interesting to note that Yasmin Naji won by acclamation for Landscape Design 3 and 4. On the other hand, the seat for Agriculture 2 was taken by Hisham Hreitem, while Agriculture 3 and
4 was won by Mahmoud Sbeity. The Agribusiness and Veterinary seat was taken by Elie Daoud and Wael Darwish. Additionally, Zeinab Rammal won Nutrition 1, and Cherine Fawaz won Food Science 1. Also, Students At Work won in Nutrition 3 and 4 and Food Science 3 with Dina Sakr and Nadine Hariri, respectively. The winners for the Graduate seats were, Aiman Suleiman, Ali AbdelSater, and Karl Hilan. Notable in the FAFS elections were a prominent number of truly independent candidates, among them the winner for Landscape and Design 1 and 2, Yara Barqawi. She was adamant in her assertion that she was indeed independent saying “I’m completely independent; I did my campaign, my flyers, everything, of course with the help of my friends.” At the end of the day she was “running to stop the political façade and everything that has to do with corruption, 8 or 14,” whether or not she will succeed has yet to be seen. Rita Feghali who won for Food Science 2 was also an independent candidate. She explained her
decision to run as such saying, “I decided to run as an independent candidate because I took my dad’s advice, he told me not to run with anyone because no one was going to help-me after winning. If they ask you to run in their name they just want to win.” While conceding that affiliating with a student party would have brought numerous advantages, most notably financial, she didn’t “want to run for the name. I want to win as an independent, to prove myself, and prove that you can change,” says Feghali. Feghali’s race was especially notable, in that both she and her opponent, Helen Yachouhi, were running as independent candidates. A sense of unity could be felt in the discourse between the two candidates even in the heat of the elections. As voters filed through the polling room, Yachouhi’s pragmatism distinguished her. “If I don’t win,” she said, “I will still work on [my] objectives because that’s what I’m interested in. I’ll still be there for everyone.”
Elections
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Page 6
FAS Student Representative Committees Elections Tracy Dariane Member at Large and Nour Jane Kachicho Associate Editor The results of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ (FAS) Student Representative Committees’ (SRC) ended with close ties, on Wednesday November 16. As the FAS candidates flowed out of West Hall, Nadine Tabbara, who ran with the Students at Work and won with the most votes (126 votes) among FAS freshman, described herself as, “speechless.” The majority of the FAS candidates’ main aim was to put a stop to the 25 percent tuition increase. “AUB is like a bourgeoisie,” said Elie Finianos, FAS senior, who won. Finianos added, “I am running with the Student at Work party, and we would like to work for a change in the university.” He said, “I am a Bio pre-med, my primary goal is to work towards stopping the increase of the tuition fee. In the year that I won (two years ago), we created a committee that worked towards stopping this. The committee was dissolved last year given we had not won, but I hope to reinstate it this year.” Another FAS winning candidate expressed different goals, among the many was a demand towards an expansion of the CHSC gym. He describes his victory, “I’m really happy because I heard that I’m the only freshman in the AUB history to win being solely independent without
having a club, without having a sect, and I will begin working towards my goals this following Monday,” said Youssef Sandakli, who won independently. Mohamad El Hamwi, freshman, who ran and won with Students at Work, described his goals, “First of all tuition fees, shuttle buses for lower and upper campus to be more frequent.” El Hamwi added that, “LAU has a library full of technology, which AUB should work towards; which I hope to work towards.” Another winner from the Students at Work coalition also expressed his goals, “As the Students at Work committee, we’ll try and finish what we started with. I promise to put as much effort as I can,” said Nsouli, who ran as a junior. Majd Eid, who ran as a freshman for the ICAN and won, said that he was unsure of what to do next, “It depends on what the students want, and I will act as the catalyst to speed up the fulfillment of their demands.” After his first experience of elections at AUB, Eid found that the election process was, “more complicated than I thought.” He found that, “today is a new day,” in comparison to the past few days. Jawad Haydar, a junior candidate for ICAN who won, plans to, “introduce polls on the website and see what the students want, such as an
increase in funding for example.” The overall FAS counting process ran smoothly. Fida Alameddine, assistant to the FAS Student Officer, supervising the counting room explained, “Everything ran smoothly but we did not get as many voters as expected. Also, many of the voters do not pay attention to the signs, meant to direct them.”
FAFS SRC Elections: Ties and Independents continued Dalia Hosn News Executive There were also those who were partially independent out of need and would have hoped for a non-politicized election process. Aligned with one of the winners of Agribuisness Wael Darwish, was Teddy Khachadourian, an independent candidate who was nevertheless aided by The Order of Engineers. Khachadourian said, “I am an independent candidate to a certain extent, I’m not 100% independent because at a certain point I do agree with others. But I’m not an extremist.” Even Voters expressed their hopes for a non-political election, Omar El Khatib, from Agriculture 1 said, “It shouldn’t be for the politics in a university, but we’re still in Lebanon. This is the situation and it’s not in our hands.”
Campus News
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Page 7
Third AUB Annual ‘Fit-A-Thon’ Mohamad Al Medawar Webmaster / Mohammad B. Azzam Photographer In its third edition, the Annual Fit-A-Thon held on Friday November 11, at the American University’s (AUB) Green Oval and organized by the Wellness program in collaboration with fourth year Nutrition CP students, guaranteed a wealth of appealing and beneficial activities. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness about some basic community nutrition facts individuals commonly fail to recognize. The event began with the participants walking around campus, and then passing by the Oval to engage in the activities at the stands. One stand, titled “Sports Nutrition,” presented information about the best diet to follow when exercising and handed out a brochure which devised a program with three main meals being “Eat to Fuel” before exercising, “Eat to Endure” during exercise, and “Eat to Recover” after exercising. In each, the appropriate amount of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats were explained along with examples of meals with the right portions and stressed on the importance of hydration. The students at the stand also engaged in a mini-Trivia game where questions about the presented information were asked, and then concluded with a physical activity session.
