With the end of the festive Christmas season and the

start of the new year comes along AUB’s well known fi-nal exam period. Throughout the month of January, stu-dents of all majors are sub-ject to academic pressure as a result of their procrastina-

Despite the electronic number system, going to the cashier can still

be a long and frustrating ex-perience for many members of staff, faculty and student body at AUB. Between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm on any aver-age week day, there can be up to forty people waiting in line in a room possessing only nine seats. The waiting time can easily surpass 70 min-utes and the room has a TV monitor, but no clock. Senior citizens do not have a sepa-rate system and must wait like everyone else, regardless

When Alicia Noriega, 21, first set foot on the vibrant campus

of the American Universi-ty of Beirut, she didn’t know what to expect. Now com-ing to the end of the semes-ter, she doesn’t want to leave, and she is not the only one. Each semester new inter-national students arrive at AUB’s main gate with hopes and expectations concerning their semester as students abroad. These adventurous spirits come seeking new aca-demic and cultural challeng-es. Some are also planning on

completing a whole degree at the university. According to an informal poll, conduct-ed December 14, 2010, on the AUB campus, 30 out of 30 in-ternational students asked responded that studying at AUB has been an enriching experience. “Being a student at AUB has been an undeniably enrich-ing experience. The classes I have taken here, although similar to classes available in the states, are composed of students from various na-tionalities that bring an en-tirely new dynamic to class discussion.” , says Noriega. The Ambassadors Program of the International Student Services (ISS) is an initiative

Anis KadadoStaff Writer

Fouad BadaouiSenior Staff Writer

Silje OwrennSpecial to Outlook

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Jafet to open 24/7 during final exam period

Cashier understaffed and customers

dissatisfiedtion as they realize the need to begin some serious study-ing. Not only students, but also most of, if not all campus library staff are pressured as well; especially the staff of AUB’s main library, Jafet. After years of complaining about how the library should operate for a longer time dur-ing this period, the Jafet ad-ministration finally decided to give it a shot and is soon to open for 24 hours a day dur-

of whether or not they man-age to find a seat. Of the four cashier windows available, at least one is empty most of the time and the employ-ees seem to endure day-long shifts. In other words, when an employee leaves his/her booth for a bathroom or lunch break, that booth is effec-tively closed without any an-nouncement or replacement, until the employee returns. “We can’t wait this long,” said an elderly couple as they left the room, distraught and disappointed. Although the staff is stringent about fol-lowing the rules, they of-

Lebanon for everyone

Red Cross visit chil-dren at hospital

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USFC yet to meet once this semester

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INSI

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8AUB martial arts cham-pion

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5Campus NewsSportsArabic EntertainmentArabic Opinion

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“Life as We Know It“ movie review

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readoutlook@gmail.comBliss Street, West Hall 208 Tel: 01 350 000 or 01 374 444 Ext.3193www.aub.edu.lb/outlook

(Photo courtesy of Silje Owrenn)

(Photo by Rami Diab)

International students at the Green Oval

UTLOOKThe American UniversiTy of BeiruT

vol. Xliii, no. 14 | |TUesdAy, JAn 11, 2011 The IndependenT sTudenT PublicaTion since 1949

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where Lebanese students function as guides for inter-national students. “They are basically peer mentors, and they want to present their country in the best way pos-sible,” explains Coordinator of International Programs Rania Murr. 19 year old Lebanese me-chanical engineering stu-dent Ayman Jaber thinks that being an ambassador is interesting because he gets to know all kinds of different cultures and people, without having to travel. “I make sure that they get the best impres-sion about the culture and therefore I try to eliminate

ing the exam period. Students welcomed this ini-tiative with open arms, glad that they could pull their “over-nighters” at the place they spend most of their day at and not waste any time go-ing home. Many were sur-prised to hear the news, not thinking that this was some-thing likely to happen. Biolo-gy student Jana Ghulmiyyah

2 JAn 11, 2011OUTlOOk

CAMPUS NEWSUSFC are yet to meet once this Fall

A demand for real politics

The BlackBerry Catastrophe

The situation is as fol-lows; the USFC haven’t met once since being

elected. The problem is ba-sically the same every year. When an SRC member wins the VP position, and is from a certain political group, the opposing political group au-tomatically stops working be-cause they know they won’t be taking credit for their achievements. For example, Students at Work, who were the political majority in last year’s SRC and USFC, took credit for last year’s boycott, the cafeteria sit in and speak-ers corner and used them as a platform to get more votes this year. Alternative Front on the other hand didn’t lay claims to any credit as they didn’t have the majority back then. So this year students are counting on the majority to get results. Usually it is the VP’s deci-sion to hold a meeting unit-ing USFC cabinet members, however, no meetings have been called for yet, because,

One year ago, no one had heard of it. Now, many students can-

not part with it. The Black-Berry has become students’ latest drug of choice and has been dubbed the “CrackBer-ry,” in reference to crack-ing cocaine. Even though it has barely completed its first year in the Lebanese market, it has already managed to leave its mark on more than 50 percent of AUB students, according to an informal poll conducted on Dec ember 13 and 15 on 100 students.They wake up with it, go to school with it, and sleep with it. Even in class, four out of five students do not set it

as some say, the USFC are waiting for President Dor-man to return from his va-cation before doing so. Still, the President of the Stu-dents Rights Club at AUB, Fouad Badaoui, explained in an interview that any SRC member can email all SRC members to propose a meeting and the president of the SRC’s faculty can’t re-fuse. Thus, Badaoui alert-ed some FAS SRC, who have also failed to meet once com-pared to FHS SRC for exam-ple who have met 4 or 5 times already, about their right to call for a meeting. The rea-son they haven’t met, as Badaoui explained, is that “they didn’t get an order from above; everything is hierar-chical!” What’s also notewor-thy is that “the USFC VP and Secretary are both from FAS SRC, so it’s the same trend of apathy in FAS SRC and USFC that we’re looking at, knowing that FAS is the big-gest faculty, and the one with most of the issues” clarified Badaoui. The message we are sending to the USFC is “get to work”

down, showed the poll. Natu-rally instructors are worried. “Students are wasting an in-vestment,” says Haitham Khoury, an industrial and organizational psycholo-gist, noting that students are missing out on valuable learning opportunities that cost lots of money. Not only did the use of Black-Berry shorten students’ at-tention span, it also distract-ed teachers. Spaced-out students en-grossed in conversations on their BlackBerries were enough to interrupt Khoury’s train of thought, the profes-sor remarked. “I prefer they do not come to class [in these cases], be-cause chatting on the Black-Berry is exactly like students

as Badaoui stated, he con-tinued that “they were elect-ed to generate results.” How-ever, if you look at it from a “practical side” in Badaoui’s words, “they were elect-ed on the basis of sectarian-ism, and belonging to a cer-tain political party.” But as a matter of fact, they need to actually achieve something to get more votes next year. That’s what the old VP Elias Ghanem did last year, accord-ing to Badaoui, “Although” explains Badaoui, “he did be-long to a political group and his agenda was based on po-litical decisions that super-seded him, but at the end of the day, he did do his best at some times to actually rep-resent students in gener-al. Whereas the New VP, Ali Sheet, seems to be motivated to do the same thing based on his platform, but he’s just not getting started; he’s procras-tinating.” As the President of Stu-dent’s Rights Club, Badaoui aims to fix pending issues on campus, such as question-ing CNS on what kind of logs they keep on students’ in-

who continuously talk with their classmates during the session,” he said. Some students go to ex-tremes. They even confuse reality with virtual reality. It is common to see CrackBer-ries more involved in a vir-tual chat conversation than in a face to face conversation they would be participating in, said Charlotte Karam, an organizational psychologist. Halabi said she would nod and mumble to her mother, “Hmmm, mama,” if she was chatting on her BlackBerry. “My mother said she is plan-ning to buy a BlackBerry so that she could talk to me!” she added. CrackBerries develop differ-ent signs of addiction: a com-pulsive reaction to the beep

