Heather Jaber Staff Writer / Mohammad B. Azzam Photographer

www.aub.edu.lb/outlook readoutlook@gmail.comBliss Street, West Hall 208 tel: 01 350 000 ext. 3193

If you have studied in the ‘stacks’ section of Jafet Library, you may have witnessed students un-dergoing their daily Islamic prayer between the bookshelves. You may have also signed a petition passed around campus recently, regarding the implementation of a prayer room in AUB, or you may have passed on signing, disagreeing with the proposal. Both stances on the issue represent two sides of a complicated situation on campus. Previously, two rooms in the upper floors of West Hall, affiliated with AUB clubs, were being used to pray in. Recently, however, these rooms have been converted to office spaces, and thus the petition regarding a prayer space has resurfaced. Aya Hammoud put it simply, saying, “we are upset.” These feelings were shared by many of the other students voicing their opinions in Jafet. Some felt it was a matter of principle, while oth-ers spoke of the associated inconveniences. “Be-tween two courses we have to go far to pray - we won’t have enough time,” said Hammoud. “We are not bothering anyone; we are just praying.” However, the issue seems to be more complex than that. According to Talal Nizameddin, Dean of Stu-dent Affairs, the administration reverted the aforementioned rooms to offices when students who felt uncomfortable sharing what was largely becoming a room solely for prayer complained.

Continued on Page 7

Is There a Place for Prayer on Campus?

OutlookTuesday, december 13 2011Vol. XlIV, No. 9 The IndependenT sTudenT publIcaTIon sInce 1949

Mario Abou Zeid USFC Vice President

On behalf of all SRC/USFC members, allow me to thank you all, student body and administra-tion, for your support throughout the electoral process. Congratulations to my fellow elected representatives in their new duties! For some, the importance of winning elections is for the perception of popularity. However, be-ing a “student representative” means that we have been entrusted by our colleagues, the AUB stu-dent community, to address our needs and inter-ests. This opportunity to represent our university is an honor and a duty, one which requires our

full commitment. With this in mind, the entire AUB student body deserves fair and equal repre-sentation regardless of their background, nation-ality, religion, sect, or political views. This is the spirit of cooperation that we as AUB students all commit to. The SRC/USFC mem-bers act in the interest of the student body and of the university as a whole. Your student represen-tative is the means through which your voice can be heard; use it! It is your right as a student, and our duty as your representative. The list below/given illustrates some of the key

issues that we will address throughout the aca-demic year.

Student Government Reforms• Recall of Elected USFC/SRC representatives• USFC/SRC New Member Training 1. Accrued Interest on USFC Funds 2. Additional USFC Portfolios

Student Benefits• Tutoring

Continued on Page 7

Message from the USFC Vice President

Campus News Page 2Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

The Human Is not the VirusFadi Halabi LeMSIC-SCORA National Officer

The Lebanese Medical Students’ International Committee – Standing Committee on Reproduc-tive health including AIDS (LeMSIC-SCORA) is organizing its annual World AIDS Day Fundrais-ing concert. This year, the Lebanese Rock band, MEEN, will be playing their sarcastic and quirky music at AUB-Assembly Hall on December 19th at 8.30 pm to benefit to HIV/AIDS fund at AUB-MC and Hotel Dieu de France Hospital. LeMSIC-SCORA is a group of medical students from AUB and Saint Joseph University who focus on spreading awareness on reproductive health issues particularly HIV. For the past 10 years, LeMSIC-SCORA has also focused on reducing discrimination against HIV patients and helping them receive an adequate access to healthcare. This is done through the HIV/AIDS fund that provides free CD4 Count testing to the HIV pa-tients in need. For the past 10 years, more than 120 patients have benefited from this fund. In fact, the World AIDS Day Concert is only part of a nation-wide campaign that LeMSIC-SCO-

RA organized this year. In red t-shirts that read, “The Human Is not the Virus”, LeMSIC-SCORA members roamed the streets of Beirut to spread awareness on HIV. The campaign started on the weekend of November 25th in several branches of Roadster Diner and Deek Duke. In Decem-ber 3rd, it moved to Gemmayze where awareness pamphlets and educational material were distrib-uted to passers-by. That night, LeMSIC-SCORA members also gave out several quick peer-educa-tion sessions on protection from HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Moreover, during the past two weeks, members were giving out Free Hugs, selling concert tickets and t-shirts, and edu-cating about HIV on West Hall as well as in the Saint Joseph University-Faculty of Medicine. And so, the World AIDS Day concert is the last stop in this campaign. Tickets will still be sold at AUB-West Hall every day from 12 pm until 4 pm. Come, join us and give HIV a new definition: The Human Is not the Virus.

Editorial: “I considered atheism but there weren’t enough holidays.” Author Unknown

Lojine Kamel Editor-in-Chief

“You don’t celebrate Christmas?!” I don’t, I know. It makes me sad too. But I’m betting not everyone celebrates Eid either. Or Hanukah. Or Diwali. Right?

The point of holidays should be to spread joy and love, to spend time with family, and to fi-nally appreciate the relaxation time we’ve all been craving since our last vacation. The point of religious holidays however should be, at least partly, to commemorate religion. With Ashura just ending and Christmas right around the corner, Lebanon’s two main religious groups are having the quite the busy December.

It’s fine if you celebrate something for fun and its fine if you celebrate it for a reason. My fam-ily and I absolutely adore the Christmas spirit, though we don’t actually observe the holiday. When I was younger we often exchanged gifts with our Christian and Jewish neighbors, who introduced us to the beliefs behind Christmas and Hanukah. I loved learning about them, just as much as I loved being able to bake Christmas

cookies and color paper stocking.

I believe that everyone has the right to choose whether or not to celebrate a religious holiday by enjoying its commercial appeal or its deep-er religious meaning. Each person must make the concrete decision to celebrate a religious holiday, but should question their reasons for doing so. Blindly following the commercial masses because of material goods demeans the original meaning of the holiday, which should be respected in its entirety. But enjoying the simplistic nature of Christmas spirit, while ac-knowledging its religious connotation, is an innocent pursuit.

Religion often defines us, and that definition usually comes with displays of faith such as ritual celebrations. But tolerance and apprecia-tion bind us, and keep our societies strength-ened. Remember to respect the sacred history behind what you are celebrating, keeping in mind that what may be meaningless to you may be meaningful to others.

Campus News Page 3Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

The Special Tribunal for Lebanon: International Justice or International Intervention?Issam Kayssi & Weam Alawar Staff Writer

The question of whether the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, responsible for investigating the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafic Al-Hariri in February 2005, serves justice or in-ternational intervention in Lebanese affairs was answered by the Issam Fares Institute-hosted panel on November 29.

Dr. Nidal Jurdi, lecturer in International Law and Organizations at the Department of Politi-cal Studies at AUB, discussed the International Criminal Law in general and then in the context of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), the challenges that have been facing the STL, and its relationship with UNIIIC. Dr. Omar Nashabi, columnist and editor at Al-Akhbar and lecturer at the Lebanese American University (LAU), anchored the critique of the STL and provided solutions to the weaknesses that he pinpointed.

Jurdi started by addressing the culture of “im-punity” in Lebanon, as he labeled it, and its manifestation in many incidents such as the civil war and the post-1990 amnesty laws. Ac-countability and truth seeking should normal-ly happen in any post-war society in order to “know what happened and hold the perpetrator or series of perpetrators accountable and then reconcile with the society itself and turn the page to move on.” Lebanon never experienced that and strong external interventions from the international community remained.

According to Jurdi, the Lebanese judiciary system present at the time of the assassination (and existing since 1998) is in a debatable state of inability to prosecute and unwillingness to seriously handle such crimes. He referred to Peter Fitzgerald’s declaration in reference to the Lebanese judiciary system: it is in a “state of negligence” at best. Jurdi then discussed the alternatives that should be set up and the suit-able political medium the present justice system needs for political stability and consensus.

Jurdi moved to discuss the qualitative versus the quantitative gravity of the 22 deaths in the Hariri assassination with respect to the many years of civil war. He followed up by discuss-ing the novelties and contributions of the STL to the international and Lebanese justice sys-tem and the challenges facing the STL. He also referred to the complexities that exist between the STL and the UNIIIC, such as the relation-

ship of trial in absentia and the lack of prosecu-tional power to the individuals arrested based on UNIIIC’s indictment. Dr. Jurdi concluded by hoping that the STL would indeed be the start-ing model for fair trials and procedural guaran-tees, ending impunity and launching Lebanon’s truth seeking.

