September 26, 2012Vol. XLV, No. 3October 10, 2012

“Against the mockery of the beliefs of others”Ali KassemAssociate Editor

The American Univer-sity of Beirut is a diverse university with a student body that encompasses all sorts of people from all over the world. As a result, unity is not of the AUB’s strongest points. Rarely do the various clubs, divided according to religious sects and political affiliation as much as they are divided according to interest, come together. Eight AUB clubs re-versed this trend Friday and came together to protest and petition against recent high-profile insults directed to the prophet of

Islam. The clubs had a clear message. As Karim Zahed, who participated in the event, put it, “with freedom comes great responsibilities, that of not insulting others.” As to the unifying nature

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tantly, sexual harassment. Although AUB has policies against sexual harassment, multiple cases of the latter are reported every year. In the year 2011, there were three reported sexual harassment incidents, two of which ended with the culprit being caught and dismissed from the univer-sity. The third one remains unsolved. In August 2011, a student at AUB left her ten year-old daughter unattended in the area of Charles Hostler Stu-dent Center near the gym. A man approached the girl and convinced her to go

with him to the stairs of the Student Center with mali-cious intent. When the man tried to force himself on her, the child managed to injure him enough to escape and fled to the security guard at the gate of the Student Cen-ter. The man is assumed to have fled the scene. The guard understood nothing from the distraught child--only that her mother was at the gym. After the security office was notified of the incident, guards came to the scene. By that time, however, it was too late to locate and

capture the man. The girl gave a description of the culprit, but he was never found. Of course many other similar cases occur, but are handled internally or never actually reported by the victims themselves. It is important to note that the limited number of guards at AUB functions to promote a balance between fluidity in the influx and outflow of students, faculty and work-ers and enough security to deal with normal day to day situations. AUB strives to be a beacon of modernity and a force to

push Lebanese society for-ward in many aspects, in-cluding ones regarding the removal of outdated laws and the lobbying of much needed ones. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that AUB has decided to evolve their own sexual harass-ment policy into a more effective and revolutionary one. Although not fully legal-ized yet, the new policy is awaiting approval. In an interview, Provost, Dr. Ah-mad Dallal, has shed some light on the new entries in

AUB implements new sexual harassment lawAntoine AyoubStaff Writer

The country of Leba-non may be ahead of its Arab neighbors in many international affairs and le-gal practices, but when one looks closely at the matters at hand and the issues clos-est to our hearts, it is ap-parent that in terms of legal matters, Lebanon has fallen behind. An important matter that Lebanese society suffers from today consists of the lack of applicable constitu-tional laws against discrim-ination and, more impor-

of the event, AUB student Malek Shami said that it is “Muhammad [who] unifies us.” The Cultural Club of the South, the Insight club and the Saudi Club orga-nized the event. The Freedom, Social,

Heritage, Palestinian and Youth clubs were all among the organizations that gathered in protest in front of West Hall on Friday morning, asking students to sign a petition. The also took comments

on a large bulletin board and gave out white scarves. The white scarves rep-resent a message of peace, “the true message of the prophet of Islam,” accord-ing to the event coordina-tors. A key point highlighted by the event’s organizer was that the protest, in addition to protesting the movie and the caricature, was protesting against the sometimes violent reaction to those insults. Indeed, the organizers expressed that burning down restau-rants and killing people was itself insulting to the prophet. They expressed that the “prophet of peace,” would

Dr. Nizameddine delivering his speech | Source: Abbass Naim

Campus News 2 Columns 4 Arts and Culture 6 Viewpoints 8INDEX

September 26, 2012 Campus News · 3Steps to follow during an interview

Continued from page 1Frederic Abou JaoudeStaff Writer

Each and every student eventually has to sit for a job interview after gradu-ation. Subsequently, it is imperative that all students know exactly how to be-have in order to ensure the business opportunity. Bank Audi organized a training workshop on Oct. 2 in West Hall to prepare students for such talks. Bank employees sat with students, each of whom signed up for a period of 15 minutes and heard in detail all the steps one should consider for an interview. “It is an awareness session,” one Bank Audi official told Outlook, “each person at some point in their lives has to sit down for an interview.” Bank Audi recruitment officers came to AUB early in the morning in order to coach students and provide them with effective job inter-view guidelines. At the beginning, Bank Audi advisers taught students how to write a professional CV, which they said should not be longer than one page. First, one should include his or her education information, including college classes and high school learning, with emphasis on more recent years. Secondly, professional experiences based on internships and training should be written in detail. Thirdly, it is necessary to mention extracurricular activities together with languages and computer skills. Finally, references should be either stated di-rectly or clearly addressed by writing “available upon request.”

Next, interviewing skills were approached. Ac-cording to the Bank Audi specialists, preparations should start before one enters the interview office. When applying to a firm or a company, the clothing should be neat and formal. “Never forget the tie,” one specialist said, “a suit is never complete without one.” Also, it is preferable if one researches the place he or she wants to work in by visiting the corre-sponding web page, since it is very crucial to “know where you are going,” said one bank associate. The next stage of the interview is when one actually enters the office. Most queries asked are described as “competency-based questions,” in which the interviewer would pose questions concerning com-munication skills and team work efficiency. Cliché questions, such as “what are your weak-nesses?” are not widely asked any longer. Instead, particular requests such as the following could come up: “Give a real example during which you worked as a team and whether you succeeded or not and why.” After that, the interviewer might ask about how the employee-to-be would promote customer service in selling not necessarily solid items, but simply ideas. One Bank Audi repre-sentative stressed that it is not a problem if one was not very efficient in group work, even though people think that it is a “bad thing.” There is absolutely nothing wrong in work-ing alone as long as one is fruitful, because “each job has its own competency.” Next, some personality

tips were set forth, such as being relaxed, being hon-est, and speaking openly and straightforwardly. Other tips included: “DO NOT appear to be shy” and “DO NOT avoid eye con-tact.” These are one of the major signs of drawbacks. There is no “best re-sponse,” according to Bank Audi mock interview-ers, “there are no right and wrong answers in an interview.” Only simple answers that would ex-pose one’s personality are required. Finally, before leaving the office, it is preferred to ask questions in order to learn additional and detailed information, for example, about salaries. It would also look im-pressive if one would ask for clarification about a specific point on the job’s website. This would show the interviewer that this person is serious about the job to an extent where he or she began researching it even before entering the corporation. Lastly, one must keep in mind that mistakes are most probably bound to occur, and that interview-ers understand the tension and pressure. However, there is one mistake that is truly devastating and might kill the chances of being accepted to a job, even before starting the inter-view: being late. Interview appointments are consid-ered to be a test of prompt-ness to roughly estimate the time one would usually arrive to work.

never accept such behavior and inserted, in a letter ad-dressed to the U.S. em-bassy in Beirut, a quote by the Muhammad in which he says “whoever kills someone under a covenant of peace, that killer will be denied the fragrance of heaven.” The letter to the U.S. embassy was ended with a request urging the U.S. government to “exercise its legitimate authority” to make sure no “such hate-ful attitudes” recurs under the name of freedom of speech. To further express their stance, posters who held quotes by the prophet, as well as quotations about the prophet by prominent Western thinkers, were distributed around campus. Among these were quota-tions that restated what was said in the message to the US.. embassy: Islam does not accept, in any way, the murder of inno-cent life or the aggression upon others, no matter who those others are. Any other behavior, “does not repre-sent Islam nor Muslims,” said Hussein Jabaak, a par-ticipating student from the Cultural Club of the south. The organizers spoke around noon, followed by a word by Talal Nizameddin, dean the Office of Student

Against the mockeryAffairs. Mohamed Bazzy, speak-ing on behalf of the orga-nizing clubs, stated that “respect of others is the main foundation upon which interaction between people is to be estab-lished.” Bazzy said mockery of others was an act repudi-ated by world religions, as well as by the founda-tional principles of human rights. He also spoke of the type of man Muhammad was, describing him as an extraordinary man by all standards, especially by moral ones. As for Nizameddin, his words focused on the lim-its of freedom of speech. He also spoke of who the prophet of Islam was, describing him as a man who changed the world and took the people of that time, people with no mor-als, into ---(I need to get the quote here) The event attracted a large number of students, even beyond the organiz-ing club’s expectations. Most importantly, it was a milestone event that brought together the vari-ous components of AUB’s community to send a mes-sage to the world. It was also crucial in shedding light as to what represents Islam, and what does not.

October 10, 2012

Source: glasbergen.com

September 26, 20122 · Campus NewsSexual harassment policy

the Discrimination and Ha-rassment Policy. “The devil is in the de-tails,” said Dr. Dallal, refer-ring to the potential change in policy. For a year and a half, a committee, assembled by the Provost has been work-ing on the policy, one that included faculty, students, and staff members from various parts of the univer-sity. New additions to the pol-icy include clarifying what constitutes harassment and elaborating the applicable procedures, providing pro-tection to those who, in good faith, bring forward complaints. Moreover, an Ombud-sperson will be hired to help victims of harassment understand the resources available, and will act as a counselor for the members of the community on mat-

Famous AUB scholarsed the annual Del Sol Press Poetry Prize in 2008. Tony Abu Nader, a Leba-nese neuroscientist and researcher, obtained an M.A. in internal medicine and a Ph.D from MIT. In 2000, Nader has become a leader in the Transcenden-tal Meditation Movement. We cannot but feel proud of our university because of its leading and re-nowned graduates. In the same way an individual can tell if a tree is produc-tive by looking at its fruits, one can also tell whether a university is thriving by seeing its eminent gradu-ates. One can hope, AUB’s successful will continue, and Lebanon will be en-riched with more notable AUB alumni.

Frederic Abou JaoudeStaff Writer Perhaps the most obvi-ous proof of the American University of Beirut’s academic excellence is the fact that many of its graduates have been able to succeed in so many dif-ferent fields. The Ranker posted the names of more than forty AUB alumni and former students and how they became famous. The following list names just a few of these notable AUB alumni. Ghassan Tueni, former Lebanese ambassador to the UN, graduated with a B.A. in philosophy in 1945. Then, he went to the United States to study at Harvard University where he received his Master’s degree.