Another stand, “Healthy Shopping”, focused on the importance of having healthy snacks and knowing what to look for and what to avoid when shopping for food. To do so, the nutrition students actually simulated a shopping scenario where one had to pick food items usually found on shelves and then they advised the best choices and explained a series of alternative choices. A third stand, “Healthy Holidays”, focused on meal portions especially ones that are prepared during holidays. Finally, the fourth stand offered to measure weight, height, Body Mass Index (BMI) and Percent body Fat using fancy devices installed by
the organizers, followed by an explanation of the obtained data. At each stand, participants were given small portions of healthy snacks and drinks such as pure orange juice, fruits, and nuts. An interesting fact is that each stand is prepared from A to Z by one group of Nutrition CP students enrolled with a limited budget of around $200 and had to report with their feedback about the event to their course instructor Dr. Hala Ghattas as part of Nutrition 283 course requirements.
AUB Friendship Sports Tournament’s opening basketball game Mohamad Al Medawar Webmaster
As part of the AUB Friendship tournament, the Charles Hostler Student Center (CHSC) witnessed a slashing victory of AUB Basketball Varsity team over the Beirut Arab University (BAU) team in the opening basketball game of the tournament. At the beginning of the match, it seemed like a very intense competition between the two teams. Still AUB managed to stay ahead by over eight points up until half way through the second quarter of the game, as BAU were trailing 47-39. Later, BAU were able to narrow it down by the end of the first half to four points. As the score difference expanded to over 10 points by the end of the third quarter, player number 9 from BAU was seriously injured as he sprained his ankle while defending his basket. AUB staff quickly intervened and handled the injury using a medical kit prepared ahead of time. Eight minutes before the end of the game, the score gap kept expanding to more than 25 points at 83 – 56. By then BAU were showing signs of exhaustion and retreat, mostly due to the fact that the first five formation had been barely changed for BAU throughout the game whereas for AUB,
substitutions were very common and thus the AUB first five formation got a chance to rest and replenish their energy. Although BAU held their ground throughout most of the game, AUB’s team showed offensive and defensive predominance and the final result 93 – 69 is a fair testament. A lot of successful three point attempts and under the hoop shots were observed by both teams. Most three points for AUB were scored by Point-Guard Ramzi El Amine where as BAU team Point-Guard Wassim Kabakibi lead his team’s successful three point attempts. However, what tipped the scale to AUB’s advantage was the high number of turnovers BAU committed, giving a chance for AUB to benefit from fast-breaks. Moreover, AUB had home court advantage and most of the audience was of AUB students and staff, although not much cheering and support was heard off the bleachers. Team work was clearly notable for both teams as well thorough assists, especially under the hoop, not to mention steals, blocks, offensive and defensive rebounds. After the game, AUB team Point-Guard El Amine expressed his content with the game and
the final score and said that “it was a close game at the beginning. Then, by the third quarter, we overran them. We were more prepared and we had great team work.” As for BAU, team Point-Guard Wassim Kabakibi explained that the loss can be attributed to the fact that “the team hasn’t been training well, we train year in year out and some team members lack discipline and commitment, whereas AUB team practices consistently three or four times a week. Defensively and offensively, we were great up till half time. After that, we had low morals especially due to AUB fast-breaks.” Kabakibi also thanked AUB for the great hospitality and praised AUB’s Athletic facilities. This tournament will continue up till December 10, 2011, and will include Soccer, Futsal, Basketball, Volleyball, Track and Field, Tennis, Table Tennis, Swimming, and Handball. Best of luck for our AUB Team and congratulations to the winners!
Campus News
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Page 8
Booz & Co. resume and cover letter workshop Edward Abou Jaoude Contributing Writer
Linchi Kwok [Web-photo] Retrieved )2010( from http://linchikwok.blogspot.com The American University of Beirut (AUB) Consulting Club organized a resume and cover letter workshop where members of the Booz & Co. consulting team gave the attendees sneak peeks into what top consulting firms look for in an application. The main reason of this workshop was triggered by the internship and job ap-
plication deadlines approaching, and the need of guidance of AUB with regards to their CVs .and cover letters Some 70 students attended the workshop that took place on Friday, October 30 at the firm’s Beirut office. The workshop was headed by Ms. Pauline Faiad, the firm’s university recruiting .coordinator The speakers, Amer Chehab (principal), Hicham Fadel (senior associate), Mansour Mansour, Hadi Hammoud, Ramzi Madi and Joelle Awwad began by introducing the firm and describing the work that Booz consultants do. Once the students were captivated by the interesting job descriptions of the team members, the latter began discussing the “Do’s” and “Dont’s” of .resumes and cover letters The speakers emphasized the importance of showing the ways in which the candidates can benefit the company through what they include in their resumes. They stressed the fact that firms want results and results only, the applicants should hence make sure to highlight what
Viewpoint: A Valuable Victory: Lebanon defeats South Korea Emile Zankoul Public Relations Manager / Hadi Mehio Photographer
It’s that time of the year again, when splitting begins; splitting into colors, slogans and parties. That time of the year when labeling occurs according to political beliefs, views and even worse, religion. Groups start forming, tearing the AUB community into pieces; pieces competing to conquer positions and committees while tension heats up between them. That time of the year is no other than the Student Representative Committee (SRC) .elections On Tuesday, November 15, one day before the elections, when competition is supposed to be at its peak, an unusual scene was witnessed in the Mary Dodge Hall cafeteria. One crowd sharing unique colors, the Lebanese flag’s ones; one slogan, “El3ab ya Lebnen!” as in “Go Lebanon!” One party, the Lebanese national football team; one political view, winning the football game; and last .but not least, one religion called sports tThat day, at 2:30 PM, the Lebanese national foo ball team had a game versus South Korea in Beirut’s Camille Chamoun Sports City Stadium. The game was part of the World Cup qualifying (Asia) tournament. The final score was 2-1 in favor of Lebanon, which is considered a huge achievement as the host country ranks 146 in the world while South Korea ranks 31. Moreover, this victory got
Lebanon so close to qualify to the next round of the tournament which would be the first time in its history. Hammad El Jisr, third year Civil Engineering student and football fan stated “The Lebanese national team has a considerable potential and talent but the problem is that it’s not supported enough by the government and the Lebanese Football Federation. We have a lot of players that can excel but lack practice.” Physics Senior Sana Romanos said “It is nice to see that the mind of the youth has been distracted away from the politics which seem to me all useless compared to the evolution that can be achieved through arts and sports. The success of our national team should set an example and be considered as a motivation to our youth today.” She added, smiling “At least this national win came as a kind of compensation to the disappointment of losing the Jeita spot in the ”.seven wonders eIndeed, this victory was an important achiev ment for Lebanon, one that proved that this country has a huge unseen potential. It also proved that if citizens and politicians orient their attention, interest and investment towards the right direction, a lot is yet to be achieved. Congratulations Leba!non and best of luck for the final round