The focus of Dr. Omar Nashabi referred to his wish that panels, like those hosted by the Issam Fares Institute, were held back in 2007 especial-ly for issues of international justice as a form of international intervention. He tackled the is-sue of selective justice in reference to Lebanese political figures assassinated in the past four decades and how their crimes were still largely unresolved and accompanied with international silence. According to Nashabi, Hariri’s assassi-nation is not less deserving, but refraining from resolving other crimes is “not a coincidence.” On that issue, the fact that the primary mandate of the STL refers to a single attack and how the STL does not take jurisdiction on other issues further reinforces the idea that the STL is selec-tive and politicized. The amnesty of various war lords backing the STL only serves to strengthen this idea.

In response to selective justice, Dr. Nashabi suggested enlarging the STL mandate and jus-tice plan to transfer jurisdiction of mandate to Lebanese court along with the immediate re-form of the judicial system with the help of a truth and reconciliation commission and hon-est commitment from all parties. Nashabi con-cluded that though the STL will always face is-sues of acceptance from various groups, justice is still desired by all. Therefore, a Special Higher Commission to monitor the STL and report to the Lebanese Government should be assigned. He also pointed towards unlimited access to Lebanese records for use in such jurisdictions, an extremely odd fact.

The bottom line is that, like any other de-batable issue, it should be evaluated in a cost-benefit manner. On one hand, average Leba-nese citizens will be paying to fund the STL but withstanding the short-term consequences for the greater good. On the other hand, the argu-ments Nashabi gave, particularly about ‘selec-tive justice,’ poses a lot of questions. Should jus-tice be mediated depending on the case being addressed?

Campus News Page 4Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

Cross-Crescent Dialogue is FruitfulEdrees Elrachidi Contributing Writer

Following the buzz, hype, and hostility of elec-tions, the Insight Club, in collaboration with the Interfaith Dialogue Club, soothed things down and hosted a student lecture on Wednesday, De-cember 7, entitled “God, Thought, and Life,” where the implications of God in both Christianity and Islam were presented. Following these lectures was a series of group discussions, where attendees met and shared their beliefs.

The lecture, scheduled to take place at 5 PM in West Hall’s Auditorium C, began with minimal delay. Carmen Ibrahim, Vice President of the In-terfaith Dialogue Club and the event’s main host, introduced the speakers. Marvin Lahoud, a fourth year student majoring in Civil Engineering, spoke about Christianity’s implications of God, while Ali Harfouch, a Political Studies and Public Adminis-tration major, discussed Islam’s concept of Tawhid and its meanings. It is important to note that the dialogue wasn’t necessarily a stage for comparing or contrasting, in parallel, the two religions per say, but rather a platform for presenting key ideas of each religion independently.

Lahoud began his speech by explaining the no-tion of God, pointing out that “God is the Creator; the creator of everything that exists, seen and un-seen, which is good.” He stressed the importance

of “not [attributing] any sort of evil, or anything less than perfect to God” adding that “everything that exists, seen or unseen, is evil or even imper-fect, is a result of disobedience to God.”

He later expressed the extent of God’s forgive-ness, despite man’s continued defiance of God: “Despite our multitude of sins against Him and each other…He will not punish us at all nor even remember any of our trespasses because all His wrath and [punishments] were poured down on the only righteous, God-glorifying man, Jesus Christ.” This forgiveness is manifested through “Jesus [coming] and [giving] life…abundantly.”

Harfouch’s discourse held a more macrocosmic approach. He stated that the concept of Tawhid, “the Oneness of God,” lies at the core of Islam. It is Tawhid that brings about the implications of God, thought, and life as we know it. According to Har-fouche, Tawhid has historically been understood under three lenses: the first being the “Oneness of God in his Lordship, indicating that Muslims ought to acknowledge that God is the “One” cre-ator, sustainer, etc.”(in accordance with many qualities Lahoud mentioned), the second being the “Oneness of God in his right to be worshipped [without the aid of intermediaries],” and finally the “Oneness of God in his names and attributes,

indicating that there is a clear difference between the created and the Creator. God is “hence one be-ing, one entity, and one essence.”

After both Lahoud and Harfouche concluded their speeches, the audience split into diverse groups in order to discuss and share their beliefs. Refreshments were served to further enhance the mingling atmosphere that characterized the room.

The event received positive feedback from both sides. “It was insightful and informative, yet short and not too dynamic,” indicated Emile Mocachen, a second year electrical and computer engineer-ing student “I got to make new acquaintances from different cultures, which was very refresh-ing,” he added. Ahmad Sukkar, a Finance senior, suggested that “it is these kinds of lectures and discussions students should be a part of. It was a friendly environment, which is something great considering it was a topic that’s often discussed on unfriendly terms.”

Insight Club discusses AshuraSarah Khalil Contributing Writer

Ashura is not a Shia event, or such was the mes-sage when the Insight club hosted an event ti-tled “Ashura: Lessons and morals” where Sheikh Hussam El-Ghali went over Ashura, from a Sunni perspective.

Yazid, the supposed “caliph” that ordered the murder of Al-Hussein, is no Sunni. The murder of Al-Hussein was a hideous crime committed unjustly and should be learned from. The very coming into power of Yazid was a “conspiracy; an innovation” by Yazid’s father. Al-Hussein did what he did in a quest to refuse this innovation, save Islam and do what is right. These and many others were things that the Sheikh elaborated on, speaking to an audience of both Shias and Sunnis.

There are mistakes surrounding Ashura, by both Sunnis and Shias. On the Sunni side, some attempt to portray Yazid as a good, righteous man that had his own view of things. Using Sunni books, the Sheikh demonstrated that this is not so; Sunnis refuse what Yazid did and hold Al-Hussein, grandson of the Prophet Muham-mad, in the highest regard. Using Shia books,

the Sheik explained how the Shia refuse many “rituals” that have come to be associated with Ashura, for some Shia, as well as the large amount of misinformation and exaggerations surrounding the retelling of Ashura. These, the Sheikh explained, stemmed out of good inten-tions: the people’s love for Al-Hussein. Nev-ertheless, these do more good than Harm to Al-Hussein and his message and the Sheikh complimented the attempts today’s Shiites are undertaking to annihilate such inaccuracies.

All in all, the Sheik’s message was that of unity. Ashura is a “unifying incident”, it is an event that is to be commemorated by all Muslims, Hussein is a figure for all Muslims, all humans. Sheik El-Ghali refused turning it into an event of quarrel between Muslim brothers and stressed the im-portance of Islamic Unity.

After his presentation, and a small break, ques-tions and answers followed. The questions asked, through paper, were not limited to Ashura. In-deed, it appeared as if the audience was more concerned with the differences between the Sunnis and the Shia than they were with Ashura

itself. In response, the Sheikh explained that all differences between Sunnis and Shia were mi-nor; differences exited within the Sunni school as well as within the Shia one over such minor issues. Nevertheless, the Sheikh explained that the matter of “Imamate is the only real point of disagreement.” However, this is no reason for conflict and this is an issue that can be dis-cussed. Even if no agreement is reached, our differences should not lead to struggle; diver-sity should be a source of riches.

The Sheikh also explained the main attempts the major Sunni and Shia scholars were tak-ing towards unity. Indeed, he stressed how we should all strive towards unity and how ig-norance is the major cause for the ugly prac-tices and mistakes we see taking place today. Misconceptions about Ashura, the Shia and their beliefs were debunked by the Sheikh. Misconceptions about the Sunnis, their views of Yazid and of the prophet’s family were also debunked. A great effort, the event succeeded in informing and thus was more unifying than anything.

arTs aNd CulTure

“Chocolate will become a Luxury” warn Agriculturalists

Loulwa Kalache Staff Writer

Cocoa and chocolate will be considered luxu-rious foods in the upcoming 10 years. At least that’s what the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Columbia warns. The re-search center states that a hotter weather could decrease West Africa’s cocoa production, which currently provides around two thirds of the global cocoa stock.