Nadia Hijab, a Palestinian who was born in Syria and raised in Lebanon, re-ceived her M.A. in English literature. She is now a distinguished author who writes extensively about human rights in the Middle East. Najib Mikati, Lebanon’s current prime minister for the second time after 2005 and Tripoli Deputy, gradu-ated in 1980 with a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree. Ali Akbar Salehi, the Iranian minister of Foreign Affairs since 2010, studied at the American University of Beirut and earned his B.S. Antun Saade, the founder of the Syrian Social Na-tionalist Party, taught Ger-man language at AUB in 1932 and was a prominent

writer and journalist. Fouad Siniora, who served twice as Lebanon’s prime minister and is cur-rently head of the Future Movement’s parliamentary bloc, earned an M.A. in business administration. Salam Fayyad, the Prime Minister of the Palestin-ian National Authority, graduated in 1975. He then attended St. Edward’s Uni-versity where he earned his MBA, and later his Ph.D in economics from the Uni-versity of Texas at Austin. Selim El-Hoss, who served three times as Lebanon’s prime minister and as a longtime member of parliament representing Beirut, graduated with an undergraduate degree in economics. Tarek Mitri, who served as a Lebanese Minister in

the departments of Culture, Information, Environment, Administrative Reform and Foreign Affairs, holds a B.A. and an M.A. in philosophy. In mid-Sep-tember, he was assigned as the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. Furthermore, he was also appointed as the United Nations Secretary-General’s special represen-tative. Bassel Fleihan, former Lebanese Minister of Economy and Commerce, received a B.A. in econom-ics. He died after being severely injured during the bomb assassination of for-mer Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri. Lisa Majaj, a Palestinian-American poet and scholar, earned her B.A. in English literature. She was award-

“The devil’s in the details.”

ters of the policy and the proper channels of report-ing for cases. Depending on the gravity of each case, the maximum penalty for a sexual harass-ment case can be dismissal from the university. The university also encourages victims of sexual harass-ment to report their cases to authorities. Both Provost Dallal and Dean of Student Affairs believe that the new policy will be effective and ac-cepted by the AUB com-munity first, and that it will hopefully spread to the Lebanese community.

For those interested on reading the old policy, visit: http://www.aub.edu.lb/pnp/generaluniversitypolicies/Documents/Discrimina-tionPolicy/Discrimination.pdf.

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October 10, 2012

September 26, 2012 Columns · 5Environmental column:Metel Ma Shelta strikes againRayane ZahreddineNews Executive

Launched last year, Me-tel Ma Shelta is an anti-lit-tering awareness campaign started by three fourth-year AUB graphic design stu-dents: Mohamed Olaymi, Nadine Razzouk, and Lama Shehadeh. The campaign consisted of dropping fake Lebanese money—slightly altered pictures of the 10,000 LL bill—on the street. Passers-by, who couldn’t resist the temptation, would pick up the “money” and discover a message on the back: “just like you picked this up, you can pick up the trash from the street.” This year, Metel Ma Shel-ta strikes again. This time, the anti-littering campaign consists of fixing stickers on the wing mirrors of cars. Similar to the safety warn-ing “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear,” the message is “The garbage bin is closer than it appears, don’t litter.”Razzouk answered our questions about this new campaign.

How did you come up with the idea?We got the idea while in Amsterdam. We noticed that people don’t litter out-side their cars there. In Lebanon you’d find people throwing their trash, espe-cially cigarette butts, out of their cars. The new cam-paign is a follow-up for Me-tel Ma Shelta, but this time it targets people in vehicles. We want to raise awareness to everyone, not just one au-dience.

When did the campaign start and how long will it last?[It] started the week before last, but we’ve been [busy

with] our jobs and also have final year projects, so we didn’t really start imple-menting it much.

Where are you intervening? We started with Bliss Street, but want to reach people in Hamra, Verdun, Cola area, Dora and wherever we go.

How many cars did you strike so far? We intervened on 30 cars for now, but we’ll be defi-nitely reaching 1,000.

Are you getting any help?Currently, it’s just the three of us and we haven’t been getting any help. A lot of people asked us to share the file so they could print the stickers and intervene with us to reach a wider audi-ence, which is something we’ll definitely do.

Do you think people will re-spond well?We think people will re-spond well and think twice before throwing anything out of [their] window! However, people might be offended that we imple-mented it on their property (cars), but people who lit-ter are also doing it on our property.

What would you say to peo-ple who say they can’t find a trash bin?We totally agree, but this is no excuse for us to lit-ter. Our main goal in this campaign is not just to raise awareness, but to also shed light on this problem and hopefully get municipalities to help by adding more bins.

What are your plans for fu-ture action or campaigns?Metel Ma Shelta is an ongo-ing campaign; we’ll always be striking with new inno-vative ideas. We might ini-tiate another campaigns that tackles different problems in Lebanon.

Sara SobhStaff Writer The idea of having to get a medical implant wor-ries many of us. But what if there were implants that could simply dissolve in your body after their job has been done? Imagination isn’t neces-sary—the technology al-ready exists. A research team led by biomedical engineers, bio-physicists, and material sci-entists at Tufts University, in collaboration with re-searchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Cham-paign, have come together to create devices made of silk and silicon that are just nanometers thick and dis-integrate when they are no longer needed. These devices include diodes, transistors, mini heaters, stress sensors, dis-solvable stitches and all kinds of medical implants. The new electronics can be

powered wirelessly. The levels of silicon and magnesium in the circuits are below the maximum safety levels set by the U.S. Food and Drug Adminis-tration, which makes them suitable for the human body. The devices fully disintegrate at a prescribed time, ranging from minutes to years, depending on the application. “While silicon may appear to be impermeable, eventu-ally it dissolves in water,” said Fiorenzo Omenetto, a biomedical engineer at Tufts School of Engineer-ing. Indeed, these temporary implants are breakthroughs in modern medicine. They allow doctors to monitor a patient’s condition, muscle activity, and apply treat-ments such as heat therapy or release drugs. This will assist doctors in the treatment of their pa-tients’ physical problems without having to removing

Tech column: Smooth as silk

the implants afterwards. For example, treating a patient for post-surgical infection would be ac-complished by raising the temperature in their body, killing bacteria. After the wound has healed, the im-plant simply melts away. Yonggang Huang, an engineer at Northwestern University, states, “these electronics are there when you need them, and after they’ve served their pur-pose, they disappear.” The new dissolvable tech-nology not only applies medically, but also to de-vices such as cell phones, small digital cameras and mini spy cameras. Furthermore, the technol-ogy is immensely helpful to the environment. Not only is this innovative new concept helpful to humans, but it also helps promote a cleaner environment be-cause it is biodegradable.

October 10, 2012

Source: www.sciencenews.com

September 26, 20124 · ColumnsFood column: Aporkalypse now!

responsible for more than 10 percent of British pig production will be forced to leave the industry by winter 2012. The issuing of the new law stems from the recent mistreatment of pigs, which resulted from the grain shortage. The grain short-age not only affects hogs, but most other farm animals as well. Without the where-withal to feed their pigs the typical meal of maize or soy, farmers have turned to more unconventional and morally questionable means of feeding their herds. Earlier this year in Ken-tucky, one farmer who had limited access to corn was forced to feed his cattle second-hand candy. Thus, farmers in the EU with very large herds, and therefore more mouths to feed, will be forced to either downsize or shut down. At this point, many Muslims, vegetarians, and other non-pork eaters are no doubt snickering at their televisions and high-fiving while the weeping bacon-lovers wallow in despair. The sad truth of it all is that the entirety of the well-fed portion of humanity is affected by this. The grain shortage extends beyond just hogs to cows, sheep and even chickens. What the media has failed to acknowledge in its pork panic coverage is that a grain shortage means just that—a shortage of all grains. The production of flour, corn and soy-based products will be severely limited, and thus prices will tick upward. So my fellow food-lovers, in the wake of the Maya apocalypse, we had best prepare ourselves in the most important way we know: by stocking up on bacon.

year or so, bacon prices are expected to reach an all-time low. Recent droughts in North America and Russia have led to a serious underpro-duction of maize, the main component of hog feed across both continents. As a result, maize prices sky-rocketed and farmers around the world have struggled to keep their massive herds fed. To compensate (vegetar-ians, look away), an abnor-mally high percentage of pigs went to the slaughter-house this year as farmers downsized their herds—and thus, costs. So as of now, the world is actually over-stocked in pork. But by this time next year, fewer hogs will be sent to slaughter, and those con-sumers the Huffington Post coined “swinophiles” will be lamenting the increase in pork prices and the soon-to-be unavailability of bacon in some supermarkets. Despite the undeniable evidence of a hog shortage, some say that calling it an “Aporkalypse” may be a bit of an exaggeration. “There’s still going to be bacon,” says Minnesota hog farmer Randy Spronk. “It’s just going to be sold for higher prices.” To add to the already declining state of hog farm-ing, a new European Union animal welfare law decrees that all European farmers

Kanzi KamelNews Executive

As December 21, 2012 steadily approaches, Maya specialists have been racing to convince the world that what the ancient civilization predicted wasn’t actually the end of the world. Curi-ously enough, the people who invented Crocs, watch “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”, and declared pizza a vegetable, don’t agree. And I’m not just talking about Americans. Unfortunately, we’re fac-ing a new day of reckoning that, for many, will certainly seem more dire than any silly end-of-the-world date supposedly predicted thou-sands of years ago. People, I bring to your at-tention the Aporkalypse. Not only is it fun to say (seriously, I dare you to say “Aporkalypse” out loud without so much as a chuckle), but unlike a Ma-yan doomsday prediction, the Aporkalypse is grounded in reality. Recent scientific findings have revealed a signifi-cant drop in pig herding in Europe and North America. “Pig farmers have been plunged into loss by high pig-feed costs,” reports the U.K. National Pig Associa-tion. “[This is] caused by the global failure of maize and soya harvests.” But fret not, my fellow bacon lovers. For the next

Health column: A hug a day keeps the doctor away

the stress hormone and lessen your blood pressure. Hugs also affect our emo-tional health positively. Virgina Satir, who is often referred to as the mother of family therapy, says,“We need four hugs a day for survival. We need eight hugs a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs a day for growth.” Our emotional health is extremely impact-ed by the physical love we experience and touching and hugging are main com-ponents of the brain’s de-velopment of basic positive emotions. Holding hands with some-one you love has a calm-ing effect on the body. Researchers hired married couples to study the ef-fect of holding hands on the brain. Electrodes were placed on the wives’ ankles and screens were put in front of them so they would be warned when a shock was coming. In the mean-time, researchers scanned the wives’ brain activity using functional MRI ma-chine. They noticed the brain scans were calmer when a wife held her hus-band’s hand. Sensing love is one thing, however writing about it is a whole other thing when it comes to health benefits. A published study in Human Communication Research found that healthy college students who spend time writing about their affec-tion for loved ones experi-enced significant decrease in total cholesterol, while students who write about random topics did not. So, whenever you get any feeling of love or affection, jot it down on a piece of pa-per.