they, as consultancy candidates, will bring to .the table Furthermore, the presenters added that the reader’s first impression of the resume is decisive: the resume should be both coherent and non-dense. They highlighted that the way the CV is presented shows a great deal about the kind of person behind it and it is never good to be judged on the basis of some grammatically incorrect phrases. They explained that one should not list everything they have ever done, and emphasized on the fact that only relevant .factors should be included Finally, the speakers then moved to discussing cover letters. They explained that the best way for the applicant to distinguish him/herself from a large pool of applicants one should avoid using obvious and overly used generalizations. Moreover, they added that one should keep in mind the audience and therefore must use a .proper tone and retain a level of formality
Outloud
Thursday, November 17, 2011
What do you think of the SRC Elections and what are your expectations of them? Mohamad Al Medawar Webmaster / Mohammad B. Azzam Photographer
Too bad they are very political, a lot of people will lose their friends after this. I have 4 years experience of it. I dropped it from the 1st year. It’s good that there isn’t violence. I want to ask everyone who elects someone, what have they done in the past 5 years? Nothing significant. Expectations? Students at Work will lose badly! It will be a matter of power not benefit. - Mohamad Kobrosly, FM Nursing
This year is better than last year, I have high expectations. Hopefully, there won’t be any clashes; you know how AUB is like. As Students at Work, we have the best platform at AUB. We have amazing gadgets and we’re having fun. - Mustapha El Sabbagh, FAS CMPS
In general it’s good, everyone is doing their job well, it’s kind of action going on for one week, everyone is getting to know new people new students especially, we’re all friends. Expectations? 14th of march will 5-0 for E2. - Karim Kasab, FEA Mechanical
I hope we will win OSB this year as Students at Work like we’ve won since 2005. I hope the elections will be democratic and free of problems. - Nader Zeidan, OSB
Page 9
Outloud
Thursday, November 17, 2011
I really like the general atmosphere, certainly much better than LAU, friendly at least. No matter what the results are, the important thing is that it remains cool. - Maya Batrouni, FAS Education
I wish students would put that much energy into academics and other cultural aspects of their life at AUB. It would be a wonderful university if that were the case. - Dr. Joshua Peter Andresen, FAS A Professor of Philosophy
Complete waste of time. Nothing will be achieved like every single year. - Radwan Diab, FAS Biology
I personally think that elections shouldn’t have to do with outside politics. It should be about students working for students. Personally I voted blank last year because I have friends on both lists, even this year, I will not use my voice to view these sectarian politics. - Mohamad Awada, FEA CCE
We barely hear what the SRC ever does. I don’t have any thoughts now, maybe next week when they call me the night before. - Dania Machlab, FAS Biology
Page 10
Elections
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Page 11
Campus News
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Study abroad and exchange fair Edward Abou Jaoude Contributing Writer The Office of International Programs (OIP) of the American Univeristy of Beirut (AUB) held, for the first time, a study abroad and exchange fair on Wednesday November 2, 2011. A medley of foreign universities’ representatives regrouped in West Hall’s common room to speak with AUB students. Although some universities had formal staff present such as France’s SciencesPo and Sweden’s Lund University, the rest of the colleges were mainly represented by AUB students who had previously participated in international exchange .programs rAround 100 students, interested in embarking on inte national educational journeys, passed by the fair in order to get information on “how to study abroad” in their regions of choice. The OIP had its student ambassadors give out sheets that elaborated on the requirements one should complete before applying abroad, as well as a list of exchange partners AUB coordinates with. Some of the requirements, to participate in an exchange program, are however, demanding. For exmaple, an AUB cumulative grade point average of at least 80 is required for a student to enroll in an exchange program. However, this requirement does not apply some .other types of study abroad opportunities With regards to queries about foreign universities, former exchange programs participants were delighted to answer the students’ questions. Some AUB students inquired about studying in the U.S. during the spring but were unhappy to find out that, because most American colleges start their spring semesters in early January, they will most likely be unable to enroll in a US exchange program in the spring. This is mainly due to the fact that the start of their semester will fall during AUB’s final exams period. Others, were worried about the high cost of living in a big city halfway across the globe. However, the ambassadors replied by explaining that the cost of living in Beirut is approximately close to that of living in many European and American cities. They added that another solution to this could also be applying for .programs that offer student housing This fair was an overall successful event, leaving students feeling well informed and more comfortable about the pro.cess and decision to study abroad
?Why choose rain, when you can have Spain
Page 12
Viewpoint
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Page 13
A stench of lifebitterness of ignorance Mohamad Al Medawar Webmaster / Tugce Coskun Photographer
I can never forget that feeling of humiliation and Albert Einstein once said “Bias is the worst dishypocrisy; it was a lesson learned the hard way. ease from which the society of our nation suffers,” no wonder he was one of the brightest people to roam the earth. Two years ago, I ran for an AUB SRC junior seat. I was so eager to win and I knew my friends would definitely vote for me regardless of religious sects or political affiliations. So I decided to run as an independent candidate, thinking I had it in the bag! Being as inexperienced as I was in these matters, I never bothered to look up the list of students in my faculty with a junior standing. Interestingly, just one day after the nominations and withdrawal date had passed, one political party approached me and proposed that I would run under their flag. Proudly, I refused. A second attempt by the same team proved to be a failure as well. By the third time, I was growing tired of them, but they had one more card to play, and it was their winning ticket. What got me hooked and trapped in the fisher’s net was the list of names of students they had, highlighted in green, yellow, orange and blue. It turns out that each color symbolized to which political party each person would be casting their vote, and what was even worse was that most of the people who were supposed to vote
for me were late sophomores! Fearing that I would lose the elections, I pledged my allegiance to that group. Sadly enough, not only did I end up losing the elections, but I had also ruined my reputation and credibility. After I had marketed myself as an independent candidate, I fell into the swamps of politics and pursuit of power. AUBites, please don’t repeat my mistake; It’s one stench you can’t get rid of.