Cocoa is a valuable global crop for major in-dustries. Annual world consumption of cocoa beans averages approximately 600,000 tons per year. But, West African farmers have been com-plaining of unpredictable rains, and unusual higher temperatures that is fattening up cocoa beans and causing them to dry. Many cocoa pods are also found to be rotten with black pod disease.

Indeed, yield has already declined and will con-tinue in this downward trend. Eventually, choc-olate prices might surge severely. In Ghana and Ivory Coast, scientists are trying to develop new disease resistant varieties and drought-resistant cocoa trees, and urging farmers to replant trees in cooler places or zones less prone to flooding.

As for fighting climate changes, delegates from nearly 200 countries met in South Africa on November 28, for climate talks. According to

the Associate Press news (December 3), the top U.N. climate official said that she is opti-mistic that industrial countries will agree on cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

But till solutions become available, and till regulations are actually implemented on in-dustries, let us cherish some special facts about chocolate before it is too late:

-The word ‘Chocolate’ comes from the Aztec word, cacahuatl, which means bitter water.

The finding of chocolate residue in an ancient Maya pots suggests that Mayans were drink-ing chocolate 2,600 years ago, and proving that chocolate was first drunk rather than eaten.

-The Aztecs associated cocoa with Xochiquet-zal, the goddess of fertility, believing that the beans originated in paradise and anyone who ate them was blessed with wisdom and energy.

-The scientific term for the Cocoa Tree is ‘Theobroma Cacao’, which is a Greek word meaning, “Food for the Gods.”

-You need to eat a dozen chocolate pieces to get the same amount of caffeine as that in a cof-fee cup.

-Chocolate is a great source of iron, one ounce of cocoa contains 10 percent of the daily recom-mendation of this mineral.

-Chocolate may interact with a number of neu-rotransmitter systems such as dopamine, sero-tonin and endorphins, thus affecting one’s ap-petite and mood. It alleviates depression, high blood pressure, and pre-menstrual syndromes.

-The melt in the mouth sensation that differ-entiates one chocolate brand to another is due to the difference in processing, particularly the tempering step.

- Two debunked myths are: chocolate can cause acne and headaches.

-Chocolate can be deadly for dogs due to an ingredient called “Theobromine” which can be toxic to their central nervous system and car-diac muscles.

-The discovery of microwaves was due to choc-olate. As scientists were developing the mag-netron for better radar detectors, a magnetron melted a chocolate bar in a scientist’s pocket. Eventually, he applied the magnetron’s ability in cooking food.

Things You Might Not Know About Alcohol Baraa El-Sabbagh Vice President of the Nutrition Society

How often do you hear your friends complaining about the “beer belly” they’re getting because they’re drinking too much? Actually, the more alcohol we replace with food, the more weight we lose. A 5-10% addition of alcohol into your regular energy intake will cause a small weight gain. Oddly enough, an ad-dition of 25% of alcohol to your regular energy in-take will actually cause weight loss, but this will cause many other risk factors relating to your health, even potential death.

If you drink alcohol on an empty stomach it reaches the brain in 1-2 minutes. However, if you eat before drinking, the time required for the alcohol to reach the rest of your body is actually delayed. Eating high fat and high protein foods, like cheese, is known to delay the release of alcohol into your circulation. But make sure to try and stay away from those delicious nuts they serve with drinks. They actually make you thirstier and cause you to drink more; drinking too much will get you drunk even if your stomach isn’t empty. Also, be careful with diet beer. It may contain

less sugar, but it actually has more alcohol.

Something a lot of people do is drink coffee to reverse the effects of excess alcohol. However, both are diuretics and will actually cause receptors in your brain to stop sending signals to drink water and this leads to dehydration. What actually helps is the intake of fruits. The sugar in fruits will speed up the process of clearing your body of alcohol.

Women have a higher fat distribution, smaller livers, and a smaller body size than men. For this reason alcohol, which doesn’t dissolve in fat, gets concentrated in more areas. This causes the alcohol to reach the brain faster. The same applies for men with higher fat than muscle content.

Ever feel warmer when you drink a glass of wine? It’s because small amounts of alcohol cause more blood to flow through your blood vessels. More blood flowing through your arteries actually helps to widen them (relate this to your arteries becom-

ing less prone to being clogged), which reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, too much alcohol will actually have a reverse effect and in-crease your blood pressure.

An interesting thing to know is that a mortality graph in relation to alcohol consumption shows that those who drink no alcohol have a higher mortality rate than those who drink 6-18 grams of alcohol a day. This is about 1 or 2 glasses of wine. Drinking this amount of alcohol helps widen your arteries and helps increase your carbohydrate storage, which in turn lead to lower mortality rates.

During a night out, try drinking half a glass of al-cohol every hour (not more) in order to avoid ac-cumulating a high amount of alcohol in the blood. Drinking small amounts of alcohol with time also helps increase your alcohol tolerance. Always re-member, while a small amount of alcohol is good for you, excessive drinking has dangerous health effects.

Page 5Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

Page 6ViewpoiNT Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

Made in FranceGrégoire Dugueyt Staff Writer

Avoir l’opportunité de partir à l’étranger pen-dant un an comporte de nombreux avantages bien connus tels que l’apprentissage d’une nou-velle langue, la découverte d’une autre culture et la rencontre de personnalités diverses qui ren-dent ce séjour enrichissant à tout point de vue. Cependant, il en existe bien d’autres moins con-nus mais tout aussi importants. L’un d’entre eux est la découverte de l’image que véhicule son pays d’origine à l’étranger. Comment la France est-elle perçue à Beyrouth? Peut-on généraliser la vision libanaise de la France à d’autres pays? Cet article n’a pas vocation de répondre précisé-ment à toutes ces questions mais plutôt de don-ner des pistes de réflexion. Lorsque les discussions commencent avec des étudiants étrangers, l’image du Français tra-ditionnel avec sa marinière, ses bateaux, son

verre de vin rouge, sa baguette, son fromage et son béret apparait très rapidement. Habitué à ces clichés, cela nous fait sourire, mais quand la discussion devient plus sérieuse, on aperçoit se dessiner, derrière cette image de bon vivant, l’image de marque et la force que représente le « made in France ». Le prêt-à-porter, la haute couture, la joail-lerie et la nourriture sont autant de domaines pour lesquels la qualité du « made in France » est porteuse. En effet, il suffit de se balader dans le quartier chic des « Beirut suqs » pour voir se côtoyer Chanel, Yves Saint-Laurent, Hermès et Chopard. Ces boutiques de luxe donnent presque un air de place Vendôme au cœur du Proche-Orient. Par ailleurs, des enseignes de prêt-à-porter telles que Kookai vante le « made in Paris » sur les devantures de leur magasin en

plein cœur de Hong-Kong par exemple.

Quant à la nourriture française, elle n’est pas en reste et sort aussi grande gagnante des discussions comparant les différentes spéciali-tés culinaires européennes. Que c’est amusant d’entendre un italien amateur de cuisine dis-serter avec passion sur notre salade de chèvre-chaud ou sur notre pot au feu. Alors à l’heure où nos entreprises françaises délocalisent, à l’heure où la fierté d’être fran-çais est mal vue, à l’heure où la conjoncture économique est au plus mal, cela fait un bien fou d’entendre à Beyrouth ou à Hong-Kong en passant par Mexico que le « made in France » est toujours porteur pour un grand nombre d’étrangers.