Rola Ghaddar Staff Writer Have you ever thought about why the heart is the symbol of love? Research shows that spending time with a loved one actually benefits the heart and health in general. Love is like water for your body whether for your boyfriend, husband, sister, parent or best friend. It af-fects one’s psychology and makes his or her world turn around. What most of us don’t know is that love is good for one’s health. For starters, spending time with a person you love low-ers blood pressure. Accord-ing to a study in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, people who spend time with their loved one have lower blood pressure than those who hang out with other people. Researchers found that this drop in blood pres-sure is correlated with less talking involved and more emotional connection. You know that lovely mo-ment when you see your your crush and your heart starts to race? This is con-sidered a workout for your heart. Your brain releases hormones like dopamine, adrenaline, and norepi-nephrine which makes your heart beat faster and makes it stronger. These fleeting moments train your heart to pump blood more effi-ciently, just as aerobics do, to a lesser extent. No mat-ter how good your love life is, you still need to hit the gym. When you engage in a warm embrace with some-one you feel affection for (whether a friend, parent, child, or partner) your body releases the feel-good hor-mone which helps reduce

October 10, 2012

Source: Reddit.com

September 26, 2012 Arts & Culture · 7Hamra personality of the week:

Ants owner Vahan Papazianto a new demographic and a much larger clientele. Even though Vahan was an embodiment of cultural diversity, he insisted on expanding the scope of his work as he traveled around the world, participating in various handmade jewelry exhibitions in the Middle East, Europe and the Far East. He returned with a tremendous sense of vari-ous cultural influences that he would integrate into his craft. Not only do many cul-tures influence his work, but music is a large part of Papazian’s life. His family also seems to have the mu-sical gene, as his brother is Haig Papazian, violinist for the band Mashrou3 Leila. The Ants owner also has his own band, called Revo-lution of Ants. They mostly do concerts abroad, usually in Armenia. The Papazian brothers actually studied music to-gether at Hamazkayin, the Armenian cultural center in

Hashem OsseiranStaff Writer

Have you ever walked through Makhoul street in Hamra and noticed a little shop with a sliding glass door designed by the most beautifully bizarre handmade jewelry? If you haven’t, you should. Ants Hamra has been one of the most innovative institu-tions of Hamra since 2006. Vahan Papazian, the designer and owner, started dabbling in handmade jewelry at the age of 12. At the age of 16, Vahan was already going to Damascus and observing Arab craft. His hobby grew into a seri-ous passion as he opened his first workshop in Bourj Hammoud. Two years later, in 2004, Vahan was ready to start displaying and selling his hand-crafted wares, so he opened a small shop in Bourj Hammoud. In 2006, Ants opened in its current home in Hamra, appealing

Lebanon, the shop owner pursuing his passion, clas-sical guitar. He likes his brother’s band’s music because “it is something different.” Walking into the store, one will most likely hear something different. Tribal music may be playing in the background, or perhaps some Balkan tunes that Papazian has been listening to lately. Ants serves not only the typical traditional Middle Eastern taste. On the contrary, the place is filled with Indian, Far Eastern-, European-, Arabic- and Armenian-inspired jewelry and clothing. Though Vahan’s passion, since a young age, was mainly hand-crafted jewel-ry, his store offers a variety of products ranging from leather handmade acces-sories to clothing, incense, bags, books, vinyl records, paintings and silver hand-made products. The philosophy behind

Papazian’s store lies in the simplistic beauty of its name – Ants. Ants are known for their collectiv-ism and their intense group ethos, features that resem-ble the store in more than one way. The store is a collection of various works from different artisans around the world, repre-senting cultural diversity and harmony. What sets Ants apart from other places in Hamra is that the owner is also the artist. Papazian customizes jewelry and meets different fashion tastes at relatively low prices. Papazian recalls his first customers as art students from the surrounding

areas. Now, a much larger range of people come into his store. He is comfortable in the Hamra area, referring to the community as “open-minded.” “I’m always updated in terms of jewelry and fashion, especially by go-ing to India and Bangkok,” said Papazian, where he will be travelling follow-ing a trip to Armenia this week. “Bangkok is one of the fashion capitals of the world.”

By night in ChileJose Miguel Menchaca, thanked the two for “shar-ing the music with us to-night” and said he was very pleased with the perfor-mance. He explained that “the music reminds me of my country and made me realize how much I miss it.”

Nerses ArslanianStaff Writer

The Bathish Auditorium was filled with the sounds of Latin music Wednes-day when musicians Patri-cio Anabalon and Angel Guillermo Cardenas took the stage for an event or-ganized by the Chilean embassy and the Office of Communications. Anabalon introduced himself in Spanish to the audience, explaining that some of his performances are musical adaptations of poems by famous Latin American poets such as Vicente Huidobro, Octavio

Paz, Pablo Neruda and Ga-briela Mistral. Poised with his guitar, Anabalon plucked the strings, finger-style, while singing melodies accompa-nied by the gentle groan of Cardernasʼ cello. The atmosphere preced-ing the performance was very solemn with lines of people in formal wear, shaking hands and greeting each other. The performance began with the dimming of the lights and the light strum of music slowly fading into the auditorium. The duet continued per-forming, pausing between

songs to explain the back-ground and inspiration that went into songwriting pro-cess. Many of the songs are philosophical in verse. One of the ushers, Amir Richani, said that the lyrics of “Ma-niqui,” the last piece, “re-ally got to [him]. Itʼs really deep and beautiful.” Cardenas, the cellist, studied music orchestra in the University of Chile. He grew up listening to a lot of popular music and professed his admiration for the Arabic music scene “with its common use of the viola and cello in the songs.” Anabalon listened to tradi-

tional Latin American mu-sic growing up, being es-pecially fond of the Cuban Trova scene. He even sang with Silvio Rodriguez, one of his favorite musicians. When asked about his influences, Anabalon cites Oscar Hahn, a famous Chil-ean poet, as his biggest. He recalled having once col-laborated with Hahn in the production of an album. After the duet was over, the people of the audience were invited into a recep-tion where they could min-gle and partake of some re-freshments at the disposal of some of the ushers. The Chilean ambassador,

Vahan Papazian, Ants owner since 2006| photo by Heather Jaber

October 10, 2012

September 26, 20126 · Arts & CultureBook review: The Casual Vacancy by J.K. RowlingSarah KhalilStaff Writer

J.K. Rowling has been quoted as being “obsessed” with death, and considering her life experiences, this fact isn’t the least bit surprising. From the oft-told story of her life before Harry Pot-ter—her angsty English up-bringing, her spell of poverty prior to the conception and publication of the first ‘Pot-ter’ novels, to her mother’s untimely death from multiple sclerosis—to death being the central theme of the series as a whole, it could not be more evident that she’s of some type of noble blood in the realm of darkness. And, as her fantastic se-ries began with death, so too did “The Casual Vacancy,” Rowling’s first post-’Potter’ effort. The newly-released novel opens with the painful death of a one Barry Fair-brother of the quiet little Eng-lish town of Pagford, on his and his wife’s twentieth wed-ding anniversary. Fairbrother had a seat in the town’s coun-cil, which was made vacant

by his death, which is called, in technical terms, a “casual vacancy.” The plot of this book is centered around Pagford in the weeks after Fairbrother’s passing, and the scramble to fill that empty seat on the council, which is all taken quite seriously. “The Casual Vacancy” has been described most often under the moniker of “adult novel,” with all that good grown-up stuff that’s part of a balanced breakfast—rape, incest, pedophilia, hard drugs, sexual intercourse in a graveyard, terrible pop mu-sic, and bad, bad words—this is certainly not for children. In light of most readers’ familiarity with Rowling’s previous efforts, that all comes as quite a shock, elic-iting nervous giggles from all parties involved, which is probably where the part of it being “blackly comic” (as described by Rowling her-self) comes in. Other than a few fleeting, wry moments that are genu-inely and darkly funny, the drama in which the book

partment), and the all-around effort put into being as “ma-ture” as possible pushes the whole thing a bit overboard. Explicit content and scandal do not an adult novel make, but that could very well be a bias in favor of the far more subtle backdrop of what Rowling’s readership has been made so completely comfortable with in years passed. On that note, this book is not Harry Potter. Other than a few familiar turns-of-phrase, such as the endearing “frat-ernizing with the enemy” phrase and the mention of a crazy father who locks his son in a cupboard under the stairs for a week, “The Casu-al Vacancy” is nothing more or less than exactly what it is. It elaborates on the difficult dealings of a life and respon-sibilities devoid of magic, and, despite that, the deep, almost-forgotten, presence of hope no matter who you are and what your situation is. There is no good against evil; there is people against people, which is just the way we know and hate it.

is entrenched makes it feel more like a satirical soap op-era than a work of literary fic-tion. Therein lies the humor, perhaps, because it certainly gives the impression of being a very straight-faced parody. Rowling has always had a soft spot for children and has always felt more com-fortable with them than with her own peers. Although the dozens of characters in the novel are mostly the adult residents of Pagford and the surrounding area, it is their adolescent children who steal the spotlight as being the most serious individu-als of the entire novel. They aren’t precocious; they are simply concerned more with the nitty-gritty issues of life than their parents’ superficial concerns with one-upping others in the impending local elections, endless gossip and reputations and dissatisfying marriages. There is one character who questions his own “authen-ticity” and the authenticity of those around him, craving a taste of real life beyond his monotonous and safe, if not

exactly cheerful, existence. Another character, who may be the most complex in the entire book’s ensem-ble cast of over two dozen, lives in the Fields, a decrepit neighborhood just outside of Pagford. She is entirely rude and vulgar at school, but goes home to a prostituting hero-in-addict of a mother and a 3-year-old brother who is her entire drive for living. Caring about those close to her per-haps more than any other per-son in the whole region, she is affected more profoundly than any other character by the death of Barry Fairbroth-er, whom she looked up to. The thought processes of these youths as they progress into their adult years contrast startlingly with the petty con-cerns of their parents, all the while, not seeming the least bit overdone. This is the most impressive aspect of the nov-el. Other parts of the novel do seem overdone. Some char-acters end up caricatures of themselves, the ending is a tad rushed (but gets solid points in the poignancy de-

Album review: Channel OrangeNot only does Ocean bring to life tormented portrayals of mankind, he also creates settings that serve the char-acters identity. These charac-ters range from unemployed slackers who live off their stripper girlfriends in strip clubs, tormented homosexu-als fleeing the punishing vir-tue of religion in a cab, the drug addicted girlfriend who can’t accommodate any-thing other than substance in her house on the clouds, or the lover who left his heart on the soils of Sierra Leone. All in all Channel Orange is a great body of work that has set a new benchmark for the R&B genre.