Numbers on a tallying board Dalia Hosn News Executive Here in AUB, we are content to go with the flow, repeat our parents’ mistakes, fight against one another, and delude ourselves into thinking that this is how we get a voice in the political arena. What are these SRC elections really doing? What have they ever done for this campus but provide a strange outlet for the sectarian neurosis that’s been embedded into our minds since infantry. Why are we so determined to stick to this dysfunctional mess? Why are we so afraid of change? So while our Arab brethren have successfully overturned their tyrannical systems of government, facing countless threats and sacrificing their lives, we have done nothing. Tunis, Egypt, Libya, and all those still fighting, what do they have that we don’t? Why in the world have we remained so hopelessly dependent on a government that gives nothing back to its people? I am not referring here to the actual parliament or even the political leaders, as many as they are; rather I’m referring to the system itself. A system that allows for the hard work of great men and woman of this country to go unrewarded. A system that shuns its citizens to fend for them-
selves in foreign lands. Why fight for this? It is not that one political party is right and the other is wrong; such binary representations don’t come close to capturing the reality, it is simply that the system itself is fundamentally flawed. A great man and a great Lebanese once said, “Pity the nation divided into fragments, each fragment deeming itself a nation.” Gibran Khalil Gibran said this back in 1912, and guess what? Nothing has changed. Still we fight amongst each other like ignorant children, or worse, like roosters in the ring following primal instincts, blood feuds, and masters that see us as nothing more than bargaining chips. So shall we remain until we wake up and for once learn to walk on our own two feet and think for ourselves. Think! When we graduate, the vast majority of us won’t find jobs in our own country, this is a fact. Many will have to go around from embassy to embassy practically begging for a visa just so that we can make an honest living. Those lucky enough to stay in their homes and with their loved ones will have to accept mediocre jobs, often in fields that are completely unrelated to
their majors, begging for wasta after wasta in the hopes of making something out of their lives. Most won’t. There is no more happiness to be had in this country. Look around you; it’s like walking on eggshells. No one knows when the next war will start and they’ll have to fight neighbors and friends, family even, just because a political leader said they must. In this student election, what are we really voting for? The last time I checked this was not the parliamentary elections, though for all intents and purposes they might as well be. Like monkeys before a mirror we dance on strings and repeat what’s been done a thousand times before us. We have nothing to gain from propagating a system that has never and will never care about you as a Lebanese citizen. As long as this system exists all we will ever be are numbers on a tallying board come election-day, and mindless soldiers in times of conflict… which is to say, all the time. I, for one, would rather be a blank page any day, for I refuse to be just a number.
Arts and Culture
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Page 14
The red velvet cake dilemma Loulwa Kalache Staff Writer Red velvet cake has become the latest craze among students. One can’t deny its feathery texture, the striking red color, and the overwhelming vanilla taste that contribute to its fame. However, this article is not to scare you away from the calories; rather, it’s the “red” you should worry about. Martha Stewart’s online recipe of the cake has around 1/4 to 1/2 cup of a red food coloring. In a normal diet you have approximately one piece of the red velvet cake every month, along with other colorants in food from Eid Mlabbas, Christmas colored cookies, potato chips, fruit loop cereals, guacamole dip, hotdogs and frozen vegetables. The question is whether all these col.orants will cause any health implications Remarkably, sensory scientists found that color is always associated with flavor. Consumers may refuse to have a green cherry drink or a brown strawberry juice. Therefore, industries rush in adding colorants to make their product look fresh, nutritious, and thus appealing to consumers. That’s because consumers love everything .that resembles nature Some of the food colorings are abbreviated as “FCF” (For Coloring Food) followed by a num-
ber, or written as an E-Number. There are only seven certified or permitted food colorants: Blue1 (E133), Blue2 (E132), Green 3 (E143), Red4 (E129), Red3 (E127), Yellow5 (E102), and Yellow6 (E110). Whereas, certifiable color addi tives are derived primarily from petroleum and coal sources, they can be used in limited amounts and have to be preapproved before each addition; example Orange B (red shade), used only in hot .dog and sausage casings Despite this law, industries continue to use uncertified colorants in their products due to their cheap price, alluring color and long-lasting effect in food. Ironically, the food and drug administration (FDA) in USA claims that the acceptable yearly intake of all colors per person is about 0.8 kg. This is indeed a huge number when compared to the intake of vitamin C, which is 1 g per year. Colorants are chemicals and a large intake such .as this can be poisonous Research proved that un-certified colorants can exacerbate behavioral disorders in children, causing attention deficiency disorder, genotoxicity and hyperactivity. Some contribute to allergies
among both adults and children such as asthma, runny nose, nasal congestion, and hives or itching. They also cause abdominal pain, vomiting, and indigestion. Notable effects can sometimes be thyroid, kidney, adrenal and testicular tumors .and lymphomas That’s why health practitioners advise people to limit their intake of processed products, frozen or canned, as well as sugar confectioneries. They also advise to seek out products that have “natural” names for colorants in the ingredient lists, such as beet, carotenes, annatto, and paprika. So the next time you get your red velvet cake; don’t worry about the calories that can be eventually burnt, but think about all the red that will stay in .your blood FDA’s link http://www.fda.gov/downloads/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm048960.pdf
Le 18e Salon du Livre atterrit à Beyrouth Edward Abou-Jaoude Contributing Writer La langue française est une femme. Et cette « femme est si belle, si fière, si modeste, si hardie, touchante, voluptueuse, chaste, noble, familière, folle, sage, qu’on l’aime de toute son âme, et qu’on n’est jamais tenté de lui être infidèle. » Anatole FRANCE uMême si l’Arabe est la langue officielle du go vernement libanais, et malgré l’invasion de la langue anglaise mondialement, la flamme française vie toujours dans la parole et l’éducation Libanaise. Le Salon du Livre francophone a toujours été l’oxygène qui ravive cette flamme fran.cophone dans un orient arabiste par excellence Toute l’action se déroule entre le Samedi 29 Octobre et le Dimanche 6 Novembre. Organisé par le Syndicat des importateurs de livres en collaboration avec l’Institut Français, le salon du livre francophone voit le jour au cœur de la capitale Libanaise, Beyrouth. Cet évènement est l’occasion annuelle éminente qu’attend tout citoyen depuis 1992 (inauguration du Salon du Livre au Liban) pour approfondir sa connaissance littéraire et culturelle française. Evidemment il est fréquenté annuellement par plus de cent mille personnesce qui fait que le Liban est un carrefour d’un des salons francophones les plus importants au ! monde Historique. [Web-Photo].Récupérée de)2011(