Rida Daher Staff Writer

Described as the highest profile series of young-adult novels after J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter se-ries, the Hunger Games Trilogy is positioned to claim the crown of fandom at least for the next few years. First published in 2009, Suzanne Collins’s trilogy resolves about a post apocalyptic world where the United States is now called Panem; a dystopian society where North America is divided into 12 districts. Katniss Everdeen, a 16 years old citizen is trying to survive this gory world; where food is scarce and white is rarely seen. Living with her mother and sister, Katniss poaches from the gov-ernment and trades in the black market to take care of her family. The essence of the book lies in the idea that each year the capitol forces each of the twelve districts to offer two children as tribute and as punishment for holding a rebellion against the Government a century before. The 24 tributes are put in an arena where they fight till death on live television. The Books are also similar to Meyer’s twilight series in

terms of the love triangle. But now it centers on katniss, Peeta and Gale instead of Bella, Edward and Jacob. One must keep in mind that the books are quite violent given that 23 players are set to die and only one survivor makes it out of the arena. The narrative is quite compelling and the setting of the books is fairly recognizable while remaining exotic. Notable writer Stephen King commented on the trilogy saying “constant suspense…I couldn’t stop reading.” Furthermore it is worth mentioning that the first book is now being made into a motion pic-ture event directed by Gary Ross (Seabiscuit) and starring Jennifer Lawrence (winter’s Bone, X-men first class), Josh Hutcherson (the kids are alright) and Liam Hemsworth (the last song). While still in post-production, the movie will be released across cinemas next March. The trailer has already made its way to the web and it looks very promising. Make sure to check it online

Book Review: The Hunger Gamesor simply buy the books if you can’t wait till its release. And,as Suzanne Collins says, “May the odds be in your favor.”

Page 7

Message from the USFC Vice President ContinuedMario Abou Zeid USFC Vice President

URL: http://www.flickr.com/photos/51788915@N06/5537184218/in/set-72157624853784962

Student Benefits• Graduate Assistant Stipends• Thesis Advising International Students

Academic• Online Application• Specialized Career Advising• Arabic “Gutenberg” Project Follow-up Issues• Cafeteria• Interactive USFC Website Human Resources

*For details on platform items, please send an email to msa89@aub.edu.lb

Our faculties act like independent cities. It is true that each have their own social structures, guidelines, needs, and interests; however, they do share similar concerns. While these facul-ties should be autonomous, the SRC/USFC is a place where common issues can be addressed. In order to accomplish our goals, we need to have an active, committed and professional SRC/USFC this year that will lead us as one team, which will re-build trust and confidence between us in order to better serve the entire

AUB Community. We need to organize efficiently in order to mobilize effectively; for now is the time to work hard, stay true to ourselves, our commitments, our platform and what we need to accomplish. By being sincere, honest and dedicated to student office, we will not only affect change at

ViewpoiNT

Heather Jaber Staff Writer

“We respect that duty, but to make it into an of-ficial location - that’s not going to work,” men-tioned the Dean. “It’s a place for learning, for meeting other people, for tolerance - not for clos-ing up rooms and saying ‘this is my space.’” “It’s a room, it’s not a mosque,” says Hiba Ko-beissi, Mechanical Engineering major. Ali Harfouch, Political Science and Public Ad-ministration Junior, touched on what some stu-dents refer to as a contradiction in AUB’s secular stance. “Secularism claims to be tolerant and neu-tral towards all religions. So, one is tempted to ask how neutral is AUB, in that it won’t grant the large Muslim community a prayer room, yet there is a

church on campus.”

Nizameddin explained that what was once a chapel is now used only as an assembly hall. “The Board of Trustees decided to make it into a secu-lar assembly hall where all religions can converge, and all people, so that the university isn’t associat-ed with one religion or one sect. So the spirit of the university, if you look at the original mission state-ment, is that you have all people - believers and non-believers - together as equal citizens without promoting the agenda of one religion or having them compete with each other on campus.” Nizameddin also touched on the political and

cultural implications that must be considered. “[In Lebanon,] because religion and politics are so intertwined, it’s a risky thing.”

“We’ve asked religious scholars in Islam; if you have a class…if you have something, you can de-lay your prayer, if it really is that pressing. There is always time [to pray]. Many people go and pray in the mosque [down the street] and they can go and perform their duty to God and it’s not a problem.” Noting the endless complications that could arise from such a petition, Nizameddin concluded by remarking “Just keep it secular.”

Is there a place for prayer on campus? Continued

Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

AUB, but we will help encourage future oppor-tunities and improvements in our society and demonstrate AUB students’ potential as future leaders. With success comes great responsibility, a re-sponsibility that will take us on a journey with no boundaries and no frontiers.

Page 8ouTloud

What do you want for Christmas?Mohammad Yaghi Staff Writer / Mohammad B. Azzam Photographer

“Mac-Book Pro be-cause I’m going into architecture, so I might need it.” – Maria Bou Rizk

“Star Wars: Old Re-public because I love Star Wars” – Raja Ricahi

“A beer-hat, so I can drink my beer.” – Mamoun Mahayni

“I want to graduate.” – Rami Salam

“A car like a Mercedes because I need a car.” – Mohammad Slim

“Some really nice boots because I need them.” – Tanya Dib

“A Pokémon in real life. Like Charizard.” – Assaad Khoury

“A Ferrari because I want to be a chick-magnet.” – Adam Sleyman

“Free tuition because financial aid isn’t helping us.” – Melhem Chemait

“I really want Russell Crowe and for the poor to not be hun-gry. Also for people to have the Christ-mas spirit and less freaky Santas.” – Maria Achkar

Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

Page 9Campus News Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

Dima Nasser Staff Writer / Mohammad B. Azzam Photographer

Calina Ammache, 19, an education junior at AUB, described the way Moodle has changed her study-ing habits by saying, “It makes information easily accessible and facilitates communication with the professor.”Yara Suleiman, 18, an education major, said that Moodle adds extra information and makes notes available online so that students don’t have to wor-ry about them.Maria Antoun, 20, an English literature senior, said, “Moodle tends to make things easier and clearer for the student.”Moodle, a popular technological trend at AUB, of-fers students and professors a medium of com-munication and a platform for new learning and teaching methods, said Wissam Nahas, eLearning manager at AUB. When asked about how Moodle has affected his teaching style, Professor David Wrisley, the chair of the English department at AUB said, “Moodle is fantastic for the knots and bolts of handling teaching.” Wrisley explained that since Moodle offers several options for interactivity; it serves specific func-tions that benefit his teaching method with differ-ent types of courses. “How it changes your teach-ing depends a lot on how you use its functionality,” said Wrisley. Although 75 to 80 percent of AUB’s faculty mem-bers have become accustomed to Moodle and use it to conduct their courses, according to Nahas, there are some professors who have an aversion to the program. Nabil Dajani, professor and chair of the sociology, anthropology and media studies department, said that Moodle has complicated his teaching because even when he posts the course material online students don’t make use of it. Dajani pointed out that our culture is an oral one; people would much rather face-to-face communi-cation than indirect online interaction.Moodle is a learning management system that AUB adopted in 2006, explained Nahas. Its soft-ware license is free of charge and allows adminis-trators to modify its features and layout in accor-dance with professors’ needs and requests. Nahas added that Moodle is a valuable educa-tion asset because it includes features such as chat tools, discussion forms, online quizzes, databases, etc.According to an informal survey conducted be-tween November 14 and 21, 2011, 95 percent of the randomly interviewed AUB students said that using Moodle for their courses does in fact help them with their learning process. When asked whether or not they prefer using Moodle as a learning system integrated into their

courses, 85 percent answered yes. Ammache, however, said, “It depends on how the teacher uses Moodle.”Supporters of Moodle have described it as user-friendly and easy to handle. Workshops are held during the first two weeks of every semester to instruct faculty members on how to use Moodle’s features and activities, said Nahas. It is a relatively straightforward system once the user becomes familiar with it, said Wrisley, not to mention that it is environmentally-friendly.Dajani, however, said that Moodle is a compli-cated system and he much prefers contacting his students by e-mail, considering himself an old-fashioned faculty member. AUB is planning to implement Moodle 2, a faster version, during the summer, said Nahas. It is in-tegrated with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, has improved features and is expect-ed to be running by next fall.Whether or not students are tempted to skip class more often because the course material is avail-able online was addressed in the informal poll. According to the results, 30 percent of the inter-viewees answered yes. The reason for students skipping class is not linked to Moodle, according to Wrisley. It’s more related to the professor’s teaching style. If stu-dents feel there is nothing to gain from the in-teraction with professors, it thus makes sense for them not to attend class – regardless of whether

Should We Hand Over Management to Moodle?

or not the information is available on Moodle, said Wrisley. Results of the informal survey indicate that 75 percent of the student sample feels that Moodle does not make them rely more on their profes-sors.When asked about what AUB can do to make learning more efficient for students, Adnan Abu Khadra, a business senior, said, “Profes-sors would do well to explain material instead of reading slides.” Yazan Halwani, 18, CCE sophomore, said that professors should have material, such as correct-ed exercises, uploaded on Moodle. Dajani said that aside from face-to-face commu-nication, supplying students with the audiovisual material in class is better than using Moodle and spending time and money developing it. “[Moodle] is a good way of communicating with students,” said Wrisley. “It’s a little hard imagin-ing not having it.”