ternet browsing and for how long, the results of that topic were published in Outlook’s fourth issue of this current year (volume 43), available online. Other projects on the club’s agenda include the green campaign on campus to be achieved by reducing AUB’s Carbon footprint, lobbying to install solar heaters and starting a recycling cam-paign in association with Ib-sar. But most important-ly, the club aims at tackling SRC elections and achieving two goals. First, to “separate the political factor from SRC elections, not completely be-cause it’s impossible, but just enough for people to realize that they want to see results as students,” stated Badaoui. Second, to bring back “real politics” to campus which means “actual discussion as in university level politics” because at the end of the day, according to Badaoui, the university holds the new gen-eration that should discuss the mistakes of the older gen-eration and try to fix them. “The situation we have

and the red light of the Black-Berry, the continuous tip-tip tapping, and “the BlackBer-ry prayer”--the downward glance toward the gadget. Such “addicted” types of us-ers would not think of setting it down during class. “They always talk to me. I cannot put it aside and let it beep in the bag. I need to see the messages as soon as they arrive,” said Sanay Hamieh, 19, a psychology sophomore. It seems some classes in-spire greater BlackBerry use than others. These would be known as the “boring” class-es. “I bought it for class,” says Yara Mously, laughing. The BackBerry is also a great way to organize an out-ing almost as fast as its red

now is a joke, it’s paralyz-ing the campus life” con-tinued Badaoui. The result is that everybody starts to think that politics is a ta-boo and we don’t get a true representation as students. Thus, year after year, the administration starts strip-ping away SRC capabilities until the SRC can’t really do anything, except submitting proposals, which was not so clear to students as shown by a survey that was filled by 700 students and its re-sults published in Outlook’s 10th issue, also available on-line. The goal is to get the ad-ministration to stop this fear of politics and to start trust-ing the students gradually to make their own decisions. The solution according to Badaoui is to redirect that po-litical energy many students have into discussions and constructive dialogue. “We have to give it a shot! And if anybody would do that, it would be students from the best university in the coun-try!”

blinking light. Serge Abdel Hak ,18, a business sophomore said he would ask all his friends via message if they would like to go out and within a few min-utes he would have a com-plete plan with time, date, and place. But psychologists wor-ry that staying glued to the smartphone would cause stu-dents to miss out on real life. “It is sad… the rich experi-ence of life cannot be found in chats,” Khoury remarks.

This article was written for the course SOAN 205 titled “Basic news writing” and has been published with the ap-proval of both the course ad-ministrator and its corre-sponding author respectively.

Mohamad Al MedawarStaff Writer & Webmaster

Tania KoujouSpecial to Outlook

3JAn 11, 2011 OUTlOOk

Looks like a Red Cross Santa did not forget the children at hos-

pitals this year! Red Cross members along with Santa payed surprise visits to sick children at several hospitals on Tuesday December 28. Roum, Rafic Hariri and Bah-man were among the hospi-tals visited aside from the institution Marsaliyet El-Mahabe. The Red Cross team distributed gifts to the chil-dren according to age groups or mental abilities and car-ried out a variety of activities with them. Such activities included playing different games, socializing with the kids, coloring meaningful pictures and motivating the children to find out which values were portrayed in each picture (helping others, respecting the elderly, being united despite different eth-nicities, and many others).

One child the team visit-ed was Rama, a girl of barely two who was nervously and optically impaired by an un-fortunate accident. Yara Na-jem, Rola Abu Izzedin and Line Koleilat, the members who visited Rama, claim that her case was so severe that even though they were trying to play and interact with the girl, it was very hard for her to respond. Still, they tried to communicate with Rama during their whole two-hour stay, talking to her and sing-ing her favorite songs. Mi-raculously, towards the end of their visit, Rama started to mutter a few intelligible sounds and as the girls left the room, little Rama even smiled and actually said “bye” to Yara, Rola and Line. Rama’s mother, who had pre-viously been crying, became ecstatic and reported that it was the first time her daugh-ter smiled and talked since the accident. The Red Cross surely was happy to have

turned Rama’s mom sad tears into happy ones and to have given Rama and her mother a little bit of hope. Furthermore, kids at Marsaliyet El-Mahabe were very interactive with the team. One of the children, Oncology Patient E, kept throwing crayons at the team members! His humorous and charismatic personality was a magnet to the Red Cross members. Patient E had a

lot of fun playing and fooling around with the members, and by the end of the visit, his parents were very grateful to the Red Cross for all the fun activities they had engaged in with their child. So many parents begged the Red Cross to stay and come back. At the end of the activity, the exhausted but satisfied volunteers gathered in front of Jafet Library to evaluate their endeavour. Parent and

Amina HarbSpecial to Outlook

hospital staff attitude to-wards Red Cross members was discussed as well as ap-propriateness of gifts given. Overall, the Red Cross was very satisfied and proud of the job they performed and special thanks were giv-en to Hawraa Kanaan, Ih-san Ghazal and Vanessa Boustani for taking the time and effort to wrap, organize and distribute the gifts.

Jafet opens 24 hours a week!

CAMPUS NEWS

stated “it should be open dur-ing this period and it’s a good change, but I feel bad for the people that have to work here overnight.” AUB student Maher Abou Nasr for his part was delighted with the news, jokingly saying “I can come back to Jafet after I’m done clubbing.” Along with the prais came a little criticism by AUB Biology student Am-jad Kanj, who claimed that “this step should’ve been tak-en since Jafet first opened.” Some students are not at all affected by this move since they rarely study at Jafet, such as Engineering stu-dent Jawad Merhy who also commented “I honestly don’t study here much, but in case of traffic I can stay here and study instead; regardless, it’s a great move.” Dr. Lokman Meho, the uni-versity librarian, affirmed that the 24 hour opening time of Jafet library is to begin on

January 19 until the Febru-ary 2, covering the whole of the final exam period. “There will be round the clock staff, with open areas such as the stacks, serials, reference and the reading-reserve depart-ments open for access, along-side the computer-lab and all the photocopiers and print-ers in the library” affirmed Dr. Meho. He claimed “my experience from the United States showed me that stu-dents would like this initia-tive. And since the library is to close at 2 am, why not ex-tend it a little further?” Dr. Meho’s experience at home also played a role in imple-menting this scheme, where he stated, “In my experience when I was a student here at AUB, I had many siblings at home and found it rather difficult to study there and would prefer a quieter atmo-sphere, as that in a library.” Not only does this benefit the students academically, but also safety-wise, where Dr.

Meho explained that “stu-dents would have to leave Jafet at 2 am (if it weren’t to open 24 hours), something def-initely more dangerous than having to leave early morn-ing. So the students may now study till daylight and then safely return to their homes.” Being informed of the news, many students wondered who would be willing to sac-rifice sleeping time and rath-er work all night having no

benefits; however, Dr. Lok-man asserted that “nine out of the 65 Jafet staff members will be working throughout the nights, gaining a little bit of over-time benefits which would keep them in best re-lations with the administra-tion.” As a final word over something that is to be hap-pening for the first time in AUB’s history, Dr. Meho stat-ed “the university as a whole expects a positive feedback

with this change and I would like to say that this will be im-plemented at the end of every semester from now on. More-over, I would like to thank Provost Ahmad Dallal for ac-cepting and encouraging this initiative, alongside Captain Saadallah Shalak who will be providing the necessary safety measures for student well-being.”

