SpOrTS campuS life

Messi, Again Crowded Cafeteria

peOple OpiniOn
Theatre Veteran Gold Prices

year Xiii, vOl. i, nO. v

TRIBUNE
page 3 page 4 page 6 page 9 The Official STudenT newSpaper aT The lebaneSe american univerSTy

Monday, Jan.16, 2012

TribuneLAU@gmail.com

Fine Arts Building: A Hazard For Students

By Omar El Tani

LAU Tribune staff

LAU does not provide fire extinguishers on every floor of the Fine Arts building but, to put it simply, it is not enough to have fire extinguishers in case of a fire. There also needs to be an emergency exit which the six-storey building does not provide. These shortcomings are the most serious among the many problems that the Fine Arts building at LAU faces. The first basement floor could do with a tune-up. Electric wires stick out from the ceiling and water pipes also protrude. The cement ceiling seems to be rotting while mold grows on the walls, tainting the white surfaces with blackness. Of course it is exaggerated and very unlikely to happen but death by asphyxiation seems like a possible future headline in the Tribune. No matter whom you ask at the Fine Arts building, people will tell you that the ventilation in the basement is kaput. The photography lab, where films are processed, reeks of chemicals, due to poor ventilation and small space. One of the chemicals used to process photos is called ILFORD ELFOTEK DD-X, a levelthree carcinogen. According to the ILFORD PHOTO Material Safety Data Sheet, the chemical must not be handled in confined space withfine arts and communication arts curricula. Vatche Kalforian, a part-time music instructor, explains the problems he faces at room B21. We always have problem with the ventilation but also problems with the equipment for class, he said. The finishing is not in a good condition and we have too much echo. Even if you talk, it reverberates a lot as if you are in a cathedral. On the of first basement floor in B212, when they turn on the central heating, you cant breathe, Rima Khcheich, a music instructor, said. You cant control
Photo by: Ahmad Yassine

out ventilation. The developing room needs new cabinets and a new sink and the walls have to be bright, according to photography lab supervisor George Andrea. The lab requires a higher ceiling for the flash and more space to accommo-

date computers. After a fire at the lab in 2003, the staff were told that the air conditioning ducts would be renovated but that didnt happen. Briefly, the Fine Arts building, as it is today, does not cater to the demands of the

continued on page 10

Discrimination Based on Social Status

By Layan Doueik LAU Tribune staff
I entered the dorms kitchen and found them. They were there making kafta sandwiches and dipping bits of bread in the hummus plate they had prepared. On the same table lied a couple of brand-new laptops. We dont have time to waste. We are here on a mission; to graduate with high grades, Suzan Faraj, USAP nutrition student from Obedieh, said. Faraj is one of the 52 undergraduate students who were recently accepted into the University Student Assistance Program, a USAIDfunded initiative that provides full scholarships to public school graduates with high financial need from all around Lebanon. For her and all US aid students, its a dream come true. Majdoleen Chmouri, a communication arts student from West Bekaa, is eager to demonstrate her capabilities and excited to live this new experience. Living in the capital is going to be an open door for a whole new world, she said. But despite the many doors this program opens, it still proves difficult for US aid students and other financial aid students as it thrusts them into a culture that is not their own. I used to live in West Bekaa, with a small society where all people are caring and united, Chmouri continued this time with a different tone. Here, its a big society with a lot of people but it is as if no one is around. There is a great difference. People here dont say hi, Faraj said, interrupting her colleague. Arzak Mohammed, a 23-year-old MEPI student from Yemen, shares Farajs complaint. People here are the crme of Lebanon. They have the money and the cars, she said. I couldnt fit in such a society. Mohammed is one of the 100 undergraduate students who were accepted into the MEPI (The Middle East Partnership Initiative) program which is initially an intensive 5- to 6-week exchange program to the United States from the Middle East and North Africa and which was recently adapted to LAU, Lebanon. I am in my junior year and still cant enter any group, Mohammed added. In the US, we made friends much faster than here. Of all the USAP and MEPI students I interviewed, none had ever thought he or she would one day study at such an expensive university and get a 500-dollar monthly stipend. Sarah Bou Ajram, coordinator of Leadership and Civic Engagement and a coordinator of the USAP program at LAU, pointed out that most of the accepted students had no other opportunities to attend such a university. Even if merit scholarship was offered to them, they cant afford living here, she said.