This article was written for the course SOAN 205 titled “Basic News Reporting.”

Page 10Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

Interview with Previous AUB student, Jamal Al ‘AwarDeedee El-Jilani Contributing Writer & Cartoonist / Mohammad B. Azzam Photographer

AUB has produced many well-known figures that shape up the face of Lebanon, including politicians, artists, billionaires and inventors, and a Hollywood actor, who recently acted in the latest Arabian movie Black Gold that stars big names like Antonio Banderas and Mark Strong. Working on other projects at the mo-ment, Outlook got the chance to catch up with Jamal Al’Awar and ask a few questions.

How did you get to play a role in the movie? Casted. A friend told me about an online cast-ing in Masrah Beirut. There were about 200 Lebanese actors auditioning. This happened last February. In August I got a call from the direc-tor to go to Syria. There I was among the 15 final actors, then there was only another persona and me, and eventually, the director picked me.

Where was the movie filmed? In Qatar and Tunisia.

How long did it take to make the movie? Well, there are the pre-production, produc-tion and post-production phases. The pre-pro-duction was the casting part, the production, or shooting of the movie, was from October 2010 to March 2011, and the post production took place until the movie came out.

What was your favorite part of acting in Black Gold? I have two favorite parts. One was when we were doing a decoy against the other people, it was the first time I got to shoot a Thompson. The second part was when I had to bring down a plane. I was the only one alive in a desert of corpses.

What was your favorite part of Black Gold as a viewer? Running towards the water, which was the last scene filmed. I loved the cinematography, it was an epic way of portraying how they did it. After watching the movie, I had closure. The scenes of Sultan Ammar were good, and Mark Strong is also a brilliant actor.

What was it like to work with Antonio Ban-deras? First of all, he’s a human, he doesn’t fly, he doesn’t shoot laser beams from his eyes. Sec-ond, as a person, he’s really cool, spontaneous, giving. He does a lot of yoga and he’s very gen-erous, he takes us out and insists on paying, that kind of stuff. He is an interesting character, very smart too. He’s a Real Madrid fan, and I used to make fun of him about it, I’m a Man. United fan. He’s 52 years old but says he feels like he’s in his thirties.

Have you always wanted to act? Yes, since I was ten. But I used to only act in plays, this was the first time I was in a movie. It was also the first time I got paid to act, its always been just a hobby, I would have paid to do it. Its something that pays the rent, and pays the heart.

Would you come back to AUB to finish your degree in Agribusiness? Last year I made a choice, either to follow my dreams or to continue Agribusiness. So it was either a safe comfort 9-5 work day future, or to choose a more dangerous future, with freedom, to follow my dreams. I’m not coming back to AUB, I’m going to London for an act-ing school there. I still didn’t get in.

I know that you have acted in AUB before, which was your favorite play? I have two favorites, one is Shi Feshel when I was 15 years old. I was the youngest actor and it was performed in AUB. My second one was last year’s Bomb Soir. I was part of the writ-ing team and part of the directing team. At the end, the play was a part of all of us.

I remember you had a poem in Bomb Soir called Time. Yes, very deep wasn’t it? (laughs), “Time, time, time! One o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock!” (laughs again.)

So what is your next step now? There are many next steps. There are two plays, a webseries, and a Lebanese film. The most concrete one is a chess-like play in AUB. Another is called Phasoliya, it’s going to come out in the upcoming Spring semester. The web-series is still looking for funding, it’s called Shid Hallak. The film, I don’t know much about, it was just talk. These are my options. The perfect next step would be another major blockbuster Hollywood movie with big movie stars, but that’s not going to happen soon. There was a Film Festival, my friend and I wrote and shot it in 48 hours, that was the beginning of our webseries Shid Hallak.

There are many students in AUB who have dreams like yours but are limited to what they can do in AUB. What would you say to them? Petitions and petitions, anything just to get the petition through. It’s sad that AUB that has been around since 1866 and doesn’t even have its own acting school. It’s not progressing in the arts, and it’s ironic because the buildings, the landscape, everything about AUB can in-spire people to be in the arts. So why take that away from them?

arTs aNd CulTure

What are you doing currently? Currently I’m doing an internship in ILO (In-ternational Labor Organization). It’s a part of the UN. Just something else to add to my fat CV, (laughs.) I’m not just into acting, I’m smart too.

So to you, is there no limit? There are no guarantees in life. So you grab whatever opportunity you can and go with it.

Would you prefer in your acting career to work in Hollywood or the Arab world? I don’t mind both. One has the high visibil-ity and production; the other reflects yourself. The next step I’m going to be picky about. But I wouldn’t mind acting here. I wouldn’t mind where because these actors have been acting be-fore I was born, they have a lot to teach me and I have a lot to learn. I’m just getting the experi-ence.

What did you miss most while you were away? I missed Hamra Street itself. When you expe-rience so much in one place it rubs off on you. I didn’t miss the taboule and other such things, I didn’t miss the touristic sites like Jeita Grotto, or Skiing in Faraya. I missed the cultural sites.

Hamra means a lot to you? Yes, it does. It’s a bunch of different things and aspects and lifestyles compressed into one street. You can find yourself in it because it has a little bit of everything. It’s perfect the way it is.

Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

arTs aNd CulTure Page 11

Students’ myths about food poisoning Loulwa Kalache Staff Writer

A student who died from food poisoning, just after his graduation party, was TV’s most re-markable news story last summer. Perhaps his case was extreme, but students do tend to dis-regard the fact that they can get food poisoned. Thus, it is essential to raise awareness about a few myths surrounding the subject:

Myth 1, “A Student had dinner in a restau-rant with his friends and spent the night back at home with nausea, followed by fever, vomiting and, diarrhea.”

He blames the AC in the restaurant or the windy weather. But, in medical terms there is no such thing as wind causing such symptoms. It is what he ate that caused this.

Myth 2: “It is just a 24-hour flu.” Actually, food poisoning often produces the same symp-toms as the flu, but most students never asso-ciate these symptoms with something they ate. Part of the problem is that they don’t realize that it takes from 24 hours to 72 hours for bacteria to make them sick.

Myth 3: “But only one of the students got poisoned and all of them ate at the same res-taurant.” It is not necessary that all have to be ill especially if each one is ordering different plates. And even if someone ate from the same plate, the bacteria or a toxin doesn’t have to be all over the plate, which implies that it is pos-sible for only one student to be poisoned.

Myth 4: “Students believe that they are still young and healthy, therefore they are invulner-able to food poisoning.” But they have to real-ize that immunity is only against pathogens, “bugs” that cause food borne illness . True, they might have immunity against pathogens, but not against toxins produced by the bacte-ria. Toxins don’t create immune system mem-ory and therefore immunity. So, even a specific amount of a toxin ingested can cause breath-ing shortage, paralysis or even death within a few hours.

Bottom line, this article is not meant to cause public outrage, rather, there are certain risks that we have to be aware of and we have to ad-

mit that they are occurring. Here is what one can do to avoid a food poisoning incident:

1-Take care when you eat. Choose well cooked meals rather than raw. You may order rare cooked steaks as they are not hazardous. How-ever, make sure you order well done burgers.

2- Choose a clean restaurant: Certain res-taurants have the HACCP and ISO 2200. Have your eyes on these certificates. They are indica-tors that the restaurants apply safety and quality control principles.

3- Don’t be afraid to check the kitchen. It is your right to know the quality of what you are eating. It is the same as choosing a product in the supermarket. You wouldn’t choose the ce-real with an open package, or cheese with an ex-pired date. What is the difference between this and ordering a salad that is not washed prop-erly?