http://salondulivrebeyrouth.org/salon/historique Cette année, le thème que choisissent les organisateurs fut « Les mots de la liberté ». Ce thème est lié aux révolutions arabes qui visent à établir des nations où la liberté, l’intégrité et les droits de l’homme se manifestent. Certes le modèle français qui se base sur la fameuse Révolution Française est à l’avant-garde des prototypes démocra.tiques qui s’installent dans la région arabe Sur ce, une myriade de rencontres est prévue durant l’exhibition. Un exemple des sujets abordés est la complication des minorités religieuses qui risquent l’extermination dans les pays où les révolutions se manifestent. Ce problème sera discuté autour d’une table ronde sous le titre de « .» Chrétiens d’Orient ou Orient de la connivence L’exhibition fut le point de rencontre d’une multitude d’auteurs. En effet, plus de cent vingt auteurs et intervenants, libanais ainsi que français seront présent dans le salon francophone pour signer leurs œuvres. Philippe BERTHET, à titre d’exemple, prit part dans une entrevue durant laquelle il a décrit son parcours dans le monde de la Bande Dessinée. La poésie, quant à elle, occupe un rôle primordial dans cette exposition : Antoine BOULAD, Andrée AFFEICHE et d’autres
Historique. [Web-Photo].Récupérée de)2011( http://salondulivrebeyrouth.org/salon/historique poétistes organisent diverses lectures poétiques. Ce qui distingue le salon de l’année 2011, c’est l’invité d’honneur, la Belgique. D’ailleurs, celle-ci engendre sa culture et sa plume par le biais de dix .auteurs ainsi que vingt cinq éditeurs distincts La jeunesse libanaise et francophone est certes visée par les organisateurs de cette exhibition. Le secteur jeunesse est présent pour captiver l’âme des jeunes qui risquent, dans un monde dominé par la American way of life, l’éloignement progressif de la langue Baudelairienne et de la cul.ture du Bleu-Blanc-Rouge
Arts and Culture
Page 15
The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn Christoph Hanger Contributing Writer If the director of Indiana Jones and the maker of the Lord of the Rings movies collaborate on a project, it’s sure to set up expectations and attract attention. Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, who were responsible for the movie adaption of the Herge Comic The Adventures of Tintin, fulfill these expectations in the first of three movies, The Adventures of Tintin and the Secret of the Unicorn. The first adaption of the world renowned comic is a triumph. It all starts when a reporter, Tintin (Jamie Bell), buys a model of The Unicorn, a mysterious ship that has sunk to the ground of the ocean hundreds of years ago, but somehow is not the only one who is interested in The Unicorn. There is the big American (Joe Starr) and a mysterious Sakharin (Daniel Craig), who want to possess the ship as well. Tintin nevertheless keeps the ship until the American is shot right on Tintin’s doorstep. His apartment is then searched and Tintin soon realizes that The Unicorn contains a secret that people would gladly kill for. As soon as he starts his investigations, however, Tintin is knocked out, the ship is stolen, and he finds himself with Captain Haddock (Andy Ser-
kis who Gollum in the Lord of the Rings) on a real ship and then the adventure begins. Peter Jackson (producer), the director for the next movie, will have a difficult task ahead of him keeping the series at the high standard Spielberg has set. Spielberg, who set the standard of excellence for adventure movies with Indiana Jones two decades ago, has raised the bar once again with his new swashbuckling 3D entertainment. Spielberg and Jackson used the “PerformanceCapture-Method” in which real actors are used to scan their movements and gestures. This method has had a bad reputation, but Spielberg and Jackson show the audience how to do things right. Furthermore the pictures in The Secret of the Unicorn are simply brilliant. The fact that the two genius directors mastered the much reviled 3D technique is even more reason to spend an evening at the cinema. The Adventures of Tintin and the Secret of the Unicorn is one of the best, if not the best animated adventure movie ever created. The movie has almost no flaws and it is pure entertainment a la Hollywood. People who are look-
ing for a fun movie experience with outstanding pictures and a dash of nostalgia - for the ones who read the comics - The Secret of the Unicorn is the recommendation of the month.
URL: http://www.onlinemovieshut.com/wpcontent/uploads/2011/05/the-adventures-oftintin-the-secret-of-the-unicorn-movie.jpg
Editorial:Power of the people Lojine Kamel Editor-in-Chief
“Truth is not determined by majority vote.” Doug Gwyn. Elections are over, finally. Amongst all the screaming, cheering, bribing and campaigning, I’m wondering, why did you vote for the people you voted for? Was it because of peer pressure? Actual campaign promises? Friends of friends? I am increasingly perplexed by the number of
people who cast their ballots without realizing what they’re voting for. Yet the entire process was created in order to give people a say. It takes only a couple of minutes to ask candidates why they’re running, and how they plan to achieve what they’re promising; yet why don’t voters ask?
just it. So your political party didn’t win. So what? There is still so much that an individual group or person can accomplish without an electoral position or a political persuasion. And too often with political power comes potential bias, and with that, the ease of corruption.
SRC elections aside, the bigger picture entails the importance of voting as a concept. Voting is a privilege and a necessity. Indeed, why would you not vote when the results will affect you? Regardless if your intended candidate wins or not, it is an opportunity to have your opinion at least heard if not fully represented. If you believe in voting blank, vote blank. If you believe in the capacity of a candidate, support him. If you believe in a political party, vote for it! Nevertheless, beliefs should not exist arbitrarily. Truly do your research and evaluate options before making a concrete decision, for an undesirable political trait discovered months after is anything but ideal. The most important thing to realize however is, that at the end of the day, majority rule is never
It is easy to forget in a world of politics and majority rule that the individual does matter. It is often difficult to remember that political figures are supported by dozens of hard-working people. It is all too simple to assume that only power profits. Yet no quote rings truer than that by Louis Brandeis, that “the most important political office is that of the private citizen.” And what are we but investors in our own societies?