Hashem OsseiranStaff Writer

Hedonism and homosexu-ality, the main constituents of taboo, are also the major themes of Frank Ocean’s de-but album Channel Orange. In a musical culture that is gradually harboring heresy, Ocean pioneers the slow drift of R&B to a sensual senti-mentality, where pounding beats and base headed tracks became a compilation of jazz, keyboard, guitar, and staggering vocals. Integrat-ing radio jingles, flickering white noise, and unwarrant-ed silences, Ocean goes out-side the instrumental norm for pop and R&B music. In manifest, the album is

a sonorous story of dissoci-ating Drugs, ardent reckless love, intimate sex, and dis-appointment. Latently, the tracks transcend the clichés of romantic tragedy and blurry late night sessions, as it settles on themes like the pains of homosexual-ity “This unrequited love/To me it’s nothing but/A one-man cult/And cyanide in my Styrofoam cup/I could never make him love me.” , the struggle between faith and adherence “if it brings me to my knees it’s a Bad Religion”, the recklessness of the privileged “Super rich kids with nothing but loose ends” , the desperation of the unemployed man “Pyra-mids”, and the unyielding

questions of the universe “what if the sky and the stars are for show, and aliens are watching live”. Ocean is not a singer; he is a story teller who ventures to the ghettos looking for an an-gry fix, who throws himself off mansion rooftops while snorting a line of cocaine, who unravels his silent pain to a Muslim taxi driver, who contemplates strip clubs, sex, and serotonin. The music in Channel Or-ange is a product of vary-ing generational influences like Seventies funk, Thirties blues, Eighties electro, and down tempo hip-hop. The soulful melodic aura of the album draws Frank Ocean as a Prince/Stevie Wonder

contemporary whose bal-lads have become psalms for anyone whose loved and lost. The greatest paradox that comes out of the album is how money can create a pleasant life but at the same time can be all the more de-structive. The Sweet Life track shows the perks of wealth and fame, Super Rich Kids however, shows how excessive wealth has driven pampered children towards destruction. Channel Orange is an hon-est portrayal of society and its members. Rather than fo-cusing on the average char-acters of everyday life, this album narrows the scope to a group of people living in the darker corners of reality.

October 10, 2012

September 26, 2012 Viewpoints · 9Social Networking: Facebook

through quite a bit of chaot-ic issues, and a lot of what is now on Facebook con-sists of personal opinions and heated debates on cur-rent situations and break-ing news. Facebook is no longer a site to just connect with “friends” and family. It would be best if people would keep off touchy sub-jects on Facebook. So, what should be kept personal and what should be made pub-lic? Or is this simply not a big deal and should be dis-missed as a problem? The answers, obviously, will differ from person to per-son, but it is important for everyone to ask these ques-tions, since “privacy” and “friends” have been altered.

Karen SertinStaff Writer & Photogra-pher It is extremely difficult to find a person who does not have a Facebook ac-count. Social networking via Facebook has become so popular that millions of people use it. However, like everything in this world, it has its pros and cons. The main positive aspect of Facebook is the obvious one: it keeps you in contact with old and new friends, as well as with family mem-bers who live in different regions around the world. In recent times, even businesses have started us-ing Facebook as a means to promote their products and update the public on their latest merchandise and ev-

erything of that sort. Additionally, Facebook has allowed an individual or a group of people to cre-ate a group about a certain topic, and anyone who clicks the “Like” button on the topic is able to follow its latest news or have dis-cussions with others who have the same interests. However, Facebook has a great deal of negative aspects to it. Most people have not realized that it has redefined the term “friend” and the meaning of “priva-cy.” Granted that a person can decline a friend request and fix their privacy set-tings, the terms have been redefined. A “friend” could now potentially range from “someone whom a person had said ‘hello’ to ten years

ago,” to the dictionary defi-nition, “a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual af-fection.” So, what really makes someone a “friend”? More importantly, “pri-vacy” has been redefined. Any person who has a Face-book account would know that their status (“what’s on your mind?”), their wall posts, and their photos can all be viewed by anyone ranging from their friends list to the general Facebook public, depending on their privacy settings. Regardless of people who have disabled their “wall,” anything they want to post, such as their statuses or information about them-selves, is made public. Peo-ple normally do not have a problem with the “privacy”

issue. However, Facebook has redefined it, and this raises the question of what should be kept private and what should be made public. Is it really anyone’s business to know what a person’s stance is on sensitive issues (from relationship trouble to politics or religion), and how far should this be taken? Where is the line drawn? After all, Facebook is a social networking site where people go to connect with each other and basi-cally have fun with their “friends,” whatever that means now. It is also used to just waste some spare time, and possibly procras-tinate. In recent years, however, the world has been going

Viewpoint: Christina AguileraSarah KhalilStaff Writer

While fending off my overwhelming urge to make this viewpoint about my own perspective on the sweeping “Gangnam Style” sensation, or perhaps the Aporkalypse (both very pressing topics), I stumbled upon an article about Chris-tina Aguilera. We know her as the blonde-haired, blue-eyed pop singer with plenty of soul from the era that—rather ungraciously—brought us Britney Spears, N*Sync, and the Backstreet Boys. The article was from the Huffington Post, and it read: “Christina Aguilera Weight: Singer Fought With Label Over Body Size”. I know most people don’t read viewpoints to swallow redundancies about celebri-ty life. This isn’t a tabloid,

way? Aguilera never did anything really scandalous in her entire career. She’s a name, nothing but a name, becoming old and fat just like the rest of us. I felt a little bit awe-struck reading about that defiance of her image, but I also knew that if she wanted to get back in shape, she could do it in no time flat, which left me crestfallen. Those names will never be like us, no matter how normal they try to be—how they themselves try to be. So why do we pay them so much heed, anyway? People ask and they ask, and it always comes down to this fascination with liv-ing vicariously through the stars, glowing more strong-ly than most of us will ever manage to in our lifetimes. Being able to do as they please and to have people, for the most part, love them for it.

it’s a university newspaper. On top of the fact that in-spirational articles on being proud of your body have been done to death, a story like this would usually have me in a complete fit of “Oh my god, is there nothing more useful to write about in the world?” But then, reading the article, a part of me felt the tug of some-thing meaningful. When someone is famous, the world is watching. Sometimes artists gets to the point where they escape the constant attention of our gazes and our headlines, and only appear when pro-moting something, or when doing something particu-larly scandalous or even, in this case, gaining weight. Some celebrities start their careers overweight and remain that way, like Adele. Some decide to lose the weight, like Jennifer Hudson. At the end of the

day, most people say it’s for the sake of their health, and the more honest ones say it’s because of societal pressures. We’re all sub-ject to the same pressures, whether or not we’re in the spotlight. This snippet on the In-ternet focused on the way Aguilera apparently told her record company that they’re “dealing with a fat girl,” and how the threat of her image has always loomed over her head over the years. Evidently, she no longer cares, and makes music solely for herself. She’s comfortable the way she is, having gained some weight, and that’s swell. I dislike that it had to make the news. No, I hate that it had to. I hate it ev-ery time we have to see that. Why does the media choose to pick on certain celebrities over others, any-

We will never stop being obsessed with our bodies, and other people’s bodies and other people’s lives. Our eyes forever glued to the headlines, our spirits in perpetual feeling of inad-equacy. So maybe Chris-tina Aguilera is a celeb-rity whose limits stretch towards the skies, and she’s certainly not the first to be proud that she’s breaking through social pressures. I suppose with all that we watch of these people, we might as well read some-thing to make us feel better about ourselves. I reloaded the web page later that same day to re-check a few things, and found that it had been cor-rected, as, apparently, she had never said any of those things. Instead, it redirect to a page about her new album, Lotus.

October 10, 2012

September 26, 2012

Hrag VosgerichianNews Executive My mind and heart are tired. I sometimes feel that I’m going to fall under the very weight of my cours-es and all those around me who share with me all their troubles. I’m greatly humbled and honored that they share their difficulties with me. I gladly open up to them as well. It has come to a point, however, that I feel like I need a break from ev-erything. These past three weeks have just been te-dious.

Now that I am sitting at my desk, typing in bor-ing letters pertaining to this article, the clicks of the keys on my laptop are creating a lulling ef-fect on me. I gaze out my window. I see the lit up city of Beirut. The mun-dane, regular, low-life man is traveling the city he lives in. What about everything that is unearthly, unprec-edented and unexpected? Doesn’t this man wish for more? I believe he hopes to wake up tomor-row and find that he is

8 · Viewpoints

Bayan JaberStaff Writer

When the Cultual Club of the South held its first Thakafi meeting on Wednesday, new faces filled the room, eager to discuss the first topic of the year: the Prophet Moham-mad. Naturally, the issue regard-ing the video that insulted the Prophet was brought up, and there was a discus-sion about the community’s role in avoiding and oppos-ing such disgraceful acts. Sheikh Tarek Idriss stressed the importance of the unity of Muslims in solving this problem. He said that Muslims should come together, despite their differences, and agree on one solid truth that repre-sents the Prophet’s biog-raphy and controversies regarding his “sirah,” or biography. I believe that it is a very valid cause to give our time to, but I would also like to shed light on the great im-portance of social media in fighting such issues.

Why does the media de-pict the West as having so many stereotypes against the image of Muslims? Is it it because they are not ex-posed to the “other side?” What is behind this framing of the news? This summer, I was hon-ored to be a part of the Sal-zburg Academy on Media and Global change. The seminar takes place every year, bringing together stu-dents of different nationali-ties to learn about the power and importance of media. It allows students to examine the role and responsibilities of media in global issues. One incident I cannot forget in my travels is my conversation with a girl from Mexico about my hi-jab. She asked me about Is-lam in general, and after I explained my basic beliefs as a Muslim she seemed surprised. Actually what she said was: “Wow I never knew that. That actually makes sense ... I thought people wore it because they were just crazy or some-thing.” However, it is not just my Mexican friend who

seemed to know nothing at all about my religion, neither did my roommate, and countless other par-ticipants. Some seemed to have no clue there ever was a war in Lebanon, that Palestine even exist-ed, or that Muslims were “normal” people. To make my point clear-er, when the subject of Syria was brought up, someone wanted to refer to President Bashar Al Asad but said Osama Bin Laden instead. They actu-ally thought that Bin Lad-en was behind the deaths in Syria. Need I say more? It doesn’t take a genius to figure out the power so-cial media has in shaping people’s beliefs, blurring, distorting and controlling them. Why is it that we are familiar with Western cultures, while the West is unfamiliar with ours? Why is that we know a lot about their customs, be-liefs, movies, music, fash-ion, TV series, but they do not know about ours? We are fed all these depictions by the media

Editorial: One small step

we consume, and I am not saying that is wrong, but why aren’t they exposed to ours? Even if the media they present is “valid,” it emits, frames and portrays news in a way that reshapes it completely. None of this is to say that all foreigners, especially Westerners, have this view of our region. It happened that those I did meet had these viws, but I do not generalize against a select group of people. Still, it is important to realize what kinds of views we should work to counteract. It is our responsibility to stand up for our prophet not only in peaceful demonstra-tions but in active media campaigns. The real image of our prophet should be more viral than a ridicu-lous movie that disrespects the whole Muslim nation. Muslim or not, it is our duty to present, through media, a different image of the Arab world, the Muslim world, and most importantly the prophet.