“Don’t miss the chance to be a protagonist” RomeMUN 2012— Taste the complexity of international relations!Maya Terro Special-to-Outlook

RomeMUN is an international conference which attracts each year hundreds of interna-tional students from all over the world to enjoy a great conference on rural poverty-food secu-rity, sustainability, and visiting one of the most ancient and beautiful cities in the world. It’s not only a great chance to visit one of the beautiful capitals of Europe, but also a chance to meet ac-tive and interesting young people not only from Europe, but from all over the world. Model UN conferences really give a person experience, knowledge and skills. Applications for Rome-MUN 2012 are now open! Fill in the application form on our website and experience the MUN world! Many scholarships and financial aid are available for International Students.

2012 Edition

After the amazing experience of RomeMUN 2011 with hundreds of students coming from

28 different countries around the world, the Giovani nel Mondo association presents the third edition of Rome Model United Nations: the biggest international Model UN confer-ence in Italy. The current world economic cri-sis has deepened social inequalities between rich and poor countries and urban and rural areas, giving rise to higher numbers of hungry and vulnerable people in the world. This is why our research committee gladly announces that the 2012 mission of RomeMUN will be: “NEW IMAGES FOR OUR FUTURE: DEVELOP-MENT-RESOURCES-COOPERATION”. Is-sues about social development, sustainability, nuclear disarmament, sustainable energy, gen-der equality, greater market access, technology transfer to developing countries, strengthen-ing disaster preparedness in the agricultural sector, water and irrigation management will be some of the topics under discussion during the five-day simulation of the General Assem-

bly and its sub-committees during next March.

Selection and Application Procedures

RomeMUN third edition will take place on March 19-23 (dates to be confirmed) in Rome, Italy, hosted by UN buildings and university structures. Individual candidates have to fill in the application form online and send a CV and a motivation letter to info@romemun.org. Del-egations have to fill in the application form on-line and send a CV for each member of the del-egation and a single motivation letter to info@romemun.org.

You can fill the application here:http://www.romemun.org/en/application.php#whereandhowhttp://www.romemun.org/en/application.php#whereandhow

Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

Page 12Campus News Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

Renowned Banker and AUB Alumnus Elias Aractangi signs his book at OSB

Hadi Mehio Staff Writer

About the Author

Mr. Elias Aractangi holds a BBA from the AUB Business School and an MBA from Columbia University School of Business. He is an estab-lished name in the Global Retail Banking Sector, with a very solid experience ranging from leading banks in New York, as well as Booz& Co., as well as BLOM Bank in Lebanon.

The Book-Signing

On Monday the 12th of December, the Olayan School of Business welcomed back its alumnus Mr. Elias Aractangi, a retail banking executive of the highest caliber in the Maamari Auditorium to sign his book “Boosting You” Dr. Imad Baalbaki, AUB’s Assistant Vice Presi-dent for Development, introduced Mr. Aractangi as “one of those that make sure that he contrib-utes-and gives back to his Alma Mater.” “All the proceeds out of the book sales go for the bright-but not as financially capable as they are mentally capable- to have the experience he himself had some years back,” Dr. Baalbaki added. In other words, the money generated by the book aims at funding a scholarship for a worthy OSB student in need.Mr. Aractangi himself had his warm words of AUB, labeling it as the institution that “gave me my passport to a good career and further educa-

tion.” Mr. Aractangi briefly presented himself and his achievements in retail banking, then briefly presented why he wrote the book and why he thinks it is important. Finally, Mr. Aractangi thanked everyone who contributed in making the book and the event a success, and proceeded to sign the book for the Maamari Audience of Executives.

About the Book

According to Aractang, “Boosting You” is the answer to a question that he has asked himself: “Corporate environments tend to group many ex-ecutives with a very similar mix of IQ, social skills, education, experience, hard work, and opportu-nity- yet some succeed wildly better than others-Why?” Then, Mr. Aractangi convinces his peer execu-tives that the answers sought are in the book. “Working on yourself can help you take this tre-mendous power that is inside you and help you work towards what you want to achieve,” he says. The book, which is sold online on Amazon and Barnes &Noble for 20$, shows managers how to:1. Use emotions to achieve-instead of having them hinder you.2. Work when things are not going your way.3. Rebound quickly from failure:“The longer you stay down, the more people will think of you as a person who has fallen and the

longer it would take you for getting up.”4. “The hurdles troubling you are internal” and “the more frustrated you are, the more you can be innovative.”5. “Success with Momentum brings More Success, but any relaxation or going easy on your-self makes you lazy.”

“Breaking the Barriers” Antoine Ayoub Contributing Writer

“Breaking the Barrier,” was an all-day event for the disabled hosted by the Center for Civic En-gagement and Community Service (CCECS). The event that included the participation of Ar-cenciel, Catholic Relief Services, Lebanese Au-tism Society, Lebanese Down Syndrome Asso-ciation, and the Youth Association for the Blind, began at AUB’s West Hall and moved to differ-ent locations across the campus. The event began with two seminars and in-teractive discussions. The topics discussed were on the inclusion of the disabled in the Lebanese school system along with the normal students, and the inclusion of the disabled afterwards in the workplace respectively. The videos were of disabled people interacting in society. They also revealed the potential of properly accom-

modating the disabled in Lebanon. In addition, the AUB campus was put to the test when the disabled themselves experimented with the ac-cessibility of the university’s campus. Afterwards, there were competitions for AUB’s guests, which included a poetry and poetry rec-itation contest for the visually–impaired. Later, the AUB Drama Club contributed with a prac-tice session, where they collaborated with chil-dren with Down Syndrome. The day came to an end with the screening of the movie “Rain Man.” The money raised through this event was to contribute to CCECS’s upcoming event “Blind Date.” The Lebanese constitution of today still lacks, in terms of laws, a support to the disabled, and aids to involve them in Lebanese society. More-

over, similarly to the women’s rights move-ment in Lebanon, which has obtained tangible and plausible results during the past decades, its campaign for supporting and improving the lives of the disabled is still at its childhood. Various national and international organiza-tions are working hard and persevering in the face of many political and economic obstacles. This constitutes the main reason why events such as “Breaking the Barrier” aim to acquire as much as possible.

ouTlook Team

ChairPerson

editor-in-Chief

assoCiate editor

arabiC editor

PhotograPhy editor

Layout editor

Webmaster

Pr manager

business manager

Proofreader

member-at-Large

Layout team

neWs exeCutives

PhotograPhers

staff Writers

sarah ZayTouN

loulwa kalaChe

GreGoire duGueyT

JoN marTiN Cullell

edward abou Jaoude

roberT isaf

Cartoonists

Talal NiZameddiN

loJiNe kamel

Nour JaNe kaChiCho

Nouhad awwad

mohammad b. aZZam

NadiNe raZZouk

mohamad al medawar

emile ZaNkoul

Timmy malkouN

Camelia harb

TraCy dariaNe

aNNeGreT fuNke

Nabile saleh

dalia hosN

ali kassem

moNa ayoub

TuGCe CoskuN

lara saab

khalid abou kossem

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

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

Tuesday, deCember 13, 2011

Errata: In Volume 44, Issue 8, the viewpoint by Staff Writer Christoph Hanger entitled: The For-gotten Conflict was mislabeled under the title “The Special Tribunal for Lebanon: Interna-tional Justice or International Intervention.”

The interview featured on page 6 was with Professor Neville Al Asaad Salha, whose last name was neglected in the previous issue.

In Volume 44, Issue 7, in the article “Is student’s Privacy Being Jeopardized?,” due to miscommunication, the Dean of Student Affairs office was not contacted concerning the CCTV system.

Page 13

صفحة 14 الثاثاء , 13 كانون األول, 2011

تعرف عىل النادي الثقايف السوريمنى أيوب كاتبة صحفية

السورييون هم أهل الكرم و الضيافة...

السورييون هم أهل الشهامة و البطوالت...

سوريا الحضارة و الشعر و الثقافة....سوريا نزار قباين...

هكذا أرى سوريا ...و هكذا أرى أهل سوريا.. اآلن و أبدا.... و ليس بالصورة

غري اللبقة البعيدة عن الواقع التي أنتجتها اإلنقسامات السياسية اللبنانية...

مل تكن إذن مفاجأة بالنسبة يل أن أسمع رئيس النادي الثقايف السوري،رشاد

حمور، يحدثني عن الثقافة السورية و عن أخالق أهلها...

إلتقيته لنتحدث عن رسالة و أهداف النادي.