Outlook Team
Page 16
Talal Nizameddin
Chairperson
Lojine Kamel
Editor-in-Chief
Nour Jane Kachicho
Associate Editor
Nouhad Awwad
Arabic Editor Photography Editor
Mohammad B. Azzam Nadine Razzouk
Layout Editor
Mohamad Al Medawar
Webmaster Public Relations
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Ma -
Emile Zankoul
ager
Business Manager Distribution Manager
Timmy Malkoun Edress El Rachidi
Proofreader
Camelia Harb
Member-at-Large
Tracy Dariane
Layout Team News Executives
Photographers Staff Writers
Cartoonists
Annegret Funke Nabile Saleh Dalia Hosn Ali Kassem Mona Ayoub Tugce Coskun Lara Saab Amer Sare Mohamad Alameh Nader Ahmadieh Jad Shammsseddine Mada Dibs Mohammad Yaghi Heather Jaber Rayane Zahreddine Hadi Mehio Lama Zakharia Rami Panayoti Zeina Mhaidly Sarah Al-Dirani Karim Zahed Rida Daher Sarah Zaytoun Loulwa Kalache Deedee El Jilani Ghassan Nassar Jad Jari
Outlook is a weekly publication of the American University of Beirut (“aub”) and represents the voice of the student body. It is an independent, non-affiliated publication that f vors no ethnic, religious, or political group. All columns, articles, and reports are the property of Outlook and do not necessarily represent the views of Outlook or the AUB community. Outlook welcomes all contributions. Authors are asked to please include their full name, major, ran ing, and contact information for verification. No part of this publication may be reproduced for verification. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way, shape, or form without the written consent of Outlook and/or higher a .thorities. Outlook reserves the right to edit all material
Errata: In Volume 44, Issue 4, “Consultations on adaptation to a changing climate in Arab countries” was written by Staff Writer Rayane Zahreddine, not Robert Isaf. “Deciphering AUB Faculty Shields” was written by Staff Writer Rida Daher, not Hadi Mehio.
صفحة 17
اخلميس 17 ,تشرين الثاني2011 ,
طالب من ال AUBاألول في «اجلزيرة»
منى أيوب كاتبة صحفية
فاز علي حرفوش ،طالب العالقات العامة في اجلامعة األمريكية في بيروت ،باملركز األول في مسابقة اجلزيرة للباحثني الشباب في محور»تأثير قناة اجلزيرة عربيا و عامليا» للفئة األولى ( 25عاما و ما دون). حرفوش هو واحد من الباحثني العشرة الفائزين في هذه املسابقة من أصل 219بحثا ُقدموا لها ،و التي ُح ّكمت من قبل جلنة علمية من كلية األعالم في جامعة قطر. أقامت «اجلزيرة» هذه املسابقة مبناسبة الذكرى اخلامسة عشرة النطالقتها بهدف تقييم جتربتها اإلعالمية من زوايا مختلفة ،و من ذلك مثال التأثير املتبادل بني شبكة اجلزيرة و الشباب العربي، و مدى توافق خطتها و برامجها مع اهتماماته ،باإلضافة الى
إبراز اإلنتقادات العلمية و املهنية املوجهة للجزيرة. قدم حرفوش بحثا بعنوان « :اجلزيرة و اخلطاب الكولونيالي :نحو التحرير و الثورة) ،و فيه يوجه انتقادا للجزيرة العتمادها في مرحلة تغطيتها للثورات على خطاب متأثر بالنظرية الدميقراطية الغربية مما مينع الشعوب الثائرة من التفكير في إطار و منحى آخر للوصول الى أهدافها ،كاملنحى اإلسالمي . فالدميقراطية ،حسب حرفوش ،نظرية خ ّلفها املستعمرون بعد انسحابهم من الدول املستع َمرَة ،و ّ جتذرت جدا في فكر الشعوب لدرجة البديهية دون فهم أخطائها أو املعطيات و الظروف السياسية و التاريخية التي أنتجتها و التي رمبا ال تناسب ظروف و معطيات دول الشعوب الثائرة .ليس هذا فحسب ،بل إن الدول
اإلستعمارية جعلت من قيم احلرية و املساواة و احملاسبة حكرا للنظام الدميقراطي ،وهذا ما خلق ازدواجية :فإما الدميقراطية ،و ما عدا ذلك فهو دكتاتورية و طغيان. و باعتماد اجلزيرة لهذا اخلطاب ،و تقدمي الدميقراطية على أنها النتيجة الطبيعية التي تهدف اليها الثورات العربية ،فإنها بذلك تكرس االزدواجية املوجودة أصال ,و حتد من امكانية توصل الشعوب الثائرة إلى خطاب يكون ذاتيا و ثوريا بالفعل ،كهدف أساسي لهذه الثورات أصال.