Red Cross brings holiday spirit to children at hospitals

continued from page 1

(Photo by Wael Salem)

(Photo courtesy of Aline Atallah)

4 JAn 11, 2011OUTlOOk

CAMPUS NEWScontinued from page 1

continued from page 1

Lebanon for everyone

Cashier understaffed and customers dissatisfied

ten apologize to customers for the long wait, explain-ing that the delay really isn’t their fault. Yet outbursts of anger are frequent. Students sometimes have to decide, even after an hour, if they should keep waiting in line or go to class. Let down by the lack of efficiency, a woman was overheard “this isn’t nor-mal, maybe I’ll put my son in a normal university.” Georg-es Hanna, an AUB employ-ee since 1977, demanded to see the manager. Accord-ing to him, the cashier clear-ly needs more staff. “You are going to lose all your rights, ask for your right,” exclaimed Hanna to students who were also waiting. Right at the entrance of the Cashier’s Office is a touch screen with options like “Tu-ition Fees” and “Application and Admission Fees.” The goal is to divide tasks since the option picked is automat-ically allocated to the corre-

sponding window. A work Study Program employee ex-plained that the numbering system was there to ensure that everyone gets their veri-fied turn and that no one cuts in line. Nidal Nammour of the Comptroller’s Office was in charge of implementing this system and commented that many students were not co-operative. His colleague, Na-dim Out, said that students often “abuse the system” by taking more than one num-ber or by not going to the ap-propriate window when their number is called. Nammour added that one of the win-dows was dedicated mainly to issuing paychecks to AUB staff and faculty members. An anonymous faculty mem-ber confirmed that line is now shorter but also revealed that cutting in line stills occurs. “I am understaffed” admit-ted Nammour, saying that he had asked his superiors for more chairs and employees repetitively but to no avail. He said his staff works in-

credibly long hours, handles huge workloads, leaves for home late and sacrifices so-cial life, but that the answer he received from his superi-ors was: “the process to hire someone is slow.”

stereotypes about the coun-try. I think that internation-al students make the AUB campus a much richer envi-ronment and contribute to a lot of cultural exchange be-tween students,” says Jaber. In the US, AUB has collab-orations with universities in Boston, Michigan and Berke-ley among others, while in Europe they cooperate with universities in Sweden, Den-mark, France, and Spain. “We are mobilizing to Eu-rope, and in many cases, the international students take the initiative by selling AUB to fellow students and their faculty back home,” says Murr. There are a host of differ-ent reasons that draw stu-dents to the city of Beirut. “Beirut seemed the most ap-pealing place for me because I knew it was a stimulating,

exciting city where I would not only be able to hear Ara-bic, but also be exposed to a diverse culture and a very in-teresting political climate,” says 21 year old American Middle Eastern Studies Ma-jor Samantha Allen. According to Murr, AUB probably has the most vi-brant and multicultural envi-ronment in the region. “Both the international students and the local students have a lot to learn from one anoth-er. I think international stu-dents are important for every university, because universi-ty education is more than just what you learn in the class-room,” concurs Allen. While the university ambas-sadors and ISS are ready to help international students with basically everything, cultural adaption and under-standing isn’t always that simple. According to Norie-

ga, one of the greatest chal-lenges was logistical when arranging for a place to live and paying the tuition fee. Not having a Lebanese bank account, she had to wire the money from the US, and she experienced challenges in re-ceiving details from the AUB cashier’s office on the process of wiring money from abroad. “I really think this is a pro-cess AUB could improve for international students espe-cially,” says Noriega. Accord-ing to Allen, developing a clear insight regarding a new culture in a short amount of time can also be challeng-ing. “As an international stu-dent, there are some aspects of the student environment at AUB that I will never re-ally understand or fully be a part of. The idea that stu-dent body elections, on a uni-versity level, might be ‘politi-cized’ is totally foreign to me,

and because I don’t know the intricacies of this system and what it means to vote for one student versus another, all of this election campaigning is totally lost on me and seems to exclude the non-Lebanese students,” says Allen. Nevertheless, AUB is grow-ing thanks to word of mouth. Lebanon is one of the few countries that sits on the bridge between the East and the West and offers a con-nection between these two worlds, according to Jaber. “That’s exactly why Lebanon can be for everyone. Com-pared to the region, Lebanon is a liberal country but at the same time, it keeps a lot of its culture and tradition. Leba-non can be exactly what you want it to be” says Jaber. As her semester at AUB is coming to an end, Noriega is more than happy to procras-tinate in buying her ticket

back home. “I honestly learn something new every day, and I keep trying to think of ways to extend my stay for another semester,” says Noriega.

International Programs Coordinator Rania Murr

Photos by Rami Diab

5JAn 11, 2011 OUTlOOk

Introducing AUB table tennis champion Avo Moumjoghlian

AUB boasts martial arts champion

AUB Business major Avo Moumjoghlian won approximate-

ly 70% of all his table tennis games for 2010. Moreover, Moumjoghlian has won the Lebanese Single Junior, Dou-ble Junior and Double Men’s Championship in Table Ten-nis.

When did you discover an interest in table tennis?My dad used to play table tennis and when I was about seven years old he started teaching me how to play.

Who is your sporting idol and why?Timo Boll is my sporting idol

AUB Business major Andrea Paoli, is the bronze medal winner

of the Taekwondo competi-tion that took place during the Asian Games in Guang-zhou, China, on November 18, 2010.

How long have you trained, and what belt are you now?I have trained since I was 7 years old; so 11 years. I have had my black belt in 2003 and currently am at my 3rd dan.

Why did you start?I started very randomly. My brother had to do martial arts so I went with him. My mom told me that when we went out, my brother sais he would never step in this room again, and my eyes were shining.

Were you ever in a posi-tion where you had to use what you have learned in real life?No actually. Taekwondo is

because he is a professional tennis table player who has won the world cup in 2002 and 2005. He has also won the European cup and is cur-rently ranked 3rd best in the world.

If you weren’t a table ten-nis player what other sport would you have pur-sued and why?I would like to go into Track & Field because it helps in every other sport.

Would you be willing to stop school so you can go into table tennis profes-sionally?No, education is important and I want to get my degree before I go into table tennis professionally, but I would

more than a martial art, we call it a way of life. It has taught me more than just fighting, I have much more self confidence now and have a greater control on myself, my reactions…

Which part in your body is your strongest, and that which you use the most during fights?My legs.

How was your experience in China?The Asian Games were amaz-ing! This competition is con-sidered to be one of the most important ones after the Olympic Games. I had been dreaming for very long of achieving something at this level. This medal represents all the hard work I have been through with my team, all the sacrifices I had to make… However, what is even more important is that I was able to raise the Lebanese flag. I was the first to put Lebanon on the medal list, and this is what I really aim to while playing.

Aziza KhalilStaff Writer

Rami PanayotiStaff Writer

like to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London.

How do you train for a competition?During the summer I train two times a day, in the morn-ing and in the afternoon. When I have classes I can only train once a day. Some-times I train with AUB’s ta-ble tennis coach Fadi Kassis and at other times, I either run in the green field or go to the gym.

How many matches do you have a year?I have an average of 10 matches a year.

When is your next compe-tition? My next competition is on

What are you preparing for now?This year is going to be really tough! I have the world cham-pionships in Korea in May and the Olympic qualifica-tions in July and November. Just the idea of participat-ing in these championships is extraordinary! My deep-est wish is that I can qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

On average, how much do you practice a week?I practice every day, 2-3 hours usually, 4 hours in summer and when I have championships coming up. It gets sometimes very hard to keep up with university and social life…

What are your biggest achievements?I’ve been the Lebanese Tae-kwondo Champion since 2007

Year 2010:Bronze medalist of the Asian Games - ChinaGold medalist of the Arab

January 18-19. It is for the top 8 in Lebanon.Do you have any pre match rituals?I don’t have any pre match ritual. The only thing I do be-fore a match is relax and get my head clear.

Is it hard balancing school work with table tennis?Yes it’s hard but I have to do it.

How do you feel after you win a match?After a match I feel very proud that I have won.

What advice do you of-fer to the young athletes reading this article?My advice would be for

Championship -Egypt

Year 2009:Gold medalist of the Mediter-ranean Cup- MoroccoGold medalist and MVP of the West Asian Junior Cham-pionship- JordanSilver medalist of the Arab Junior Championship- EgyptBronze medalist of the Asian Martial Arts Games- Thai-landRanked 27th in world ranking in the end of the year

them to just keep at it. They shouldn’t stop even when it gets tough because in sports you have to be strong and persistent.

Moumjoghlian would also like to thank AUB and Gha-leb Halimi for persuading and encouraging AUB play-ers and giving them ample opportunities to play and compete. The Asian games in Septem-ber will be held in Lebanon in AUB where Moumjoghlian will be participating, having started practicing from now, “I am proud to represent Leb-anon and AUB in the Asian games,” he says.