» النادي هو ثقايف بحت.. ال عالقة له بالسياسة أبدا... نشاطاته متنوعة؛ فهي الذي كالحدث ثقافية إما و تخييم، أو تعارف كتنظيم رحالت ترفيهية، إما

نظم السنة املاضية عن نزار قباين«.

يقول حمور أن النادي ، الذي أسس عام 2000، هو من األقدم يف الجامعة،و هو

واحد من أكرث األندية نشاطا. حاليا، يضم حوايل 200 عضو ، و إن كان أغلبهم

من الجالية السورية يف الجامعة .

النادي غري تابع ألي حزب سيايس أو ديني ، فهو مثال ال يتلقى دعام من السفارة

السورية ، باستثناء الدعم املعنوي، و هو يشارك يف اإلنتخابات الطالبية بصفة

مستقلة.

يتعاون النادي مع العديد من النوادي الطالبية األخرى كبادرة تعاون و انفتاح.

و هو يقوم بنشاطات يف مختلف املناسبات الدينية اإلسالمية و املسيحية.

Syrian Cultural:الفيسبوك صفحة زوروا ، املعلومات من ملزيد

Club at AUB

الشباب والحبجاد شمس الدين كاتب صحفي

الحب هو نشاط فطري يصيب البرش والكائنات الحية عىل اختالف انواعها.الجسد،حب الطبيعة،حب املال،حب النفس،حب حب انواع: للحب

التعلم،حب الله،حب الدين، حب الجنس، الحب الرومنيس...

الكلمة هذه عىل الطاغي املعنى أن إال واختالفها، الحب أنواع تعدد رغم

بيولوجي نشاط نتيجة هو بالتحديد الحب هذا و الرومنيس. الحب هو

فطري ورضوري لإلنسان. و هو يطغى يف سن الشباب، بحيث يكون النشاط

البيولوجي يف أعىل مستوياته.

فبعد الحقيقي. ملعناه تحول جذري حالة اليوم مجتمعاتنا الحب يف يعيش

)الحب واألحاسيس املشاعر من مجموعة القريب باألمس الحب كان أن

الرومنيس(، أصبح اليوم مجموعة من الغرائز الجنسية وسبيال لسد الشهوات

)الحب الشهواين(. ورواد عملية التحول هذه هم الشباب بالدرجة االوىل.عن يبحث بل األبدي، الحقيقي الحب عن يبحث ال اليوم الشاب املجتمع

الحب املؤقت، حب امللذات. و الحب الشهواين الذي دامئا ما تكون نهايته الندم

والحرسة عىل الوقت الذي ذهب يف الاليشء.

الذي األبدي، الحقيقي، الرومنيس، األخالقي، الحب هو يل بالنسبة الحب

أجعله أن أو االخر الطرف وأحاسيس بالتالعب مبشاعر يسمح يل ال بدوره

ضحية شهوايت وغرائزي الجنسية. و مبديئ هذا هو الذي يدفعني للتفكري ألف

مرة قبل الدخول يف أي عالقة عاطفية.

هي هنا أو هناك .... و »خلص«منى أيوب كاتبة صحفية

يف علم النفس يفرقون بني الرؤية و اإلدراك... فكثرية األشياء التي نراها.. و

كم قليلة هي التي ندركها...

يف القطط ، الطعام ، النجوم و القمر , السامء ، الطبيعة ، النهار و الليل

الجامعة، املطر، البحر، وجهنا يف املرآة....

عاطفة األم ، تفاين األب ، دفء األصدقاء ، لذة العمل... عيون كثرية عمياء.. و قلوب كثرية غافلة عن سحر كل ما يف هذه األشياء ... و

روعة كل ما يف هذا العامل...

إنها أشياء نراها يوميا ... و لكنها أصبحت من البديهيات يف حياتنا ... ال تأخذ

الكثري من تفكرينا... فهي هنا أو هناك و » خلص«...

الحياة رسيعة و املشاغل كثرية ....من يهمه أن يدرك جامل هذه األشياء؟؟ ... من يهمه أن يدرك اإلعجاز يف حركتها و دورتها...؟؟ من يهمه إدراك أهميتها

و دورها يف حياتنا..؟؟.

يرتدد يف ذهننا : نعم... هي جميلة و مهمة و معجزة ...و لكن ، ماذا بعد؟

هي هنا أو هناك .... و »خلص«.

إن التفكر يف كل ما حولنا رمبا ال يطعم خبزا .. و لكنه يطعم الروح...

يف » عجقة« الحياة و زحمة الحياة املادية ، كم هي مهمة لحظات الصفاء و

العودة إىل الروح...

لحظات يتوقف عندها الزمن و يسكت كل يشء...

عظمة و قدرة و روعة و ... حولنا ما كل روعة حق عن ندرك« « و خالقها...

يقولون إن السعادة الحقة هي يف انسجام الروح مع الكائنات حولها...

يقولون إن لحظات الصفاء تلك هي السعادة الحقة...فليصمت العامل من حولك... و تفكر.

هل تصح نبوءة ماركس؟ وئام دالل مساهم صحفي

أجاب مؤخرا معظم طالب إحدى الثانويات الفرنسية عن سؤال »من هو أكرب اقتصادي يف التاريخ«: »ماركس« من دون تردد. ملاذا و بعد 170 سنة

عىل نرشه كتاب »رأس املال« بالتعاون مع رفيق أنجلز يعود شبح الدكتور

سليل الحاخامات الذي قال عن كتابه » لن يحمل يل كتاب رأس املال ابدا مثن

كمية السيجار التي دخنتها لدى كتابته« إىل مخيلة شباب أوروبا الذين ما زال

اباؤهم يخربوهم عن الذكريات السوداء للنموذج الشيوعي األخري يف القرن

املايض أي االتحاد السوفيايت يف اوروبا الرشقية.

رمبا ألن هؤالء الشباب اليوم و أكرث من أي وقت مىض يخافون ان يعودوا و السياسية باملشاكل اىل زمن ميلء أي األورويب اإلتحاد تأسيس قبل ما اىل

السبب كانت والتي الفاشية أو النازية مثال عىل حكم أنظمة و املعيشية

املبارش ألزمة الكساد العاملي عام 1929. فيجدون يف نبوءة ماركس عن انهيار

النظام الرأساميل بعد سلسلة من املشاكل الداخلية والتي تنتهي بأزمة كربى

-أزمة ترشع األبواب لإلشرتاكية كمرحلة أوىل للشيوعية- تحليال منطقيا للواقع

ومالذ آمنا للتخفيف من املخاوف.

األزمة يف بعد ندخل مل اننا اىل تشري اليوم االقتصادية التحليالت فمعظم

الحقيقية بل فقط خرجنا من املرحلة األوىل متاما كام توقع الدكتور األحمر.

الربح فالرأساملية يف جوهرها نظام يقوم عىل االنتاج و إعادة االنتاج ألجل

الذي هو محرك السوق و الطريق اىل فنائها يف نفس الوقت. فيك تربح اكرث

عليك ان تقلل التكاليف و أهمها األجور, ولكن عليك كذلك أن تجعل السوق

مبدأ مع يتعارض ما وهو املواطن دخل تزيد أن عليك أي أكرث يستهلك

الرأساملية مشاكل اهم األجور هي مشكلة ماركس وحسب األجور. تقليل

و التي سوف ندخلها يف نفق من األزمات كان أولها عام .1929 واليوم تعاين

لفرتة وأوروبا العامل يبقى سوف الكلمة. بكل معنى أزمة وجود الرأساملية

العاملي النظام شكل سيكون وكيف األزمة ستنتهي كيف ينتظرون طويلة

الجديد، فهل سيقول ماركس كلمته األخرية يف هذا الرصاع املفتوح منذ قرن و

نصف ام أن الرأساملية ستتكيف مع الظروف كعادتها.