مر�صد الأداء ماريا جنيم ر�سالة اىل املحرر
من حق املواطن اللبناني التمتع بالوعي السياسي من خالل نشر معلومات موضوعية عن النشاط البرملاني و تزويده مبعلومات متكنه محاسبة املسؤولني .فالوصول الى هذه املعلومات يشجع و يسهل املشاركة في احلياة السياسية .ولفت النظر حملاوالت جمع املعلومات الالزمة لنشر الوعي ضرورة وطنية .ومن
هذه املواقع :مرصد األداء النيابي اللبناني www.lpmonitor.orgكان اجلواب ان سعادة النائب وقته ض ّيق « .كيف ميكن للمواطن ،حيث ميكن االطالع على أبرز أعمال ونشاطات كل نائب منذ أن يختار ويحاسب ممثليه في ظل عدم وجود شفافية في العمل نقص يتفسر «مت اإلتصال النيابي؟ تاريخ انتخابه .ولكن ال يزال هناك ٌ مبكتب النائب و طلب منّا انتظار الرد .متت إعادة اإلتصال بنا و
صفحة 18
اخلميس 17 ,تشرين الثاني2011 ,
كاتب من هذا الزمان عبد الرحمن األبنودي نهاد غازي عواد محررة قسم اللغة العربية
كني الشاعر عبد الرحمن باألبنودي نسبة الى كونه من قرية أبنود في صعيد مصر .ويرى عبد الرحمن العالم كله من موقعه في أبنود .حيث يقول :أنا مدين للقاهرة بأنها جعلتني أطل من جديد على أبنود وأن أعيد فهمي ألوضاعها .ولد بقريته سنة 1938ومتيز منذ صغره بكتابته للشعر العامي .حصل على شهادة ليسانس اآلداب من قسم اللغة العربية – جامعة القاهرة .صدر له ما يقارب اخلمسة عشر ديوانا منها :األرض والعيال ،الزحمة ،الفصول ،انا والناس ،صمت اجلرس ،املد واجلزر. كما كتب كلمات أغاني لكبار املغنيني أمثال :صباح ،عبد احلليم حافظ ،شادية ،جناة الصغيرة .وكتب أغاني العديد من املسلسالت واألفالم ك «الندمي»»شيء من اخلوف»»الطوق واالسورة» .ومن أهم مؤلفاته:خمسة كتب عن امللحمة العربية «سيرة بني هالل» عن دار أخبار اليوم والتي قضى 30عاما من عمره يجمع أجزاؤها في الصعيد املصري وفي تونس واملغرب وعدة بلدان عربية أخرى إميانا منه بان الهاللية مرآة حقيقية لعمق القيم اخلفية في ضمير الشعب العربي .وقد مت ترجمتها الى الفرنسية .ويصف عناء ربع قرن بقوله« :إني ال أفعل إال ما فعل هوميروس نفسه حني جمع متفرقات اإللياذة وقدم للبشرية نصه األمثل وهكذا فإني ال أبتدع شيئًا خارج العلم ».هذا العطاء املتفاني جعله أول
شاعر عامية يحصل على جائزة الدولة التقديرية من مصر في .2001 يقول األبنودي »:الشعر أنقذني من السجن املدني ،إذ لواله لصرت ـ رمبا ـ لصا ً خفيف اليد ،لكن الشعر قبض الثمن إذ أدخلني السجن السياسي» فقد انتقد بشعره عهد عبد الناصر والسادات ولكنه مييل الى األول .كما كتب العديد من األغاني القومية وكتب للقدس وللقضية العربية وقد كان متمسكا بالقومية العربية الى أقصى احلدود.فكان له دورا عظيما ً في http://profile.ak.fbcdn.net/hprofile-akصياغة الوجدان املصري والعربي والتعبير عنه .اتهمه الكثير بأنه snc4/50415_86981900152_2752_n.jpg. مشجع للعنصرية بسبب كتاباته باللغة العامية الصعيدية أمضى طفولته يقطف القطن ويضعه في عباءته الوحيدة كما وكان والده أول من اتهمه بذلك ومزق له ديوانه األول واعتبره خرق يحصد السنابل التي تفوقه طوال وعرضا لدقة عظامه ورفعها. لعمود الشعر.هو ليس على صورة أبيه الذي ارسله الى األزهر ومن شدة هزله ودوام مرضه في الصغر ،قطع أبيه األمل منه مجبرا ليهرب منه الحقا .فلقد أعطى احلرية البنتيه نور وآية في وطلب من أمه أن تتركه ليموت بسالم جنب احلائط .فطفولته إختيار طريقهما. كانت سلسة من األمراض املتقطعة والشقاء والتعاسة .لكن والدته لم تفارقه وأعطته من العناية واحملبة ما لم تعطه ألحد طريقه طريق القرية .فعندما يكتب عن القرية يكتب من أطفالها .ويا ليتها حية اآلن لتكون جنبه في ساعات مرضه بصدق وعن جتربة وهذا ما جعله ال يتوقف بعد مضي كل هذه احلالية .وأسأل اهلل أن مين عليه بالشفاء العاجل ويعود النبع السنني .فاألبنودي ولد في الصعيد حيث احللو هو التمر اليابس .املعطاء الى جمهوره وعائلته
عشاء ثم علم
الزهراء ماجد مساهمة صحفية
السنوي ليل العاشر أحيا النادي الثقافي اجلنوبي عشاءه ّ جمع من حضره وقد بالزا. من تشرين الثاني في أوتيل الكراون ٍ وحب للتعايش تالمذة اجلامعة األميريك ّية في بيروت باندفاع ّ املتعدد .وليس غريبا ً أن تختلف األوجه والشخصيات حينذاك إذ ّ أ ّن االختالف والتن ّوع واالنفتاح على الغير هي إحدى م ّيزات هذا النادي .لست أنحاز بكتابتي إلى املدح فيهم ولكننّي أ ّ خلص بعض الكلمات التّي ألقاهاعميد شؤون الطلبة الدكتور نظام الدين الذي ّشرف هذا العشاء بحضوره .كام حضر العشاء عمداء آخرون وشخصيات فاعلة في اجملتمع .ابتدأ العشاء بتالوة للقرآن الكرمي
وبعدها النشيد الوطني اللبناني .بعد ذلك ,متّ عرض فيديو صغير ألهم أحداث واجنازات السنة الفائتة التي تخللت رحالت ترفيه ّية ّ إلى اجلنوب والبقاع باإلضافة الى نشاطات جامع ّية مختلفة التوجهات الدينية متعددة من التالميذ من حيث إطارات جمعت ٌ ّ ّ والسياس ّية وغيرها ,إذ أنّه بني على أساس التعايش السلمي احلضاري في بل ٍد صغير ,قلبه كبير. بعد العرض الصغير الجنازات النادي ,ألقى كلمة النادي ,علي رزق, رحب باحلضور قائالً« :نحن فخ ٌر بكم» .يعد ذلك ألقى العميد الذي ّ نظام الدين كلمته مادحا ً بانضباط النادي وحضوره امللتزم في
