September 26, 2012
Vol. XLV, No. 6 October 30, 2012
Group of students reboots the Beirut Journal of Policy and Society Poliana Geha Contributing Writer The Beirut Journal of Policy and Society, a student-led scholarly journal of the social sciences, has returned after a five-year hiatus. Last spring, six students collaborated to revive the journal, which covers everything from politics to history, and issue its second volume, and the first since 2007. The editorial staff behind the revival include editorin-chief Troy Carter, associate editor Ayman Hussein, copy editors Robert Flahive, Tarek Bilani and Wael Bazzi and layout editor Mohammad Yaghi. “We wanted to put [the BJPS] back on its feet,” Hussein said. The project aims to promote academic and intellectual progress. “It’s all about the academic spirit,” Carter said. “We want to engage people and give them a chance to publish their work. The world, as it is now, is just not good enough. We’re all about progress. We’re rewriting the world, re-examining it and questioning it. We work hard and actively pursue knowledge.” Added Yaghi: “A lot of people in AUB have a voice. [The journal] was a great opportunity for students to show their work and be confident about it.” The editorial staff pub-
Content:
world, as it “ The is now, is just not
good enough. We’re all about progress. We’re rewriting the world, re-examining it and questioning it. Troy Carter, editor-in-chief of the Beirut Journal of Policy and Society
” Left to right: Ayman Hussein, associate editor, Troy Carter, editor, Robert Flahive, copy editor - Photo credit: Mohamad Azzam
lished its first issue on the AUB website on Oct. 22. In the editor’s letter, Carter writes, “We’re still figuring out exactly who and what we are … ultimately it’s about forming knowledge based ideas and policies that will potentially break the status-quo.” The Political Science and Public Administration department at AUB supported the journal. In fact, chairperson Thomas Haase sent a mass email to AUB students, and many responded with articles. The editorial staff made a “blind selection” whereby the articles were anonymous until they were selected. The articles covered politics, policy, environment, economics, history and public administration. “Instinctively, we wanted to write about the Middle East, and we got several replies that were linked to that topic,” said Yaghi. According to Hussein, working on the journal was
a valuable experience. “It’s opened up a lot of doors for me,” he said. “It was time consuming, but we were motivated. We once stayed in AUB until 9 p.m. working, but it was enjoyable.” “AUB is a world class university; we need to be world class students,” said Carter. “We should earn our right to call ourselves the ‘Harvard of the Middle East.’ I believe that to be very true.” The board plans to hold a conference by the end of the year to celebrate the second edition of the journal that will be published in June. Yaghi said the conference will be a “casual get together” and a chance for writers to present their work and connect with other scholars. “We’re working with students to advance their work,” Hussein said. The team plans to soon send out a call for papers to AUB students.
Unity, solidarité and wehdé: The resounding themes of Unite for Ashrafieh
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Rayane Zahreddine News Executive Six days after the Ashrafieh explosion, the fundraising concert “Unite for Ashrafieh” was held at the Université SaintJoseph (USJ) campus de l’innovation et du sport (CIS) in Mathaf to help the families who lost their homes. The initiative came from the USJ music club in coordination with the Youth for a United World Focolare Movement and the office of the delegate of the rector for student life and citizen engagements at USJ. With students from other universities in Lebanon,
including AUB, spreading the word and selling tickets in their campuses, over 45,000 guests were invited to the event on its Facebook page, and more than 2,500 attended the concert. Guests were encouraged to wear white as a sign of peace, and organizers tied white bands around the attendees’ wrists as a sign of unity. During the concert, the crowd raised their hands and shouted “unity,” “solidarité” and “wehdé.” The $10 ticket fees collected were donated to the homeless families in their entirety. Extra donations took the form of financial and in-kind donations. Those who wished to contribute further did so Continued to page 2
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