Heather JaberEditor-in-Chief

Flipping these pages, you may notice a theme pres-ent in some of the articles. This week, rather than fo-cus on the negatives that many disgruntled citizens are used to, we would like to highlight a complimen-tary aspect of Lebanese society. This week, our com-munity has witnessed im-provements in sexual ha-rassment laws on campus and peaceful demonstra-tions against hate speech and violence. Our university has taken it upon itself to revitalize an important law on cam-pus. Harassment of any kind is no trivial matter, especially in middle east-ern countries. As the ha-rassed are usually women, this marks a small step forward for the comfort of the female throughout the country and region. Not only are we seeing women's rights improv-ing, but our community is also creating noise around the subject of the contro-versial Islamic film. The important thing is not that students are speaking out, but that it is being done in a peaceful, organized manner. In stark contrast to many

other protests taking place across the word that have resulted in violence and death, it is refreshing to see a group of people against all negative aspects of the issue, including the vio-lence. Today I call on anyone reading this to stop and think about progress. In-stead of sighing about the traffic or cursing at the elec-tricity, support the way our community is advancing. We can all go back to complaining tomorrow, but, for now, be content.

on a trip to the far ends of the earth, in a strange turn of events, headed towards roads that have never been trodden before. This man yearns to find his passion in life and follow it. He will chase it down and never let go. Living in a world filled with beauty and many wonderful peo-ple, this man would never let anyone tell him that he can’t do it. He will explore the world and let it envelop him. There is this man in each one of us.

A man in us all

Breaking the stereotype of the Islamic self

October 10, 2012

September 26, 2012

Chairsperson Talal NizameddineEditor-in-Chief Heather JaberAssociate Editor Ali KassemArabic Editor Mada DibsPhotography Editor Mohamad B. AzzamLayout Editor Abbass NaimWebmaster Jad ShamseddineBuisness Manager Luma ItaniBuisness Executive Sarah HarfouchProofreader Ian LarsonNews Executives Kanzi Kamel Rayane Zahreddine Ferial FakihPhotographers Pia Chaib Karen SertinStaff Writers Mohamad Al Medawar Antoine Ayoub Loulwa Kalache Mohamad Sibai Frederic Abou Jaoude Assia Noureddine Hrag Vosgerechian Karim Zahed Hashem Osserian Karen Sertin Rola Ghaddar Carla Stephan Hadi Mehio Nerses Arslenian Diala Ahwash Al-Zahraa Majed Sarah Dirani Rana Harbi Osama Kheir Ghida Ismail Noura HamzehCartoonists Ghassan Nassar Jad Jari

Staff List

Riddle:

The word you guys are searching for is made up of only 3 letters not moreGo run and haste on your feetto the building where the 3 basic colors meet to record your 1st letter you must get the 12th character, not necessarily from the alphabet ___

Now, to get the 2nd letter you will needto use more than one second language yes indeed!So if I were to say in French you’re “Very Polite” my friend Then that city in English is what you have guessedTake its 4th letter as your treat ___and think about something round and sweet

Well two places usually sell it on Bliss street is what it seemThe first has a pink logo and the second is …But they have a spelling mistake in the name that will now give your 3rd letter in the gameIt needs no thinking just let us seeThe letter to properly substitute would be the letter ___

Just merge them togetherand I’ll tell you congrats and yoopii,But what you have just found is what I used to beI am not the old me anymore I am __ __ __ by Karim Zahed

Entertainment · 11

Answer to last week’s riddle: Andalus

October 10, 2012

Spotlight · 10 26للللل لللللل، 2012

Clubs rally against controversial Islamic film and violent responses

October 10, 2012

Errata:

In Issue 02 of Volume 45, in the article entitled “A new era for the psychology department,” by News Executive, Hrag Abraham Vosgerichian, it should be clari-fied that throughout the current fall 2012-13 semester, Dr. Charles Harb is pres-ently serving as the second chair of the independent psychology department. Dr. Shahé Kazarian was the first chair of the department during the previous scholas-tic year 2011-12 after the psychology department regained its independence from the prevailing social and behavioral sciences department. In the last paragraph of the same article, it should also be rectified that it is ex-pected that the new psychology research lab, along with the department’s profes-sors’ work in research, will increase psychology undergraduates’ research experi-ence to become potential experts in their field.

13 · اآراء حرة 26للللل لللللل، 201210 تشرين األول، 2012

مدى الدبس

كل مرة أودع فيها أحبتي على

املطار ، أودع بعضا من نفسي

، حتى أصبحت انا أيضا شتات

نفس مهاجرة.

في بالدي يكتب على العائالت

والعشاق الفراق الن أحالمهم

أوسع من احتماالت أرضهم

الضيقة.

يقول أنسي احلاج : “الوطن هو ما

يرزق األحالم” ، أال يدمر وضع لبنان

أحالمنا جيال بعد جيل؟

نصحني أستاذي في صف

الكتابة االبداعية أن أبتعد في

كتاباتي عن “تربية الناس” أو

اطالق الوعظ عليهم. شدد على

فكرته قائال : “ال نريد من يربينا”

.لذا سأشارككم نفسي اليوم ،

بعضا من هواجسي.

الب للعام حفل تخريج الط

الدراسي 2011-2012 عم

باخلريجني وأحبائهم واألساتذة

واالداريني واملهتمني باحلدث. حفل

يضج بأصالة اجلامعة ويستعرض

مراسيمها التقليدية ، التي

تعانق روح الشباب الفخورين

بانتسابهم االكادميي الى اجلامعة

األميركية في بيروت.

في ذلك احلفل تخرج العديد من

أصدقائي .ولبنان الذي نتغنى

به، هو البلد الوحيد في العالم

العربي الذي ال يقوم بالتخطيط

ملؤسسات التعليم العالي. لبنان

الذي يقدر أنه يصدر حوالي

20000 خريج جامعي سنويا،

صدر معظم أصدقائي الى بقع

الغربة يف الوطن

اآمني

جاد دميان كاتب متطوع

كلية الهندسة ، سنة رابعة

قل هو اهلل أحد، اهلل الصمد، لم يلد ولم يولد ولم يكن له كفؤ أحد.

بإسم اآلب، واإلبن والروح القدس إله واحد آمني. جتاهل البعض هاتني

العبارتني لينصب نفسه قاضيا، حكما وجالدا في قضايا احلب واحلياة،

والبعض اآلخر إعتبر نفسه حارسا لكتب الدين، مدافعا عن التطرف و

محلال لقتل اآلخرين.

فأعادونا لقرون كان فيها امللك ممثل اهلل على األرض، يتاجر باألرواح و يستغلها حسب املصالح. فقد

أصبح االنسان في هذا الزمن متطاول على دينه، محوال الكتب

املقدسة إلى سندات يحاسب بها اآلخرين و يستغلهم من خاللها.

و لم يعد البعض يكتفي بصفة التمثيل بل منح نفسه ترقية لينتقل إلى مستوى أرقى فبدأ يصف نفسه إلها بني البشر،

محلال و محرما كما يشاء، فيهدر دم من يعتبرهم “أهل الذمة” و

يعظم اصحاب الدماء” الصافية النقية”. فتدافع اجلميع حتت شعار اهلل والقضية. هم الذين قد باعوا ربهم من زمان بعيد، ونسوا أنهم

للمال عبيد، فهنيئا لنا أفرادا اخذوا لنفسهم املال ربا، و املصالح أخالقا.

كثرت اإلجتهادات و معها كثرت التأويالت، حرفت األديان، مات اجلوهر

و معه دفنت احلقيقة الدينية.هنالك من إعتبر أن الدين مجرد كلمة بسيطة جتمع بتركيبتها

بعض األحرف معا. لكن املشكلة احلقيقية أنه في بعض األحيان

تصبح األحرف قاتلة ملعانيها، فقتلوا احلروف و اغتالوا املعاني. و

بدأت احلروب، من حروب في اللغات إلى حروب في اإلميان. وما أصعب

أن يحاسب املرء على معتقداته و إميانه.

ملاذا نعيش في بالد تكثر فيه احلساسيات بني الطوائف؟ لم

ظاهرة التعصب تزداد يوما بعد يوم في نفوس املواطنني؟ ملاذا يعتبر

في لعبة احلياة. ال يجمع بينهما شيء ال من قريب وال من بعيد. هنالك من يحاول التركيز على

نقاط اإلختالف البسيطة ويتناسى القواسم املشتركة. هنالك من

يحاول اللعب على وتر الطائفية إلشعال براكني مخمدة، آملني

أن يتمكنوا من حتقيق مكاسب ومطامع سياسية. فقد إستبدلوا

ضمائرهم، “ بضمير املتكلم أنا” .

في النهاية ال بد من وضع األمور في مسارها الصحيح لذلك

علينا اإلشارة إلى أنه كما اجلداول والينابيع واألنهار هي أسماء

مختلدفة لكنها حتتوي كلها املياه، كذلك األديان، فكلها حتتوي حقيقة

واحدة.

بيروت ولشوارعها القدمية، للذي

اشتاق الى احتضان أمه وأخته

وتراب حديقته. نحن فخورون

بكم. بقراراتكم وتضحياتكم

والتزامكم. لكن الوطن محتاج

اليكم، وهو ال ينهض اال بذوي

العزمية الصادقة واالفق الرحيب.

احلديث عن الزواج املدني كمن يحاول خرق احملظورات؟ ملاذا يعتبر أساسا

من احملظورات؟اجلواب ببساطة يكمن بأن االديان حرفت في بعض األحيان من قبل

منتحلي صفة اإلميان، وحولت إلى مؤسسات، بل باألحرى إلى وسائل

تستخدم من أجل غسل دماغ الشباب. فيعلمونهم بأن اإلختالف

واستقاللية الفكر هما باحلقيقة كفر. يعلمونهم حتويل األديان إلى

حواجز بدل أن يكونوا أرضية إلتقاء. يعلمونهم تقسيم هذه األرضية

إلى أقسام حيث عليهم زرع نقاط تفتيش للقيام بالفحوصات الالزمة

للتأكد من نقاوة دم كل فرد.يعلمونهم عدم تقبل ومشاركة

االخرين. يعلمونهم بأن احلرب االهلية في لبنان بني مسيحيني

ومسلمني هي خير للقضية اإللهية و يجب أن تتكرر من أجل أن ال

يبقى هنالك اخرين، بل فقط أولني. يعلمونهم أن ينسوا اخلالق وأن

يتبعوا اخمللوق. هنالك من يحاول أن يصور الدين

املسيحي والدين اإلسالمي كأخصام

اأ�رسار جامعية :

*طالبة متنت على استاذها إخراج هرة من الصف الذي استوطنت فيه منذ بداية الفصل ،حيث كان وجود الهرة يزيد من توترالطالبة و يؤثر على تركيزها و ادائها في االمتحان . فما كان من االستاذ احلريص جدا

على راحة الهرة اال ان اخرج الطالبة من الصف و جعلها تؤدي االمتحان في ردهة مبنى نايسلي . اما الهرة امللكة فبقيت متربعة على عرشها

بكل فخر و اعتزاز.