Year 2008:Gold medalist of the Bahrain OpenBronze medalist Al Fajr Championship- IranAttended the Olympic Youth Camp of the Beijing Olympic Games

Year 2007:Bronze medalist of the Asian Junior Championship- Jor-dan

SPORTS

Taekwondo champion Andrea Paoli

6 JAn 11, 2011OUTlOOk

من هي مّخول جودي الّدكتورة الكورة، في « بطرام « بلدة أبناء وذلك أوستراليا، في ولدت ولكّنها بسبب هجرة والديها للعمل هناك. لوالديها البكر اإلبنة والّدكتورة هي يعيش توأمان، شقيقان ولديها أحدهما في أميريكا واآلخر في لبنان. في وهي لبنان إلى الّدكتورة عادت قّرر عندما عمرها، من الّتاسعة والديها العودة إلى مسقط رأسهم وسعًيا فيه، والسكن للعمل لبنان منهم لعودة أبنائهم إلى لبنان لكي العربّية اللغة تعّلم لهم يتسّنى عاداته إلكتساب فيه والعيش

وتقاليده. عند عودتها إلى لبنان إلتحقت في وبقيت »بشمزين« مبدرسة دراستها أنهت حتى املدرسة هذه تابعت 1978. ثّم العام في الثانوية األمريكية اجلامعة في دراستها ال في (BS) شهادة ونالت Environmental Health«» عام 1982. وبعدها تابعت دراساتِها األمريكية اجلامعة في العليا Heath»ال إختصاص في شهادة ونالت »Education

MPH فيه عام 1984. وبعد إنهائها الّدراسات العليا عملت الّدكتورة منذ العام 1985 حتى األوالد« غوث »إحتاد في 1992 العام وهي منّظمة إنسانّية أجنبية، تعنى مبوضوع التنمية اجملتمعية ومساعدة احلرب، من واملهّجرين النازحني أن بالّذكر واجلدير األوالد. وخصوًصا الّدكتورة جودي عاشت احلرب األهلية لبنان، في كّلها ( 1990-1975)

على يحافظ الّتجّدد، دائم نهٌر مائه فترتوي شجرة الّلغة اّلتي لتخّلد الّسبعينات في زرعها بأقدام ميحى ان قبل املكان الغزاة. شوقي بزيع كتب لألرض واحلّب في شعر الّتفعيلة وابتعد الوزن هجر منه. العامودّي عن اإليقاع على واعتمد والقافية مع يتماهى اّلذي الداخلّي حركة التجربة فتغدو القصيدة األصوات متعّددة مسرحّية واملشاهد. فاز الّشاعر الّلبنانّي عكاظ بجائزة بزيع« »شوقي العربي،فتّم للّشعر الّرئيسّية منحه وسام الّشعر العربّي ممثالً بلقب شاعر عكاظ عن قصيدته اّلتي الغبار« »مرثّية املعروفة

شخصية األسبوع : الدكتورة جهاد مخول

كاتب من هذا الزمن: شوقي بزيع .. طفل في داخلي

الديراني سارة أحمد كاتبة صحفية

نهاد غازي عواد مساهمة صحفية

واستطاعت بالّرغم من هذه احلرب أن تتخّرج وأن املدرسّية دراستها تنهي من اجلامعة وتعمل في مجال اخلدمة

البشرية.البلمند جامعة في عملت وبعدها 1992 سنوات ثالث ملدة الكورة في إدارة إستلمت حيث ،1995 حتى مع وعملت الطالب، شؤون مكتب الطالب شؤون تنظيم على زمالئها املالّية املساعدات وطلبات اإلدارية عملت هذا وبجانب الطالب، وعمل كما اجلامعة. في كمحاضرة إعادة تأسيس مشروع في وشاركت

التصنيع وفرز النفايات في اجلامعة. وبعد عشر سنوات من العمل الدكتورة قررت واجلاد الدؤوب العالي. تعليمها متابعة جودي العام في أستراليا إلى فسافرت جامعة في وعملت ودرست 1996حازت حتى »Wollongong « Public»ال في دكتوراه على Health« في العام 1999. وكما لبنان عن بحثها أطروحة وكانت لبنان في الناس نظرة « وبالتحديد إلى مشاريع التنمية التي تقام فيه«، منطقتني في هذا بحثها وأجرت لفكرة بالّنسبة وأما عكار. في عملها منذ بالّتبلور فبدأت بحثها كانت حيث األوالد« غوث »إحتاد في في خاطئة أمور هناك أن تشعر التنمية (مشاريع الّتنمية مشاريع والتنمية الريفية والتنمية البشرية في جتري كانت التي اإلجتماعية) البلد إال أن املشكلة احلقيقية كانت أنهم لم يستطيعوا كشف أسباب هذه األخطاء. فشعرت أن الوقت قد

حان لفهم كّل هذه األمور.شهادة على حصولها وبعد في للعمل ُطلبت الّدكتوراه

ماذا حتبني أن تضيفي؟أريد أن أقول أنه من الضروري جداً أن نعّلم طالبنا كيف يستخدمون الّنقد في كل األمور » ليش هدا الشي هيك ؟ مني بقرر هيك؟ ومني املستفيد ؟« وغيرها من األسئلة املشابهة. واملهم لها جند أن ليس األسئلة هذه في

كتبها في منتصف التسعينات املنعطف النّقاد وفق وشّكلت الشعرّية جتربته في األبرز اخلاص بني الالحقة. فهي متزج جيل احالم وتعالج والعام في مساهمات له محبط. واجملالت, الّصحف من العديد أبرزها: اآلداب اللبنانية, والّراية الظبيانّية. واالحتاد القطرّية, عناوين : الّشعرية دواوينه ـ 1978 مقتول لوطن سريعة الّرحيل إلى شمس يثرب 1981ـ أغنيات حّب على نهر الليطاني 1990مرثّية الّندم وردة 1985 ـ الغبار 1992 - كأني غريبك بني النساء 1995 - قمصان يوسف 1996 - شهوات مبكرة 1998 - فراديس الوحشة 1999- ال شيء من كل هذا. يعتبر شوقي ان األرض بني رمزّية عالقة هناك يلد ورحم اّم فكالهما واملرأة

1999 العام في األمريكية اجلامعة العام وفي .»FHS»ال كلية في associateإلى ترفيعها مت 2007أبحاثها إلى professor إستناداً

األكادميية املهّمة.العلمية األبحاث من العديد لها

املهمة: War as a positive« medical educational

experience » عام 2008، Intercessory wasta and« village development inوآخر ،2004 عام »Lebanonالذي أجرته في البحث أبحاثها كان Developing « بعنوان 2010 a logic model for youth

»mental healthكما وشاركت في العديد من املؤمترات

املهمة وكان آخرها في ت2 عام 2010 American Public «

« Health Associationجزء كتابة في وساهمت كما بعنوان encyclopediaمن Gender, health and« poverty in the Arab

world« عام 2005.أسئلة عامة: هل وصلتي إلى أهدافك في كل أبحاثك، وما هي أنواع األبحاث

التي حتّبني العمل فيها؟كل إلى أصل أن إستطعت نعم، أجريتها. التي األبحاث في أهدافي التي األبحاث في العمل وأفّضل أّثرت التي اجملموعات واقع تعالج والالجئني (املهّجرين احلرب فيها كما والعراقيني..). الفلسطينني وأفضل إجراء الInterviews مع الواقع الناس مباشرًة ألنها تعكس من أكثر مبصداقية يعيشونه الذي

Surveys .ال

أجوبة بل املهم حقيقًة هو أن نبدأ ولو بالسؤال لكي يتسّنى لنا فهم األمور

وإحداث التغييرات.ما هي مبادؤك في هذه احلياة؟

بتحب إنَت ما متل الناس عامل «يعاملوك ».

» يلي بتحطوا باحلياة بتآخدوا ».