صفحة 15 الثاثاء , 13 كانون األول, 2011

النادي الثقايف الجنويب: عرض فيلم »لن متحو ذكرنا«محمد صربا - مصور مساهم

Bliss Street, West Hall 208 tel: 01 350 000 ext. 3193

الثالثاء , 13 كانون األول, 2011

جزء 44، عدد 9

الولد بيجي وبتجي رزقته معهنهاد غازي عواد محررة قسم اللغة العربية

هي فتاة مل تبلغ العارشة من العمر، تجر قربها ولد يف السابعة وطفلني احدهام

الطريق بال رقيب أو حسيب. الثالثة واآلخر يف سنته األوىل. ميشون عىل يف

استوقفني املشهد. سألتها عن أمها فاذا هي ترشب القهوة عند الجريان وأيضا

حامل. حسب تعبريها :« يف واحد جاي عالطريق«. أما األب املسكني فهو بائع

خضار. وهم ميشون عىل الطريق ل«يغريوا جو«. يقول املثل: إعقل وتوكل.

فالولد بحاجة لعناية وتربية وجهد مضني. ناهيك عن متطلبات هذا العرص.

كثرية هي هذه الحاالت يف مجتمعنا، ألن القاعدة السائدة هي:«الولد بيجي

وبتجي رزقته معه«. واملضحك املبيك أنهم يرجعون املوضوع اىل القرآن. وال

أدري عىل أي آية استندوا. فاآلية الكرمية » ال تقتلوا أوالدكم خشية إمالق،

الحمل وليس دعوة نرزقكم وإياهم« تتعلق بحرمة اإلجهاض يف حال نحن

لإلكثار من األوالد بدون تفكري بعواقب األمور.

من املؤكد أن الله حدد رزق الولد« ويف السامء رزقكم وما توعدون«. وأنه

الكثري من إنجاب يعني ال لكنه العيش. يستطيع أباه ليك جل وعال سريزق

فهناك إقتصادي، الولد حمل وانجاب زراعي. نعد مجتمع فنحن مل األوالد.

أراد اذا اال لبنان. العزيز بلدنا يف الظهر يقسامن اللذان والتعليم الطبابة

بدل خمسني ينجب أن فيمكنه تحته أو الفقر خط عىل العيش اإلنسان

الخمسة. ويف دراسة حديثة، حوايل ال28 % من سكان لبنان تحت خط فقر.

ان للكرة األرضية موارد محدودة والكثافة السكانية تتزايد باستمرار. حتى ان

منذ الشهر ولد الطفل السبعة مليار ولحسن الحظ -أنه لبناين. فنحن اللبنانيون

و الذي تطغى علينا صفة الشعب املستهلك أصبحنا منتجني للبرش و املصائب

نتغلب عليهم و عىل إال مسألة وقت حتى األرانب و ما هي بتنا نسابق و

فهو الثالث أما الثاين و األول الولد إلنجاب األسباب الجميع لدى أنفسنا.

ليسيل أخوته و الرابع إلغاظة الجارة و الخامس إلثبات ما تبقى من أنوثتها

و السادس ليك يحصل عىل لقب بطل اإلنتاج ، أما السابع فليس له طعمة و

ليتهم يعلمون أن السابقني. يا الثامنية التاسع ملضايقة إخوته الثامن مثله و

تجرى الدراسات العديد من وأن عاملية. أزمة غذاء يواجه البرشي املجتمع

إليجاد مصادر طاقة بديلة.

األمم تقرير فحسب مرتفع. ليس لبنان يف السكاين النمو معدل أن صحيح

املتحدة سنة 2006 يبلغ 1,05 من غري إحتساب الذين يف بالد اإلغرتاب. لكن

الكثافة السكانية هي من بني األعىل يف العامل حيث تبلغ ثالمثائة وخمسني إىل

أربعامئة شخص يف الكيلومرت املربع الواحد. فحتى حكومة السويد ال ميكنها

تأمني مستلزمات العيش الكريم والبنية التحتية لهذا العدد. اآلن عرفنا أحد

أسباب أزمة السري الخانقة. فانتباه من أن يفجر لبنان وتفجر معه دولتنا.

مشكلتنا ليست فقط قي الرشاوي واملحسوبيات، وليس يف الحروب التي بحمد

الله ساهمت يف خفض معدل الخصوبة لدى النساء اللبنانيات و ليس االستعامر

الذي رحل منذ مثانية و ستني سنة . ليس هذه العوامل هي فقط املسؤولة

عن تخلفنا ...إنها أنانية البعض و ال مسؤوليتهم و شطارتهم يف اإلنجاب .من

و املواصالت و املحروقات أزمة و الكهرباء تأمني و املياه املسؤول عن شح

التعليم و البطالة و التلوث ووووو....؟؟؟؟

الحكومية، املسشتفيات تثقيفية مجانا يف توزيع رزمة الفرتة األخرية تم يف

وتحتوي عىل معلومات إرشادية لضامن صحة األم والطفل، خاصة يف ما يتعلق

بالرضاعة الطبيعية وبلقاحات األطفال املتوفرة ، وبشهادة والدة تلخص التزام

املولود الجديد مبسؤولياته للحفاظ عىل كوكب أفضل. صحيح أن الخطوة أتت

متأخرة وما يزال هناك العديد من الجهود الذي يجب أن تبذل، لكنها بداية

واألمراض للتوليد اللبنانية الجمعية رئيس وقد رصح الخطوات. من للكثري

النسائية الدكتور فيصل القاق عن هذه الحملة بالقول:«ان الحملة سلطت

الضوء عىل مفهوم اإلنجاب كخيار يجب التخطيط له لضامن رعاية أفضل لألم

والطفل واألرسة بشكل عام. فبحسب القاق، يؤثر عدم املباعدة بني الوالدات،

فرتة وبعد أثناء الطبية املتابعة وعدم الحمل، قبل الطبيب استشارة وعدم

الضغط كارتفاع تعرضها ملشاكل من وتزيد املرأة، الحمل عىل سالمة صحة

الحميل، والطلق املبكر، والخضوع لوالدة قيرصية، ولضغوطات نفسية. ويذكر

بأن عدد الوالدات يف لبنان يرتاوح بني اثنني وستون ألفا وأربعة وستني ألف

والدة يف كل عام.«

األثرياء بينام أوالد ينجب عرشة لبنان الفقري يف ملاذا املحري: السؤال ويبقى

يكتفون بولد واحد وعىل أكرثها ولدين؟

http://www.alre7ab.com/userfiles

نرشة جوية...رسالة إىل املحرر – غدير نوفل

إستيقظ العرب أخريا عىل واقع حالهم املزري. إستيقظوا من سبات شتوي دام

قرابة الجيل الكامل من األنظمة املستبدة الطاغية، وحكام وحوايش صاغوا من

االمرباطوريات معان أخرى جديدة. كان للربيع يف عام 2011 تأثريا جديدا عىل

املنطقة العربية، حيث ألول مرة أفاق اإلنسان والطبيعة معا استفاقة تاريخية

سطرت بداية عهد جديد من حرية فوضوية...رمبا...من إصالح وفساد...رمبا

أيضا.

ثم مرص، ثم تونس، الجو. نرشة إمنا حالنا؛ تحيك األخبار نرشة عادت ما

البحرين، ثم وثم وثم...والقامئة ال تنتهي إال عند الرقم اثنني وعرشين. عدوى

ربيع دام تنتقل من بلد إىل آخر. دعوات إىل إصالح يف املاملك، وحراك شعبي

واسع أشعلته نار )بوعزيزي( الحرية، وحركته سواعد شبابية أثبتت أن إرادة

الشعوب املكبوتة مل تزل حية، وتحرقه نار من نوع آخر؛ نار مدافع الحكم.

وأصبح طقسنا كاآليت؛ ربيع يبدأ يف منطقة وخريف ينتهي يف أخرى بسقوط

آخر ورقة من شجرة الحكم اآليلة للسقوط... شتاء دافئ أصاب أنظمة تخىش

منطقة قلبت عارمة فوىض أحدثت عواصف الزهور...وعواصف. تفتح من

العرب رأسا عىل عقب. أنا ال أقول أن هذه الفوىض من النوع الضار، إمنا مل

والحريات واألحزاب السيايس الحراك من الكم هذا عىل منا الواحد يتعود

الجديدة التي تظهر عىل الساحة.

تقلبات جوية مصحوبة مبنخفضات غريبة املصدر، تضعنا تحت رحمة تساؤالت

شتاء قاس...هل هي فصول الطبيعة تلك التي تحركنا...أم فصول مرسحية؟

...يتقلب الطقس وال تنتهي النرشة.