حرم اجلامعة الذي برهن عن معدنه األصيل وأظهر ماهيته ّ حقاً. بعد ذلك ,أهدى النادي اجلامعة علم لبنان الذي أهدى لهم من أهالي منطقة العديسة التي ز ّينت طرقاتها وح ّبات ترابها بعبق الشهادة والكرامة اجلنوب ّية .والذي أعطي للنادي عربون مح ّبة من اجلبش واملقاومة والشعب سو ّياَ ,وسوف يرفع هذا العلم في عدة حرم اجلامعة في يوم العلم ,قريباَ .بعد ذلك متّ سحب على ّ جوائز مال ّية وقسائم شرائ ّية ,وبعدها الطعام ..صحتني J
بالروح...بالدم... منى �أيوب كاتبة �صحفية أصادف هذا املوقف كثيرا ،و لم أجد له تفسيرا كامال حتى اآلن أرى جارا لي يشتم و يلعن السياسة و السياسيني طوال العام... فكلهم ،بوجهة نظره »،ما جابوا للبلد إال اخلراب...و ما بيطلعلنا نّ من شي ..و أحسن شي لو بفلو من هالبلد»... و عند اإلنتخابات أو أي حدث أمني أو سياسي ،يتبدل احلال بفعل و صاحبنا هذا يغير موقفه...قليال. سحر ساحر . هو ال يزال يؤمن بأن « الزعما كلن بدن حرق»... و لكن... «زعيم طايفتي غير شي» .ميجده .يقدسه .يعدد مزاياه .و يتناسى (أو هل تراه حقا نسي؟) كل خطاياه ووعوده الكاذبة و برامجه اإلنتخابية التي ما تزال حبرا على ورق .هو يستميت للدفاع عنه
حتى لو لزم األمر تقدمي كل غال ...ف « بالروح ..بالدم ...نفديك يا زعيم»... و تنتهي اإلنتخابات أو تستقر األوضاع ،و يعود الشتم و اللعن و التأفف و إلقاء اللوم كله على الزعماء كلهم ..و الزعيم أيضا ..ال يهم..كلهم سواء اآلن!... أن يصدر هذا املوقف من ناس ذي مستوى ثقافي محدود لشيء رمبا يحتمل اإلستيعاب أو العذر. أما أن يصدر من طالب جامعيني على مستوى عال من الثقافة ولهم قدرة استخدام مهارات املنطق و التفكير النقدي لشيء غريب كل الغرابة. من املنطقي أن تُعزى الطائفية إلى التربية اخلاطئة ،و لكن أال
يهدف التعليم ،و خصوصا العالي منه ،الى خلق إنسان مسؤول ذي عني ناقدة و عقل واع يراجع به كل مكتسباته،و يفرق به الصالح من الطالح في اجملتمع ،و يرصد الظواهر املرضية محاوال تغييرها بدل اإلجنراف معها؟؟ هل تأثير التريبة و التنشئة األولى قوي لدرجة يصعب ،أو رمبا يستحيل ،بعدها إحداث أي تغيير في اآلراء و املواقف؟ أو رمبا إنه التعليم الذي لم ينجح في حتقيق أهدافه و قد آن األوان ملراجعته؟ ظاهرة أقل ما ميكن ان يقال أنها حتتاج إلى بحث عميق حملاولة احلد منها مستقبال. وصفها و فهمها و ّ
اخلميس 17 ,تشرين الثاني2011 ,
صفحة 19
جزء ،44عدد 5 اخلميس 17 ,تشرين الثاني2011 ,
خ�سارة جعيتا نهاد غازي عواد حمررة ق�سم اللغة العربية
jpg.http://www.yazbek.net/images/jeita1
هي معلم من أهم املعالم الطبيعية في العالم .معلم عربي لبناني جمع أطياف اجملتمع اللبناني مبختلف توجهاته .وهذه بحد ذاته عجيبة في ظل هذا التشرذم السياسي .فازت جعيتا بوصولها الى التصفيات ما قبل النهائية كما فازت بقلوب اللبنانيني الذين تسمرو مساء اجلمعة أمام التلفاز ينتظرون نتيجة جاءت مخيبة لألمال .أما العجائب السبعة الفائزة هي: األمازون ،خليج هالونغ ،شالالت اغوازو ،جزيرة جيجو ،كومودو ،نهر بويرتو برينسيسا حتت األرض وجبل الطاولة .وستعلن النتائج النهائية رسميا في مطلع العام 2012. خسارة كانت متوقعة عند البعض ألن تعداد لبنان السكاني ال ميثل %2من عدد سكان البرازيل أو الصني .وارتكاز املسابقة على التصويت يقلل من نسبة وصول جعيتا الى النهائيات .ورغم احلملة الدعائية التي دعمت من فنانني وسياسني ،ال «جعيتا «وصلت وال أي موقع عربي آخر؟! وكعادة اللبنانيون مييلون الى تطريف األمور حيث بدأت تتوالى
الرسائل اإللكترونية « :أرسل عبارة «أكلنا الضرب» على »1070 «انفجار في غابة األمازون ومصادر تؤكد ضلوع حزب اهلل في املوضوع» وغيرها من النكات والصور الطريفة. خسرنا مسابقة شكك في مصداقيتها كما شكك في حارس املغارة د .حداد الذي وضع حتت مجهر احلقيقة ويجري البحث حول سحب الترخيص من شركته .فجعيتا مغارة للدولة وملك جميع اللبنانيني .وإحتكارها ضمن لعبة إقتصادية شجعة مرفوض. وأكتفي بهذا القدر من التعليق بانتظار ما ستؤول اليه األمور. لكننا ربحنا الكثير. ربحنا توحد اللبنانيني حول التصويت للمغارة حيث ظهر نواب 8و 14في إعالن تلفزيوني موحد .ربحنا دخول طالب من العديد من املدارس الى املغارة برسم شبه مجاني عوضا عن $12للكبار و 6دوالرات و 70سنتا للصغار .ربحنا وصول اسم لبنان الى العاملية سياحيا وليس سياسيا .ومن املتوقع ازدياد عدد السياح مما سيحرك العجلة اإلقتصادية. 3193 .ext 000 350 01 :tel 208 Bliss Street, West Hall
وملن ال يعرف املغارة فهذه تعريفها حسب موقع التصويت اإللكتروني :تتكون املغارة من طبقتني :املغارة العليا اكتشفت عام ،1958ومت افتتاحها عام ،1969بعدما مت تأهيلها على يد املهندس اللبناني غسان كلينك ،وأقيمت فيها احتفاالت موسيقية عديدة .يستطيع زوار هذه الطبقة من املغارة السير على األقدام ملسافة ،بعد عبور نفق يبلغ طوله حوالى 120متر، ليطل في املمرات بعد ذلك على األقبية العظيمة االرتفاع، واملوزعة فيها األغوار ،إضافة إلى األعمدة الكلسية وما إليها من أشكال مبهرة. أما املغارة السفلى فاكتشفها في ثالثينات القرن التاسع عشر األميركي وليام طومسون وتوغل فيها حوالى 50متراً ،وبعدما أطلق النار من بندقيته أدرك من خالل الصدى الذي أحدثه صوت إطالق النار أن للمغارة امتدادا ً جوفيا ً على جانب كبير من األهمية.