ألّننا أنثى فالهجرة باستمرار، نذهب الى مدن تناديننا بأصوات انثوّية بينما االرض هي األم التي نحنو إليها دائًما. ويّتفق بزيع مع إليوت حني يقول: »إن الّشاعر إذا شاعرًا يصبح ولم الّثالثني بلغ كبيرًا، فلن يصبح شاعرًا كبيرًا في ما بعد« فالّشعر بالّنسبة اليه ينبثق من املكان الذي ينبعث ال العاطفّي مبعناه اجلنس منه امليكانيكّي. فالّشعر ذو طبيعة بالفتّوة » يّتصل اي انفجارية الدم، بدورة اإلنسانّية، واحليوّية بالهرمونات«. ومع ذلك ما زال محافظا على قريحته الّشعرية، وخبرة ضلوًعا اكسبه فالّزمن ومفرداتها العربّية الّلغة في لم لكّنه استعمالها. وطرق يكسبه مرونة احلديث فريفيته مع كبيرة فجوة في أوقعته املثّقفني. فاملسافة التي خلقها

ARABIC ENTERTAINMENT

الدكتورة جهاد مخول

(صورة: Quarterlyconversation.com)شوقي بزيع

بل كاريزما أو تعالًيا ليست اجلنوبّي الّطفل ذاك خجُل هي القاسية األجوبة ذو الّشّفاف الّشاعر يتابع لرمّبا العدوانية.

برنامج د. فيل الذي ينهيه دائما مبقولة« في داخل كل منا طفل، ايضا هذه عليه«. حافظوا

نصيحتي لكم.

7JAn 11, 2011 OUTlOOk

ARABIC OPINION”فالن من رايح عجهّنم وفالن من جماعتنا عاجلّنة !“

” السرعة حلوه... بس احلياة أحلى“

ماري نخولكاتبة صحفية

تشّكل حوادث الّسير في أيامنا هذه أضحت إذ للوفاة، أساسًيا سبًبا ينقّض مخيًفا، شبًحا احلوادث تلك يوم،رامًيا بعد يوًما شبابنا على ليمتزج الطرقات على األسود رداءه األمّهات وويالت الّضحايا، دماء مع حوادث هي هذه نعم، ودموعهّن. الّسير تترأّس الئحة أسباب الوفيّات، لتصبح الهم األكبر لدى كّل أّم، كّل

شاّب، وكّل مواطن...في الّسير، حوادث أسباب أما يعود منها متعّددة، فهي لبنان، واخلطرة املتدهورة الّطرقات إلى والّضيع الّنائية املناطق بعض في إلتزام عدم إلى يعود ومنها خاّصة، املواطن بقوانني الّسير- طبعاً، ومتى الّنظر بغّض بقانون؟ اللبناني إلتزم عن أهمّيته، فاخملالفة عالمة متّيز لدى األمان فحزام لبناني؛ مواطن كل لم يعد ” عاملوضة“، وإشارات الّسير

عرف لو فقط...و للّزينة أضحت القوانني، تلك معنى شبابنا بعض النقذت حياة العديدين منهم! ومن أسباب حوادث الّسير أيًضا، الكحول، على سيطرته السائق يفقد حيث ويشّكل خطرًا على حياته، الّسّيارة وقعوا ضحايا من غيره حياة كما حتت فريسة طيش الّشباب. ولسوء احلّظ ال منتلك في لبنان وسائل حديثة جسم في الكحول نسبة لكشف احملّرك ضميره ليصبح الّسائق... األوحد ، فتنعكس الّنتائج الّسلبّية،

طبًعا، على املواطن الّلبناني!األّول الّسبب أن ومما ال شّك فيه، نعم، الّسرعة! هي الّسير، حلوادث هذه أيامنا في ننتمي أّننا يقولون إلى عصر الّسرعة، ولكن أي سرعة؟ هي سرعة املوت التي سرقت شبابًا أحّبهم! ومن أهلهم قلوب وحّرقت وكم ظّن الّسائق أّن الّسرعة هي احلّل

يكثرون، وبثقة مزعجة في الّنفس، من التقسيم األخروّي، فهذا في عملّية الّتكفير النار. ثقافة اجلنة وذاك في هوذلك بغير مسّماها، ولكن احلّقة، الكالم اّلذي يطلق همساً واليسمعه إال ابٌن أو بنٌت من أبناء الّطائفة. كّلنا ومنطق الوحدة إّدعينا وإن كذلك، بني دوماً نقّسم والّتسامح. احملّبة اهلل شركاء كأّننا والنار، اجلنة أهل بـ ممسكون كأّننا أو القسمة في

Catalogue اجلنة و الّنار.نتحّدث حني دوًما العواطف تنفعل يّدعي فقد والّنار. اجلّنة أهل عن جهّنم الكتاب أهل دخول املسلم العبادات شكلّية أساس على

أن أراد وكم باكراً! للوصول الوحيد سريًعا... يكون بأن الوقت من يوّفر وكم كان شبح املوت أسرع! صحيح أن الّسرعة في بعض األمور قد تكون يصح القيادة حالة في وإمّنا حالً، القول الشهير : ”في الّتأّني الّسالمة، حاولت وقد الّندامة“. العجلة وفي الّدولة الّلبنانية وضع قانون للحد من نتائج األن حّتى القى وقد الّسرعة، يكفي، ال حتماً هذا وامّنا إيجابّية! فما زال هذا القانون ال يشمل جميع تقتصر وبالّتالي اللبنانية، املناطق

نتائجه على الّطرقات العاّمة! وجتدر اإلشارة هنا، إلى تعدد اجلمعّيات التي تهدف لتوعية املواطنني ، ونشر كجمعية العاّمة، الّسالمة قوانني ”يازا“ و-“كن هادي“ على سبيل املثال الّداخلّية وزارة تتعاون و احلصر. ال للحّد أيضاً اجملال هذا في الّلبنانّية

يصلي ال العقيدة. وإشكاليات بوحدة يؤمن وال اخلمس الصلوات اهلل، فهو من أهل جهّنم! وقد يّدعي النار أهل من املسلم أن املسيحي املسيح، السّيد أللوهّية رافض فهو صناديق في التفصيالت وتتشّعب املذاهب والطوائف. تبسيط للمنطق لألمور وأخذ للواقع وتسخيف مبسمياتها اجلامدة. فأبن العقل هنا؟

ولنهتّم اهلل. إلى اهلل عمل فلندع بأنفسنا وحياتنا على هذاا الكوكب. ارحتالنا. قبل هنا جّنتنا فلنصنع فاجلّنة جميلة، جّدي، أوصاني هكذا فلنترك جهد. إلى حتتاج ولكّنها وبساطتها، التقسيمات سذاجة

بالّرعب فإذا الّضحايا! أعداد من جميع واضًعا الّطرقات على يتجّول بد وال اخلطر دوامة حتت الّسائقني الّضحايا فعدد جذرّية، حلول من ليصبح ويرتفع عام، بعد عاًما يزداد يتعّرض التي البالد أكثر من لبنان ليبق املميتة، الّسير شبابها حلوادث الدولة ا على املسؤول؟ الّسؤال، من حتمل جميع املسؤولّية على عاتقها؟ وعدم األهل لدى الوعي قّلة هي أم القيادة، مخاطر من اوالدهم حتذير وتسليمهم السيارات في سّن مبكر؟ تستمّر واحملاسبة، املساءلة وبني وحياته املواطن ويضّحي احلوادث، معّرضة للخطر مع كل نهار يشرق. وال يبق لنا، سوى الّدعاء، أن يبعد اهلل احلوادث عنا، وال يبق على الّسائق إال إنو فـ“صحيح القيادة في الترّيث

الّسرعة حلوه... بس احلياة أحلى“.

ليكون الكون أرجاء في ولنتحّرك احلب خالل من لدينا اإلنعكاس واملشاعر لبعضنا نختزنه اّلذي بالعمل تنطلق أن تستطيع اّلتي اإلجتماعي الواقع في واملبادرات حيث من يشرق مستقبالً لتصنع حني الواعني لنكن الّشمس. تغرب العدالة فليست أحكامنا، نطلق بشكلّيات ترتبط اهلل مسألة عند النوايا قبل إلى ينظر الّدين. إن اهلل الوعي مستوى إلى وينظر األفعال، الّتجربة ومستوى إنسان كّل لدى اّلتي خاضها واجملتمع اّلذي عاش فيه واملسؤولّية اّلتي حتّملها هذا اإلنسان وغيرها من التفاصيل الّدقيقة. وهذا

مصطفى فضل اهللكاتب صحفي

مجّرد حتليل إنسانّي للعدالة،فكيف بعدالة اهلل الرحمن الّرحيم ؟

فلتكن اهتماماتنا منطلقة من خالل العبادات، بأن نفهم معناها وهدفها.