*************

*طالبة تدخل صفا في مبنى نايسلي مزدحم بالتالميذ . تبحث عن كرسي فارغ لتجلس ، لكنها

ال جتده. تسأل املعلمة عن حل ، فال تعطيه األخيرة. تخرج الطالبة من الصف الذي تدفع ثمنه بدون مكان يحفظ القانون اجلامعي حقها به.

حفل تخرج طالب األمريكية ٢٠١٢ | تصوير : أحمد عيتاني

العلمي، ولطموحهم املمزوج

باهتمامهم الصادق لآلخر

ولعملهم مجموعة واحدة ال

أفرادا متنافرين. مقالي هذا حتية

متواضعة للخريج اجلامعي الذي

يسكن الصحراء ، ممنوعا من

فتح نافذة ومن االستحمام مباء

بارد، للخريج الذي سيحن ملطر

مختلفة من العالم.

نسيم بسمة ، خريج الهندسة

املدنية السنة الفائتة يقول :

“نأسف أننا اضطررنا الى االبتعاد

عن بلدنا لألسباب التي جميعا

نعرفها. نبدأ بتوديع أهلنا على

أمل أن جنتمع مع األصدقاء في

املغترب ولكن ذلك عبث. في

أسبوع واحد ودعت خمسة

من أكثر األصدقاء املقربني الي،

املهاجرين الى السعودية ، قطر ،

الواليات املتحدة وبلدان أفريقيا.”

مقالي ال يهدف فقط لالشارة

الى أننا نشتاق لوقفة نسيم

ومجموعته على “املاين غايت”،

ولشرب القهوة الصباحية

معهم عند “أبو ناجي”،

وجللساتهم املفعمة باحلس

الفكاهي املطعم بالنقد

September 26, 2012

الزهراء ماجد

كم أنني بحاجة،جلرعات ,غير صحية،

من املوت..

أريد أن أموت عشرين مرة وثالثة أشهر

لكي أنهض,بدون ذاكرة،بدون مجتمع،

بدون عثرات، أن أنهض كما أنا...

كطفلة على حائط قلبيهدمه االنتظار

وأبكي على كل شيء. لعظمة الدموع

لم أدر أنني أصبحت بهذه القسوة ولم أستطع لصورتي الرجوع

اشتقت لنفسي

لقلمي لروحي لدمعي وفرحيومزقت الصفحات

من عمق قلبيلئال أندم على وجعي يوما

وأنني رغم جنونيسألتحق بركب املغادرين عن

مدينة األلم

تعايلطفلتي الغائبة

حريتي ثمن صبريوعزميتي مزقها الزمن

ومن داخل بؤبؤ عيني سأوقع على وثيقة املوت

شراعي فينيقيوموجي جنوبي الهمم

أريدها بعدد عمري لكي ال يضيع عمريبني زوايا املنكسرين.

وأنادي الراحلني عن شتاء السنني

ما أقحط تراب الوطنمن دون حنني

وأن البعد صديق الشجنوأن الشوق ال يضاهيه زمن

وأن اللقاء كان ولكنما أقسى لقاء ختم بالشمع

األحمروسمم فرحه بالبسمة والسكر

وقتل بالروح الروحفأين الروح ببلد يثأر

خلمرة الغيابترى السنونو يبكي

من ظلم الغرابظالم مدينتي

أحبتي, سراب..

هادي مراد

تعالي إلي وصبي هوايا

فقربي كأس أطاق املنايا

تعالي خذي من ترابي صبابه

فقبلة حبك خلف ثرايا

خذيني وفي شفتيك حبال

تعلق حبلي وجل اخلطايا

فأرفع من كل صرح سماء

أراك الليالي وجنم ضحايا

وأشرب من خيط كفيك مروى

فأظمأ فيك بكل روايا

تعالي إلي وكوني مالذا

وكوني سنينا تشيب صبايا

تعالي تعالي وغني هوي

فقلبي كمان و حبك نايا

أنا في الوغى ساجد لشفاك

وهذا الضالل بزهدي هداية

أنا في الوغى امرأتي أسير

تعالي و مدي حبالك آية

فألتقط الشمس أعصرها الصب

ح حتى تنز بشعري مدايا

“ واإنك لعلى خلق عظيم”

ال�شفحة ال�شعرية · 12

بائع الورود

عالء كيالي

رقات في أعناق الورود ع العشق على أرصفة الط يوز

يصيح كطير كرمي أصابه من جمالها شرود

أحليم و خلفه أوركسترا من ناي و دف و عود

ورود, ورود دا لكل عاشق كان على أرصفة الهوى مشر

أو كان في قوارب القبالت, هو يختصر الكرم و اجلود

ورود, ورود

يبتسم, فتبتسم بكل طفولتها و جمالها الذي ال يعرف للجمال حدوديهديها زهرة, أجهل لونها

فبها وضع الرب اجلمال منذ أن خلق الوجودزهرتها تسترق منها جمالها

ليكون عندها التعبد و عندها يتقدس السجودكانت فرحتها كفرحة عصفورة أطلقت

فأطلقت لتغريدها عنانا و خلياله شرودهمست لها صفحات وردتها

أن خبئيني

فأنا اليوم أحيل احمراري لعجزي على تقدير احمرار اخلدودة عطري ملا كان من نفحات عطرك و أحيل عبقري

ه الغار يعانق جبني بطل من النصر يعود كأن

بكل جمالها على اجلمال جتودفإذا من يد البائع قطفت وردة

تصيح لها األخريات, أملن تتركينا يا قديسة

لنعود لزمن الركود و عصر اجلمود

فردت بكالم و كالمها جواهر تصاغ من الؤلؤ املنضودأحييت وردة و تركتكن يا أصول اجلمال

فكونوا على عشق العاشقني شهود

و كونوا لغيري للجمال و لطهر البراءة الطريق املنشودغادرها ذلك الهرم و القديس و املبدع

ع البسمة على وجوه العباد و يذكر املعبود الذي يوزرافقها طيف خيالها ملنامها و أعطتني التأشيرة ألجتاز احلدود

فشكرا يا سيدة اجلمال و يا قديسة الكمالفبك جتلى اهلل بجمال خلقه

و بوجهك جتلى القران بجمال التجويد

احلدود الالزمة حلرية الرأي. من الواضح أن اجلامعة األميركية

في بيروت حتولت إلى صورة مصغرة عن اجملتمع اخلارجي، إال أن هذه الصورة، أكثر حضارية. إذ جند

في اجلامعة وحدة في املوقف لم نراها في العالم جتاه اإلساءة التي

حصلت. وقد تعود أسباب ذلك إلى املستوى الثقافي والتعليمي لدى

الطالب الذين وازنوا الفكر املسؤول باملمارسة املسؤولة .

وذلك للتعبير عن رفضهم املوحد الصف ألي عمل يهني معتقدات

اآلخرين. وضعت لوحات ضخمة كتب عليها

And ver- م“وإنك لعلى خلق عظي ily you are upon a great moralcharacter”، وجلس بعض أعضاء

النوادي املنظمة على الطاوالت داعني الطالب املستنكرين لهذه

اإلهانة لكتابة اسمائهم على وثيقة تعكس عددهم في اجلامعة

األميركية. كما وضع جدار أبيض سمح للطالب كتابة آرائهم حيال

اإلساءة املذكورة. وكذلك علقت تكملة من صفحة 19يافطة كتب عليها بخط كبير

مضمون رسالة من طالب اجلامعة سترسل الى السفارة األميركية في بيروت. تخلل التحرك كلمة للطالب

محمد بزي شدد من خاللها على أهمية إحترام اآلخرين وعدم التعرض

ملعتقداتهم وال سيما الدينية . كذلك شدد على واجب إحترام الشخصيات التاريخية ورفض اإلنتهاكات للقدسية الدنيية

بذريعة حرية الرأي والتعبير. فحرية الرأي ليست حكرا على فئة دون

أخرى أو عرق دون آخر أو ديانة واحدة، امنا هذه احلرية حق للجميع ولكن

عليها أن تكون ضمن احلدود فال تتحول إلى وسيلة إستهزاء وإهانة

للديانات السماوية. أما العميد طالل نظام الدين ألقى كلمة عبر

فيها عن سعادته بهذا احلدث الذي وصفه “بالرائع” إذ أنه جمع العديد من النوادي الطالبية معا

فتناسوا اختالفاتهم وتوحدوا في وجه اإلساءة لرجل عظيم كالنبي

محمد )ص( وكذلك رأى أن طالب اجلامعة األميركية هم مثال للعالم اخلارجي إذ عبروا عن ارائهم بطريقة

حضارية وسلمية رافضني الوحشية والهمجية في الرد على أي إساءة . ولدى سؤالنا رئيس النادي الثقافي

اجلنوبي علي اللقيس عن النشاط، قال أن هذا التحرك هو طريقة

سلمية نستطيع من خاللها إيصال صوتنا والتعبير عن رفضنا لإلساءة التي تعرض لها النبي محمد )ص(

وأن هذه البداية لسلسلة من التحركات األخرى التي سيقوم بها

In- الطالب في املستقبل . أما رئيسsight Club طه هاجر فإعتبر أن هذا

التحرك هدفه ليس فقط إيصال رسالة رفض للفيلم املسيء بل هو

أيضا دعوة للسفارة األميركية في بيروت إلتخاذ موقف من ما حدث. إذ أن هذا التحرك ليس إتهاما بل

خطوة تهدف حلث أمريكا على وضع

10 تشرين األول، 2012

15· ن�شاطات جامعية 26للللل لللللل، 2012

أن نتمنى للعز مبفهومه العميق، بعيدا عن التأويالت السطحية، أن يعود ليتوج لبنان ملكا على عرش

الثقافة احلقيقي.

“ واإنك لعلى خلق عظيم”

العز للجمال و لبنان �شنق حاله!