بالروح يرتفع واجلمال جميلة، هي أن نستطيع فكيف باحملّبة وينفتح نؤمن بجمال يحمل الكره في طّياته؟ قلباً لإلنسان وإن عمل احلياة إّن ويخفق موتًا إذا عمل، باحلياة يخفق حني يغرق في الكسل. فلنكن أحياًء نصنع الواقع ونرفض التخّلف ونصنع جّنتنا اإلنسانية احلقيقة خالل من على األرض لنفتح من خاللها أبواب

الّسماء .. واهلل أعلم.

8 JAn 11, 2011OUTlOOk

إنفصال السودان شمال السودان وجنوبه .. سودانان

ARABIC NEWS

دراسة في األميركية لترسبات املبيدات في خضار الطعام في بيروت و كسروان تطمئن

النسبة أقل بكثير من املستويات الدولية املقبولة

تخّلف مستشر في القطاعات ال املصانع فعدد اإلقتصادّية. وتغلب اليّد أصابع عدد يتعّدى وحّتى الّصغيرة الصناعات

اليدوّية على الصناعة احمللّية. وبالّنسبة إلى البنى الّتحتّية 60 سوى هناك فليس الغائبة الّطرقات من فقط كيلومترًا أن كما باألسفلت، املعّبدة الكهرباء إلى افتقارًا هناك واملواصالت واملستشفيات. كما أن الفقر املستشري لن يسمح بالنمو اإلقتصادي الفعلّي للبلد بأكمله، وال ننسى نسبة األمّية ال حّد إلى تصل التي املرعبة اجلنوب. سكان من باملئة 90تطّورًا األكثر القطاع يكون قد وذلك الّسياحي القطاع هو األجنبّية اإلستثمارات بسبب

»اإلسرائيلّية«.ولكن وبخاّصة برغم أن الكثافة السكانية في مقارنًة كبيرة ليست اجلنوب باملساحة، فإن تركيبة السكان تسودها والتي املتجانسة غير نشوء احتمال تقّوي قبليات، لتمّثل بينها، ما في نزاعات تهديداً للدولة من جهة، وسبباً في هروب املستثمرين من جهة

ثانية. القطاع فحّتى وبذلك السياحي مهّدد بفعل إحتماالت نشوء نزاعات قبلّية خاّصة في ظل الفقر و اجلهل املستشريني. الّدول أصوات أن إلى ويشار ظل في مختفية العربّية أننا الصادم. ويبدو الوضع هذا سنبارك قريًبا بتقسيم املقّسم

وتفتيت املفّتت.

نترّقب هذه األيام حدثًا إستثنائيًّا فسيتّم العربية، املنطقة في منذ عربية دولة أّول إنفصال نهاية احلكم العثماني. شمال السودان وجنوبه سودانان. املزاج الفعلي كما يُظهر أهل اجلنوب هي الّرغبة في في اإلنفصال بعد املضنّية األهلّية احلرب سنوات اجلنوب أهل بني والبشعة والّشمال. كما أظهرت الطبقة الّرغبة هذه نفس احلاكمة الّشعبّية وسعت إلى حتقيقها

وترسيخها منذ سنوات.ال اجلنوب واقع إلى نظرة قالّرغم باهر مبستقبل تبّشر

اجلامعة في باحثون أجرى األميركية في بيروت أول دراسة شاملة تغطي ترسبات املبيدات

التي اخلضار في املوجودة في الغذائي لالستهالك تباع البحث وهذا . احملّلية األسواق إذ لبنان في نوعه األول من هو استهالك معطيات بني يجمع وقد التلوث ومعطيات الطعام قادته أُستاذتا علوم التغذية في كلية العلوم الزراعية والغذائية نصرالدين الرا الدكتورة

والدكتورة زينة قصيفي. وقدمشترك بتمويل البحث أُجري من اجلامعة األميركية في بيروت

ومنظمة الصحة العاملية. وبلغت قيمة التمويل حوالي أميركي. دوالر ألف عشرون في البحث فريق استند وقد دراسته على عّينة متثيلية لفئة ومناطق بيروت في الراشدين بدايًة الريفية شبه كسروان

عبر إجراء مسح لألطعمة التيفي الراشدون يستهلكها املنطقتني وذلك من أجل ايجاد مواصفات الئحة طعامهم في الباحثون وقام . منطقة كل

الشكلّية اإلستعدادات من تشييد خالل من الّدولة لبناء وإختيار الّرئاسي القصر أما وتلحينه. الوطني الّنشيد معتمد فهو اجلنوب اقتصاد بشكل أساسّي على الّصادرات معظم متّثل اّلتي الّنفطّية نفط الّسودان إاّل أّن العديد من إحتمالّية إلى تشير الّتقديرات خالل اجلنوبي الّنفط نضوب الّسنوات العشرين املقبلة كحٍد أقصى، وهو ما يهدد مستقبل أهل اجلنوب في حال لم تستغّل املوجودة الطبيعّية املوارد هذه

هناك.الّسودانّي اجلنوب يتمّتع األراضي من كبيرة بكمّية الّزراعّية غير املستغّلة، فبالّرغم

مختلفة عينات خمس بجمع من األطعمة من نوع كل من

األسواق احمللية في منطقتيبيروت وكسروان بفواصل زمنية متساوية خالل العامني 2008 و

2009 وذلك لتقليص الفروقاتمصادر اختالف عن الناجمة : نصرالدين وتقول . األطعمة املستهلك سلوك نقّلد » كّنا الغذائية املواد يشتري الذي .« مصدرها يعرف أن دون من العينات اجملموعة وقد خضعت األحيان بعض وفي للغسيل متّ ثم ومن والطهو للتقشير يستهلكها كما حتضيرها على للحصول عادًة، السكان ألطعمة األصل طبق مناذج البالغني وما فيها من السكان

ترسبات للمبيدات احلشرية.أجريت ما : » إذا تضيف و اخلس الستهالك إحصاًء لن يظهر لوحدهما، والكوسى معرفته أريد ما ألن شيئاً ذلك هو مقدار ما نستهلكه من كل مجتمعة املستهلكة اخلضار لم والتي النتائج، وأظهرت ».تُعلن من قبل، أن اجلرعة اليومية من ترسبات املبيدات داخل املواد يستهلكها التي الغذائية

الّزراعّية األراضي نسبة أن من من باملئة الثالثني تتخّطى مساحة اجلنوب إاّل أن املستغّل منها هي نسبة واحد في املئة فقط ! وتشير بعض اإلحصاءات املناطق هذه استغالل أن إلى إعتماد أزمة يحّل أن على قادر عائدات على اجلنوب إقتصاد

النفط فقط.األخشاب مساحة وتشّكل باملئة ثالثني أيضاً الّشاسعة قد مما اإلقليم مساحة من اجلديدة الدولة بتحويل يسمح للخشب أساسّي ر ُمصدِّ إلى املهوفي وحتديداً املنطقة في أجود من املصّنفني والتيك أنواع اخلشب عاملّياً. ولكن هذا فهناك باخلير، يبّشر ال الواقع

مصطفى فضل اهللكاتب صحفي

أخذ هذا املقال من أرشيف مكتب اإلعالم في اجلامعة

األميركية في بيروت أقل عام بشكل هي السكان بكثير من املستوى املقبول دولياً والذي وضعته منظمة األغذية

والزراعةأي العاملية، الصحة ومنظمة أنه ميكن استيعابها على مدى سلبي تأثير أي دون من احلياة على الصحة . فمن بني ترسبات واألربعني الثالثة املبيدات االستقصاء مت التي املعروفة عنها ، تبني وجود12 منها فقط بعد حتليل عينات الطعام، كما تبنّي خلّو الكثير من العينات من ميكن مبيدات ترسبات نسبة بسبب وذلك وجودها، كشف ضآلته . وميكن عزو ذلك إلى أن وحدهما والتقشير الغسيل ميكن أن يخّفضا من نسبة وجود املنتجات في املبيدات ترسبات الغذائية بشكل ملحوظ ، على . نصرالدين الدكتورة قول حد اإلحاطة إن الباحثتان وتقول الغذائي التعرض بحجم لترسبات املبيدات على الصعيد الوطني ستتطلب إجراء دراسات أنه كما . مّرة من أكثر مماثلة أخرى غذائية فئات دمج يجب ميكن ألنه احليوانية كاملنتجات مبيدات ترسبات ايجاد أيضاً

معينة في دهون احليوانات .على دراسات إجراء ويجب أخرى كاألطفال فئات سكانّية عرضًة أكثر يكونون قد الذين

خملاطرونّبهت . املبيدات ترسبات نتوخى أن : » يجب نصرالدين احلذر ألن هذه الدراسات ودراسات مبثابة هي النوع هذا من أخرى

لقطة فوتوغرافية ظرفية، لذلك التلوث مستويات تغيرت إذا وكمية توزيع املبيدات، ستتغير والتعّرض املستهلكة اجلرعة اجراء يجب أيضاً. لها اليومي هذه الدراسات بشكل منتظم اآلّّ حتى يحصل ال األمر وهذا

ن.«

(صورة: رامي دياب)

9JAn 11, 2011 OUTlOOk

ENTERTAINMENT

kid to work and that of a lov-er desperately rushing to the airport, both at the apotheo-sis of dullness and banality. The movie in general has a sense of has-been, resting on the way-too-used theme of parents trying to juggle ca-reer ambitions and social cal-endars with their responsi-bilities toward their child. In lieu of true humor and witti-ness, the audience is subject-ed to a parade of tired baby jokes and the age-old odd cou-ple scenario. In addition, Life as We Know It is overloaded with suburban and bourgeois stereotypes and presents a poor and flat script. Despite its shallowness and predictability, this movie manages to maintain a senti-mental dimension, conveyed mainly by the obvious screen

dity are more than appro-priate to realistically cap-ture--for Hage himself is a photographer-- the harsh-ness of exile. As the novel un-folds and the disturbed psy-chology of its protagonist is further revealed, readers sense themselves slowly step-ping into Genevieve’s shoes and becoming part of the ana-lyst-analysand relationship. Nonetheless, the complex na-ture of the narrator, like the novel itself, does not readi-ly yield itself to interpreta-tion. The protagonist futilely searches for love, breaks into others’ homes, assumes he is half-cockroach and leads the life of an insect. In one of the pessimistic pas-sages of the novel, the narra-

Directed by Greg Ber-lanti, “Life as We Know It” opens up

on a blind date between Hol-ly and Eric (Katherine Hei-gl and Josh Duhamel) who quickly realize they cannot stand each other. She’s an uptight lady and a promis-ing caterer, while he’s a tele-vision sports director and a player. The only thing they have in common is their in-commensurable love for their goddaughter, Sophie (played by the Clagett triplets). Af-ter Sophie’s parents tragical-ly die in a car accident, Holly and Eric discover they have been appointed as co-guard-ians and are now legally re-sponsible of raising the or-phaned child. Forced to live under the same roof, they try to find some common grounds and put their differ-ences aside. From then on, the action unfolds in a very predictable fashion, with the unavoidable scene of a par-ent bringing his disruptive

Winner of the presti-gious Internation-al IMPAC Dub-

lin Literary Award for his book De Niro’s Game (2006) in 2008, Lebanese-Canadi-an author Rawi Hage returns with an equally commend-able masterpiece, Cockroach. In Hage’s most recent novel, the narrator, a Lebanese ex-ile, recounts the details of his life as a poor and marginal-ized immigrant in Canada. The nameless narrator con-fesses some of the particulars of his exilic existence to his psychiatrist Genevieve, and throws the remaining details at his reader. Just like the protagonist remains anony-mous in Hage’s book, Canada and Lebanon are indirectly alluded to in the novel. Even the Lebanese Civil War, with all its horrendousness and senselessness is at the back-ground of the novel. Hage’s naturalism and cru-

chemistry between the two protagonists. In movies gen-erally and in rom-coms par-ticularly, chemistry always matters. Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel definite-ly form an explosive match. Moreover, their handsome and appealing presence man-ages to maintain a facade of entertainment. Unfortunately, the perfor-mances of the two actors don’t hide the fact that this over-long, forgettable picture nev-er deviates from the romantic comedy guidebook. It deliv-ers exactly what it expected and nothing further: tears, laughter, romance, and cute baby moments, awkwardly mixed in a tragic situation. Life as We Know It is Holly-wood romance as we know it.

tor confesses: “Yes, I am poor, I am vermin, a bug, I am at the bottom of the scale. But I still exist. I look society in the face and say: I am here, I exist. There is existence and there is the void; you are ei-ther a one or a zero. Once I was curious about the void. . . . The void cannot be experi-enced. The void should mean perishing absolutely without any consciousness of it.” Despite its Kafkaesque gloom and cynicism, Cock-roach remains an extremely rich book that blends reality and fantasy, truth and lies, thus constantly challeng-ing and surprising its read-ers. As such, it proves to be indeed a great addition, not only to the list of Anglophone

Movie Review

Book Review

Life as We Know It

Cockroach

Christine Saliba

Maya Sfeir

postwar Lebanese literature, but perhaps to world litera-ture itself.

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“The only thing they have in common is their incommensurable love for their goddaughter...”

“In Hage’s most recent novel, the nar-rator, a Lebanese exile, recounts the details of his life as a poor and margin-alized immigrant in Canada.”

10 JAn 11, 2011OUTlOOk

Op-edEditorial

Op-ed

EDITORIAL & OPINIONThe studying dilemma

Tick tock, tick tock.. the clock is ticking and your patience is

running thin. Why on earth can’t you bring yourself to study? Your mind is at one place and yet your heart is at another. You glance around the li-brary and to your amaze-ment, find books and aca-demic journals of all varieties – a lifetime’s worth of curios-ity quenchers just waiting to be explored! Dumbstruck at all your appealing choic-es, you reach out for the first book in front of you and in-stantly, yet almost uncon-sciously, find yourself im-mersed it. Before you know it, the clock has struck mid-night, Jafet Library is clos-ing and you are being is-sued outside. Looking back, you realize just how graceful it all was. “If only all learn-ing could be this fluid,” you think to yourself. Yes, if only your coursework could be just as smooth and enjoy-able, but who says it can’t? Maybe what your course-work could use is some ac-tivism? Isn’t that the gen-eral idea behind academic research; individuals active-ly seeking out topics that in-terest them and researching them out of their own free will and vocation? Maybe the reason you are performing rather average-ly academically speaking is that you may sometimes feel pushed into learning. Just as you prefer to buy than to be sold, you also prefer to learn (autonomously) than

Dalia HosnStaff WriterRami Diab

Editor-in-Chief

Finals…I don’t know about you, but I’d rath-er not think about it.