دياال أحوشمراسلة صحافية

على عرش اجلمال توجت رينا شيباني ملكة جمال لبنان لعام

2012، في حفل فني نظمته املؤسسة اللبنانية لإلرسال “أل بي

سي” و أعدته روال سعد.بدأت حملة “تترجع إيام العز” منذ أشهر مع إعالن فتح باب

الترشيح للمسابقة. من يتابع املؤسسة اللبنانية لإلرسال يالحظ مسبقا نية املعدين أن يكون احلفل

إستثنائيا هذه السنة. و للمرة األولى منذ سنوات، و احلق يقال،

تتمتع هذه املسابقة مبعايير جمالية و ثقافية من شأنها أن حتاكي

املعايير العاملية ملسابقات اجلمال.بالنتيجة، فرح اللبنانيون بعودة اجلمال اللبناني إلى عزه و هللوا للملكة اجلديدة. كنا قد تعودنا

في السنني السابقة أن يتلو احلفل إحتجاجات جماهيرية معارضة

إلختيار اللجنة. “الشعب يريد ملكة جمال حلوة” كان أبرز الشعارات التي رفعت السنة املاضية بعد

تتويج امللكة السابقة يارا عيسى اخلوري. اليوم اختلفت الصورة؛

ضجت مواقع التواصل اإلجتماعي

بالتهاني و األماني. إلى حد اعتبرت رينا شيباني خليفة جلورجينا رزق،

ملكة جمال العالم اللبنانية، و كأن اللقب العاملي أصبح بلمحة بصر

في متناول اليد. بعد النجاح الباهر الذي حققته

امللكة رينا و شقيقتها التوأم رومي التي انتخبت الوصيفة األولى

اعتبرت ال “ال بي سي” أن أيام العز قد عادت. انتقلت احلملة إلى مرحلة

ما بعد النجاح، و رفع االن شعار “رجعت إيام العز”. العجيب في

األمر الثورة اإلعالمية التي رافقت احلملة، و ربط العز اجلمالي بعز

لبنان عامة. تنوعت التعليقات، قيل “هذا هو اجلمال اللبناني، احلضارة

اللبنانية، و هذه الصورة الذي يجب نقلها إلى العالم”. نعم، من الرائع

أن يكون لللبنانيني ملكة جمال ذات مواصفات عالية، و لكن هل

يعود عز لبنان و مكانته عامليا يوم تنتخب ملكة جمال مناسبة؟ من

شاهد منكم نشرة األخبار املسائية في اليوم التالي لإلنتخابات يفهم

قصدي من تعليق مماثل. زينت استديو األخبار صور امللكة اجلديدة

مع شعار احلملة، واستهلت النشرة بلقاء خاص مع رينا شيباني. قدم

املذيع امللكة، عدد ميزاتها اجلمالية و

رنا حربي مراسلة صحافية

إستنكارا للفيلم املسيء للنبي محمد )ص(، نظم النادي الثقافي

اجلنوبي، نادي Insight ،والنادي الثقافي السعودي حترك بعنوان

“وإنك لعلى خلق عظيم” صباح يوم ،West Hall اجلمعة 2012-10-5 في

عبروا من خالله عن رفضهم ليس فقط ملا تعرض له النبي محمد

)ص( ولكن أيضا للطريقة التي رد فيها البعض على هذه اإلساءة

باالعتداء على السفارات واملطاعم وقتل السفير األميركي وحرق

الطرقات العامة واحملالت. شارك في هذا التحرك عدة نوادي طالبية مثل النادي الثقافي الفلسطيني

Freedom Club، Social Club ، Youth Club و، ، Heritage Club

تتبع صفحة 12

الثقافية في مقدمة تسويقية. ثم اجته بحديثه عن اإلجناز الذي حققناه

اليوم كلبنانيني بنشر صورة بعيدة عن احلروب و الدمار، صورة جميلة

عن لبنان للخارج. إعذروني، و لكنني كمواطنة لبنانية، ما زلت أعاني من

ضيق إقتصادي، شباب بالدي ما زال يهاجر، و ما زلت معرضة يوميا حلرب

إن لم يشنها العدو اإلسرائيلي، شنها شعبي “احلضاري املثقف”

على بعضه البعض. من ناحية أخرى، إن أردنا النظر إلى

املسابقة بشكل خاص من دون التعليق على احلملة املرافقة. يجدر

بنا كمشاهدين و كرأي عام طرح بعض األسئلة عن التغيير املفاجئ

الذي طرأ على املسابقة. فهذه ليست املرة األولى التي تشرف

فيها الشبكة اللبنانية لإلرسال على إقامة احلفل، و لم تتغير

كثيرا الوجوه في جلنة احلكم. و لكن السنة كان من املقرر انتخاب

ملكة تخطف األضواء. ملاذا؟ وما سبب إنحدار مستوى املسابقة في السنني السابقة في األصل؟ و هل كان من املفترض أن تأخذ ال “أم تي

في” حق اإلشراف على املسابقة لعام 2011 لتشعر ال “أل بي سي”

بضرورة التطوير؟ و ماذا عن امللكات

LBC | ملكة جمال لبنان 2012، ووصيفتها األولى

جتمع الطالب أمام الـ West Hall | تصوير: عباس نعيم

السابقات اللواتي انتخنب من نفس املنبر اإلعالمي و اعتبرن اليوم من

أيام اإلنحدار ال من أيام العز؟في النهاية، ال يسعنا إال أن نتمنى لرينا كل التوفيق في مسيرتها، و

10 تشرين األول، 2012

26للللل لللللل، 2012

سارة أحمد الديرانيكاتبة صحفية

أقامت جمعية األلزهامير في لبنان ندوة مؤثرة جدا في قاعة هوستلر سنتر بعنوان “ حتى ال ننسى أولئك الذين ينسوننا “.

وفي هذه الندوة قامت اجلمعية بتعريف املرض وشرح أسبابه ونتائجه على احلضور بشكل

ممتع وبسيط. فعرفوا األلزهامير على أنه مرض يصيب اخلاليا

العصبية الدماغية بحيث أن تلك اخلاليا تبدأ بالتآكل فتفقد

تواصلها فيما بينها مولدة حالة من النسيان املريعة لدى املريض،

بحيث أنه ال يستطيع حتى أن يتذكر من هو، وأين هو.

أما بالنسبة ألسباب املرض ،فهناك نوعان من األزهامير: نوع وراثي، ينتقل عن طريق اجلينات

الوراثية من أحد الوالدين أو كليهما، وهو نوع غير منتشر

ويحدث بنسبة %10 ملن هم أصغر من 65 عاما. أما النوع

الثاني، فهو الفردي، ال يحدث عن طريق الوراثة، بل ملن هم أكبر من

65 عاما.

كل 7 ثواين : �شخ�ض جديد ي�شاب مبر�ض الألزهامير

ن�شاطات جامعية · 14

باإلضافة إلى ذلك قالوا لنا أن آخر اإلحصائات أثبتت أن “كل 7

ثواني هناك شخص جديد يصاب مبرض األلزهامير.” وهذه إحصائية مخيفة جدا. فما هو عالج هذا

املرض؟كما أشارت جمعية األلزهامير في

لبنان أن هناك تطورات مهمة جدا في األدوية التي تعطى للمريض حتى تخفف عليه

عوارض هذا املرض. فتساعده على احلفاظ على ما تبقى

من ذاكرته، أي أن هذه األدوية ال ميكنها أن تساعد املريض

كما يعتقد الكثيرون منا، بل على العكس قد يعيش اإلنسان

سنوات طوال بعد إصابته باأللزهامير. لكن املشكلة احلقيقة

تكمن بأن املصابني باملرض قد تنتهي حياتهم من الناحية

املعنوية ألنه يلغي ماضيهم ومستقبلهم!!

ف�شل بال�شتيكي جديد

حلول املطر تلبس الفتيات جزمات بالستيكية. ففهل كنا

ننتبه لهذه اجلزمات عند العمال ، خاصة أولئك الذين يعملون في تنظيف اجملارير الصحية؟

بالطبع ، ال . لكن عندما روجت لها املاركات العاملية أصبح من

ضرورياتنا شراءها. أخيرا فهمت ملاذا دخل البالستيك

عالم األزياء. فاملوضة، مادة سهلة التشكيل تتكون أساسا من “الفزلكات”. تركيبة مطابقة للبالستيك ، فأهال وسهال بكم

في فصل بالستيكي جديد.

فريال فقيهمراسلة صحفية

مضى على وجودي في هذه اجلامعة ثالث سنوات. ومع مرور

كل فصل جامعي جديد، أتعلم أشياء كثيرة و متنوعة ليس

أكادمييا فقط بل اجتماعيا ايضا. ومع بداية هذا الفصل اجلديد أدركت أن للبالستيك تعريف

ثان خارج عالم الكيمياء. ففي كلية الهندسة تعلمت أن

البالستيك، أي اللدائن ، هي مادة سهلة التشكيل تتكون أساسا

من البوليميرات. منذ الثورة

الصناعية انتقلت اجملتمعات من عصر الفحم احلجري الي عصر الذهب األسود الذي ساهم في تطوير صناعات عديدة، ومنها

الصناعات البالستيكية.هذه املادة دخلت في تركيب

األشياء واألدوات احمليطة بنا نظرا الستخداماتها الواسعة. مؤخرا بات للبالستيك ظهور حتى في

عالم األزياء. ومبا أن اجلامعية األميركية رائدة في مجاالت شتى ، فقد لوحظت املوضة

البالستيكية مع بدء العام اجلديد.

كنت جالسة وصديقتي على درج

“ويست” نراقب الوجوه اجلديدة، والكثيرة هذا العام . فالشقراء

كانت تفتخر بحقيبتها املصنوعة من البالستيك

الشفاف. كان بامكانك أن ترى كل ما في هذه احلقيبة ) محفظة لويس فيتون ، عدة

التبرج، عطر شانيل..(. مهمة اللصوص باتت أسهل مع هذه املوضة. ثم لفت نظرنا صندل بالستيكي ذات ألوان صيفية

صارخة. كلنا يعلم أن القدم هي نقطة ارتكاز وتوازن اجلسد كله. فهل بات ارتداء حذاء “بالستيك” على املوضة كاف لتجاهل صحة

القدمني؟ نصف ساعة جلسنا على ذلك الدرج ورأينا أكثر من

خمس فتيات لديهن ملصقات بالستيكية على أنوفهن، انه

موسم العمليات التجميلية. رغم اعتراضي على هذا النوع

“التشويهي التجميلي” اال أنني أقدر شجاعتهن القدامهن على

هكذا خطوة. فالطالبات اللواتي رأيناهن بدت األكياس السوداء

وآثار النزيف على وجوههن بشكل مؤذ للنظر.

البالستيك لم يدخل فقط في أزياء املوسم الصيفي، فمع

www.agingnomore.com

10 تشرين األول، 2012

ليسترجع ذاكرته ألن اخلاليا التي تفقدها ال ميكن أن حتيا من جديد.