That is to say, if my brain still retained the capacity to think, which I don’t think it has. In fact, I just woke up from a way-too-long cough-medicine-induced sleep to the sudden realization that I haven’t even begun studying for my exams or writing out my research papers. Why? Not because I’m lazy or am an insincere student, I just hap-pen to have been on some-thing called a ‘Holiday’– de-fined by Oxford University as

sions during the test. What’s more horrifying are our oral exams that are usually a test of our entire knowledge in clinical pathology and Med-ical laboratory techniques, and not just the subject we’re being tested for. The reason behind it is that our cours-es have so much in common. In fact, they cover the same topics but from different as-pects and multiple systems. For example, we study about pathogens in Microbiolo-gy and Parasitology, but we perform techniques and im-plement methods of their de-tection in serology and blood bank. So in essence, every exam requires us to revisit a huge amount of information that we might had studied months earlier. During our training in AUB-MC labs, we pass through 10

The week of finals is not so different from any other week when it

comes to MLSPians, or Medi-cal Lab Science Program Stu-dents! Yes, it is a major of-fered at AUB in case you’re wondering. Basically, our major is a mixture of biology, chemistry, and clinical pa-thology, in addition to a four-hour daily training in AUB-MC labs. Exams, be they oral, written or practical, are part of our daily lives. More-over, our exams are basical-ly a direct implementation of what we’ve learned, although sometimes it seems that our professor has given us a Med III level exam just to tease us and watch our facial expres-

labs including Bacteriology, Hematology, Parasitology, Clinical Chemistry, Serology, Blood bank, Pathology, Cyto-genetics, and Molecular Biol-ogy. Now imagine that for ev-ery lab, or rotation as we call it, since we rotate from one lab to another, we have to do an oral, written and practi-cal exam, not to mention pre-sentations, experiments and lab reports. This training ex-tends over three consecutive semesters, one of which is a summer semester. Appar-ently, it seems that this peri-od isn’t enough to go through all labs extensively, so we are denied the official Christ-mas and New Year’s break, and the inter-semester break in order to fulfil our re-quired hours in the labs. Yes you heard me right, no New Year’s break, and no inter-

semester break, except for a few days set by the govern-ment as official breaks. So in that sense, we are treated as AUBMC staff! All this seems horrifying and gives the impression that we are imprisoned in our cage of extensive studying. But believe me, once you get a hang of the routine, and the way things go around in our neighborhood, things seem much easier! And believe this, as Medical Lab Stu-dents, we enjoy life and social activism more than you could imagine. So I hope that by reading about how others are suffering in horrendous ma-jors, you might look up to the sky and thank the Almighty that you’ve maybe chosen an easier way to go through col-lege!

to be taught. But who’s to say you are taught? Are you not at this junction by a se-ries of self-pursued choices? You made your way through your middle-school years, graduated right out of high-school and now have enrolled yourself at AUB by your own sheer willpower. Let’s face it, it is you that have placed yourself at this crossroad, not your friends, not your family and most certainly, and above all not your guilty conscious for lack of a better reason. Your mission to un-fold into a masterpiece cre-ation is far too essential to be strapped down by guilt or coercion. And if you rob yourself of this privilege of free choice, then dare I say it, you strip yourself bare of all that is earnest and genu-ine in you; and fruitless you shall stand like a barren tree amidst a rainforest. You are free will, first and foremost, believe it. There’s really no telling just how far you will travel and nothing can ever hold you back.

Post holiday stress mode

Finals week from a MLSPian point of View!

a 1) time away from work or school, 2) a legal day off. I see no amendment to that defini-tion that entails or justifies my work and school stalking me on the holidays. Maybe it was the cough syr-up, but it definitely seemed to me that every time I looked around, my books were prac-tically taunting me and fill-ing me up with guilt at thor-oughly ignoring them. Well, excuse me if I still believe in the inherent value of spend-ing some good old-fashioned quality time with family. Don’t you just love it when your teacher says something along the lines of: “But you had the whole break to work on it?” The key word in that sentence being: Break. Angst and pointless whin-ing aside, however, I really must say that there is some-thing very wrong about the way this break is set up. Even though we love to whine about how short it was, in fact, it was just long enough for our brains to revert back to Summer Vacation Mode.

You know that time right af-ter the summer break, when you have to remind yourself that can’t go to sleep at 7 in the morning anymore, be-cause that’s when you’re class starts? Yeah, this feels just like that. To make mat-ters worse, we have semes-ter break to look forward to. Yes, I said worse, because I’m sure everyone also knows Summer-Vacation’s-About-To-Start Mode, wherein you drag your feet to every class and can’t wait for it to end. Add to that the fact that most of us have the flu and are sporting a crazy cough and runny nose, and the fact that the weather final-ly seems to have caught up to the fact that it’s winter…. What you’ll get is a bunch of really disgruntled students who are in no mood to study. This isn’t just a mood thing, folks, this is a mental and physical problem. If only we lived in Europe or the States, where their Christmas break is their semester break, and they can actually get to re-lax.

Mohamad Al MedawarWebmaster

11JAn 11, 2011 OUTlOOk

OUT OF THE BOxTalal Nizameddin

Cleo Cacoulidis

Antonios Francis

Rami Diab

Timmy Malkoun

Yahia Hamade

Mariam El Ali

Salim Batlouni

John Hajjar

Samer Bu JawdehGiovanny Reaidi

Heather JaberMaya SfeirMostafa Fadlallah

Mohamad Al Medawar

Sally KhalifehLara Traboulsi

Lynn ItaniAnis KadadoTala KardasWajiha Jurdhi KheirSherif MaktabiMarie NakhoulRita ObeidRami PanayotiYasmine SaabJoseph SabaAmer SareMohammad YaghiEmile Fares ZankoulRayane ZahreddineLama Zakharia

Lotfi Al SalahWael SalemAntoine Salloum

Deedee El Jilani

THe OuTLOOK TeamChairperson

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editor-in-Chief

associate editor

editor at Large

arabic editor

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members at Large

News executives

Web master

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Staff WritersKhodor Abu DayaNader Al AhmadiehFouad BadaouiCaterina BelardiAmir BitarJackie DaoudSarah Al DiraniEdrees ElrachidiMark FrancisDalia HosnElie El KhouryAziza KhalilYasmin FansaYumna GhandourMaryam Hoballah

PhotographersMohamad AlamehTariq BuhilaigahDima HajjNadi Nassar

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Outlook is a weekly publication of the American Universi-ty of Beirut (AUB) and represents the voice of the student body. It is an independent, non-affiliated publication that favors 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 please include full name, major, ranking, and contact infor-mation 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 authorities. Outlook re-serves the right to edit all material.© Outlook 1949

aCROSS1. What was Reverend Jim’s real last name on Taxi?3. On Friends what was the name of Ross’s mon-key?5. What was Roscoe’s dogs name on the Dukes of Hazzard?7. What is the longest running animated series on television?8. On September 26, 1960, Richard m. Nixon and John F. Kennedy participated for the first time in what?

DOWN1. On The Drew Carey Show what foreign country did Mimi send Drew to?2. In Fresh Prince of Bel-Air what was the butler’s name?4. Who was the first female to host Saturday Night Live?6. Every episode of “Seinfeld” contains an image or reference to what superhero?

This week’s cross-word puzzle is centered on tv

trivia. Scan your answers and send them in to read-outlook@gmail.com before the end of the week for a rare chance to win a compli-metnary dinner

for two at KOI Su-shi bar, based in

Gemmayzeh, Bei-rut, Lebanon!

While browsing through the web, thinking of a new Psyched Out article that would be a little dif-ferent from the regular introductions to a certain disorder, I came across an interesting study on cravings. It is indeed common that most of us have a certain urge to indulge in that hot brownie on the table, or the various kinds of chocolate bars at Abou Naji’s. If so, then read on. People tend to think that there is nothing to do but either resist the craving or just give in to it. It is mistaken-ly believed that such cravings are biological and only natural. However, one study begged to differ. Researchers from the Health Psychology Unit at the University College of London demonstrated that such urgings for delicious treats are in fact an acquired habit which develops through learn-ing and conditioning. The author of the study used college students to find out whether people could actually be trained out of their cravings. The sample included both, students who love chocolate and those who are in-different to it. As part of the procedures, students were required to eat half a bar of chocolate twice a day for two weeks. Half of the students ate the bar 15 minutes after a meal, while the others wait-ed at least two hours after their meal before having the chocolate bar. Results showed that those who have been eating chocolate on an empty stomach tended to crave sweets more than those who had been eating the treat on a full stomach. When the students had chocolate on a full stomach, their cravings decreased and so did the pleasure of the taste. These results seemed true for both chocolate lovers and those who seemed indifferent. Thus, it seems that eating sweets when one is not hungry tends to train the person to like it less. Importantly, other researchers replicated the results with food that are rich in energy and low in calories, such as dried fruit bars, and the re-sults were very different suggesting a different effect for such foods. Therefore, it is possible to state that one can avoid cravings when one avoids such unhealthy foods when very hungry. Such a decision is not as easy as it seems, but could be perceived as ev-idence for the reason why people who eat small amounts of food throughout the day often seem slimmer and healthier.

Psyched OutDecreasing cravings for junk food

Crossword Puzzle

Rita Obeid

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