لكنهم أكدوا أن التشخيص املبكر لهذا املرض يساعد املريض في حتسني نوعية حياته املقبلة،

أي أنه يستمر بالنسيان ولكن بنسبة أقل بكثير من أولئك الذين ال يواظبون على األدوية.

كما حتدثت مؤسسة اجلمعية السيدة ديان منصور عن الدور الفعال الذي تقوم به اجلمعية

.فهي تكرس جهودها ملساعدة املصابني من خالل تقدمي

املساعدات لهم، وكذلك تقدمي املساعدة لذويهم من خالل

تزويدهم بالدعم املعنوي، واملادي، واإلستشارات الطبية.

وفي ختام هذه الندوة، عرضت لنا جمعية ألزهامير فيلم وثائقي

بعنوان “Iris”. وهذا الفيلم يحكي قصة واقعية عن حياة إحدى أهم

الكتاب العاملني، وهي الروائية “ Iris Murdoch“ البرطانية

التي أصيبت مبرض األلزهامير في آخر حياتها ومن جراء هذا

املرض حتولت من إنسانة تتمتع بشخصية قوية جدا وكانت

صاحبة فكر فلسفي مشيق إلى إنسانة ضائعة تائهة في عالم

النسيان، الذي إستطاع حتى أن ينسيها إسمها.

وفي اخلتام، أود اإلشارة إلى أن هذا املرض ليس من األمراض القاتلة

26للللل لللللل، 2012إصدار 45، عدد 3

10 تشرين األول، 2012

اجلامعة الأمريكية يف بريوت ت�شتبق الدولة اللبنانية يف مواجهة التحر�ض اجلن�شي

دلل: “النظام اجلديد متطور، ووا�شح واأملنا به كبري”

وعلينا ان نعمل على تطوير نظام املناعة واحلماية لتفاديها”. وتوضيحا

ملا اثير حول التفاعل البطيء من قبل رجال االمن مع تلك احلادثة اكد على قناعته “ بأن العاملني في أمن اجلامعة يبذلون جهودهم للتعامل

باحترافية مع الشكاوى. كما ان االدارة تتأكد من مسيرتهم املهنية

والقضائية قبل توظيفهم ، وهم يخضعون لدورات تدريبية ويكسبون

بذلك مهارات وخبرات لتطبيقها على مجتمع اجلامعة”.

واخيرا عبر نائب رئيس اجلامعة للشؤون االكادميية عن ثقته بنظام

التمييز والتحرش قيد التطوير اذ “ال يشكل اطارا قانونيا فحسب بل

هو نهج ومثال للطالب – سفراء املستقبل الى بلدنا والى مجتمعنا،

واننا بذلك نؤدي دورا اجتماعيا وهدفنا املساهمة في التغيير ، لقد

باشرنا في اخلطوة االولى وما زال امامنا الكثير”.

في اخلتام، لعل املبادرة التي قامت بها اجلامعة األميركية تكون

مبثابة حافز للدولة اللبنانية لتبني سياسة واضحة وقوانني ضد

التمييز والتحرش بكل أشكاله من اجل ضمان سالمة اجملتمع وارساء

قواعد املساواة وحقوق االنسان.

نورة حمزةمراسلة صحافية

في ظل غياب القوانني الرادعة واالرادة السياسية الواضحة يصبح

الرهان على وعي املواطنني ، وعلى وجود بعض املبادرات الرائدة من املؤسسات اخلاصة تكاد تكون

االمل الوحيد حلماية ابنائنا من الظواهر والسلوكيات الشاذة التي استفحلت في مجتمعنا دون رقيب

او حسيب. احدى هذه املظاهر هي التحرش اجلنسي بكل اشكاله.

لقد تعدد تعريف التحرش اجلنسي اال ان التعاريف كافة اجمعت على

كونه أي عمل او سلوك او نشاط او فعل واع ومقصود يتم باساليب مختلفة سمعية، بصرية ، رمزية

أو لفظية يهدف الى احداث اثارة او تلميحات او نشاطات جنسية.

منذ بضعة ايام جرت حادثة مثيرة لالهتمام في برنامج حواري على احدى الفضائيات العربية حيث

توجه الضيف وهو وزير عربي بالكالم التالي الى مقدمة البرنامج

بعد ان اعلمته بوجود أسئلة من املشاهدين فقال : “ ...امتنى ان ال

تكون اسألتهم سخنة زيك”. هكذا افتتحنا لقاءنا مع وكيل

الشؤون االكادميية الدكتور أحمد دالل ))Provost في مكتبه في

كوليج هول يوم الثلثاء الفائت لدوره في تطوير وحتديث نظام احلماية

من اشكال التمييز والتحرش الذي وضعته اجلامعة األميركية في

بيروت منذ عام 2007 . علق نائب الرئيس على هذه احلادثة

بالقول:” لطاملا شكلت حاالت كهذه وحاالت أخرى مماثلة حافزا لوضع

قوانني رادعة للتحرش في عدد من البلدان التي تدرك اهمية القانون

في تامني حماية افراد اجملتمع . امنا القانون ال مينع حدوث بعض

اخلروقات ، لذلك يجب توفر مستوى عال من الثقافة والوعي لدى

املواطنني كافة ميكنهم من التمييز بني اخلطأ والصواب، بني التصرف

املقبول واملرفوض. لالسف الشديد ان مستوى الوعي للتمييز والتحرش ما زال متدنيا في مجتمعنا وبالتالي

تبرز احلاجة الى وجود اطار قانوني

ملعاجلة املشاكل والتداعيات التي يسببها التحرش”.

اما على املستوى احمللي، يرى دالل” ان لبنان الذي يعد من الدول املتقدمة

في مجال حقوق االنسان لم يتوصل حتى اليوم الى وضع قوانني

حتمي من التحرش اجلنسي ، االمر الذي يشكل معضلة بالنسبة

الينا . فنحن نعمل في اجلامعة األميركية على تطبيق انظمة

وسياسات متطورة قد قد تتخطى الدولة وبالتالي نبدو أحيانا كأننا نتحدى السلطة. امنا ذلك ال يعني

ان السلطة ال تتدخل في حال حدث خرق للقوانني اللبنانية داخل حرم اجلامعة، فنحن على يقني من

مساعدة الدولة الينا في احلاالت التي تفوق قدرتنا على ضبطها.

في ما يتعلق باجلامعة، فمنذ بداية مسؤولياتي في االدارة لثالث سنوات

خلت، دعيت إلنشاء جلنة خاصة ملراجعة “ نظام احلماية من اشكال التمييز والتحرش” ، وبالفعل فقد أمضينا سنة ونصف في املداوالت مبشاركة أخصائيني، باالضافة الى

أغلب فئات اجملتمع اجلامعي من وطالب وعامالت في احلقل الطبي

وممثلي جمعيات أهلية معنية بهذا املوضوع، كما تواصلنا مع أشخاص

سبق وتعرضوا للتحرش وغيرهم من املعرضني احملتملني ألزمة مماثلة.

ومن املفيد االشارة إلى التزام جميع الذين شاركوا بهذا اجلهد مما سهل إجناز مشروع خطة العمل باإلضافة إلى وضع سياسات وحتديد إجراءات وآليات للحد من التحرش وحماية

مجتمع اجلامعة.أضاف:” وميكن القول أن النظام

واآللية اجلديدة املقترحة هي أفضل وأوضح مما كان معتمدا في السابق.

مازلنا حاليا في مرحلة مناقشة هذا النظام ومراجعة أثره في

اجلامعة، وفي ضوء هذه ااملناقشات سوف يتحول إلى نظام معتمد

ويطبق بعد موافقة مجلس أمناء اجلامعة.

إن إحدى العناصر الرئيسية للنظام اجلديد تقضي بايجاد

Ombuds per- )مرجع مختص ) son ملساعدة “الضحية” وإرشادها التخاذ االجراءات املناسبة وإعالمها

بالطرق العديدة املتوفرة الرسمية وغير الرسمية لتجاوز املشكلة .

وال يقتصر دور “املرجع” على حاالت التحرش اجلنسي بل يشمل جميع أنواع الشكاوى. كما يركز النظام

اجلديد على التوعية وتثقيف مختلف أفراد مجتمعنا في هذا اجملال، بعد أن أدركنا أنه األساس السليم للتغيير. أننا مصممون على إعالم كافة أفراد مجتمعنا

بحقوقهم وبأهمية هذه الظاهرة التي قد يجهلها العديد وال يقدرون

آثارها السلبية على العالقات بني مكونات اجلامعة. وقد قسم النظام

اجلديد بطريقة مختلفة بهدف املزيد من الشفافية واإليضاح،

وحماية الضحايا وضمان سرية مقدمي الشكاوى، األمر الذي

يشكل في أكثر األحيان عائقا للبوح بها”.

وبسؤاله عن العقوبات التي ميكن أن تتخذها اجلامعة في هذا الشأن،

أجاب دالل أن “العقوبة مرتبطة بدرجة خطورة احلادثة، ويعود للجنة املكلفة دراسة كل حالة على حدة

والتوصية لرئيس اجلامعة الذي يتخذ القرار املناسب، وميكن أن يصل اإلجراء الى طرد املذنب من عمله في

اجلامعة.

أننا على يقني بأن تطبييق النظام واعتماده بشكل جدي، باإلضافة

إلى تعميم املعرفة وتدريب وتثقيف املعنيني بتطبيقه وجميع املعرضني

خملاطره من شأنه أن يحد بشكل ملموس وأن يخفض مبا نسبته 90 من األحداث السلبية. كما أن هذا

النظام سوف يخضع للتقييم والتحديث الدائم لضمان فعاليته. أن عقود العمل مع اجلامعة تنص

صراحة على وجوب اطالع جميع العاملني في اجلامعة من مختلف

الرتب والفئات بجميع األنظمة املعتمدة في اجلامعة ومنها نظام

مكافحة التحرش والتمييز”. وبسؤال دالل عن حادثة حترش

تعرضت لها فتاة صغيرة في حرم اجلامعة منذ أكثر من عام، كمثال

عن اجراءات عملية عند وقوع حادثة حترش، أجاب أنه” للجامعة دائما

موقف واضح ملصلحة العائلة ونهتم بالوضع النفسي للضحية . ولقد عرضنا تقدمي مساعدة اجلامعة

في هذا الشأن. ونحن ندعو االهل ونشجعهم على اتخاذ االجراءات

القانونية التي يرونها مناسبة، ونتعاطف معهم ،وأكمل دالل أنه ال ميكن استبعاد امكانية حصول أحداث مماثلة داخل حرم اجلامعة،

دكتور أحمد دالل مع مراسلين األوتلوك