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On Love and War

By MariaFellas LAU Tribune staff

CAMPUS NEWS
By Carla Hazarian LAU Tribune staff
Photo via Creative Commons

Tribune

Jan.16, 2012

LAU Christmas Choir

LAU held its annual Christmas carol concert in Irwin Hall Auditorium on December 21. Children and their parents came together to celebrate the season and listen to many festive classics directed by Leila Dabaghi. No expense was spared as the auditorium was filled with warm colors, decorations and a large Christmas tree right next to the choir on stage. Families huddled together, singing traditional Christmas songs such as And the Glory of the Lord and We Three Kings of Orient, all played beautifully by Fady Kallab on the piano. The choir and the crowd often interacted, as audience members were given programs so they could sing along to popular classics like Joy to the World, Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells and many more favorites. The concert was a success and there was not a seat to spare.
Photo via Creative Commons

Sahar Moukaddem, a journalism student, and Alexandra Shrayteh, an LAU alumna, sat down with Arabic lecturer Rachid Al-Daif late December to discuss their recently published novels with an audience of literary enthusiasts. Students from Daifs creative writing class attended the gathering along with humanities chair Vahid Bahmardi, vice president for student development and enrollment management Elise Salem and English professor Samira Aghacy. Shraytehs book Deyman Coca-Cola was the center of most of the debates for its sensitive topic. The young writer explained that her novel reflected the situation of many girls in Lebanon. Its about girls discovering their bodies and their sexuality in the midst of a judgmental society, she said.

The statement seemed to apply in the case of the two novels. I addressed the issue of teenage pregnancy and how the girls social class affects her decisions in this situation, Moukaddem said, referring to her novel Ana wKarim wal-Sushi (Me, Karim and Sushi). Many taboos were addressed in the audiences questions. One of the issues raised was how the topic addressed in both stories affected the reputation of both young ladies, who insisted that the stories didnt come from their immediate entourage but were rather common in Lebanon as a whole. I come from a very conservative family, so Im not necessarily faced with issues like this in my everyday life, Moukaddem said. But the fact that my grandfather is a religious figure and the status of my family didnt affect

their critique of the story I wrote. The young writer added that her family, and especially her grandfather, were supportive and offered her constructive criticism instead of harsh judgment. Both young authors acknowledged the role of Daif for his assistance during the writing process. Both said they couldnt have done it without him. During the event, Bahmardi announced the start of a creative writing program to give students a chance to achieve what the two young women have. With this plan put to action, many students will have the opportunity to shine and bring out their inner writer or poet, Daif commented. We are very proud of both young ladies and only hope the best is yet to come, Salem concurred.

LAU Webmail Takes on New Look

ByAssaad Hawwa LAU Tribune staff
LAU students switched from the old webmail system to a new one as of December 7, 2011. An email was sent to the entire LAU community asking them to switch their own accounts. The request was also published on the LAU website several weeks before the day appointed. According to the website, you will no longer have access to your old email but incoming messages will be forwarded to your new account. I do not feel particularly thrilled about the move to a bigger inbox or a better interface. As long as it keeps forwarding my emails, its enough for me, Jad Baz, a computer science student, said. The main advantage in the switch remains quite significant. The old webmail had a storage capacity of only 20 megabytes, however the new webmail has a capacity of 10 gigabytes, Camille AbouNasr, assistant vice president for information technology, said. Many welcomed this difference. I like the new one much more, its capacity is much bigger than the old one, and its design as well , Nadine Daouk, a graphic design student, said. According to Abou-Nasr, most of LAU students have already switched to the new webmail. Six out of almost eight thousand users have by now transferred to the new one, he said. The webmail is the main means of communication that allows students to collaborate online with their professors and fellow students. In the near future, students will notice new features in the new webmail, which they will like and make their corresponding process much easier, Abou-Nasr said

Sports Mania
By Mohamad Al-Oraiby LAU Tribune staff
Ten-year-old Samir Bsat wakes up in his footballshaped bed every morning. Gazing at the posters of the famous Kaka around his room, Samir tunes in to find his remote and opens the sports channel. Samirs seventeen-yearold sister and worst enemy Sarah is not a fan of her little brothers interest and focuses all her time on fashion. But these siblings interests have more in common than they think. Sports, just like any other business, are made up of investors, sports agencies, media and sponsors. The industry as a whole is worth over 600 billion dollars today according to a study by business expert A.T. Kearney. This includes infrastructure construction, sporting goods, licensed products and live sports events. All football clubs are owned by businessmen who aim essentially for profit and market their clubs to make maximum revenue. Even though Im a big sports fan, I have never really thought about who owns the clubs, but I am sure its a good investment, Rami Othman, a business senior at LAU, said. Manchester United is owned by businessman Malcolm Glazer who owns the First Allied Corporation, a billion-dollar company owning shopping malls across the US. Real Madrid, owned by a wealthy board, generates hundreds of million euros a

SPORTS

Jan 16, 2012

Tribune

Messi, Again
By Lyn Abu-Seraj LAU Tribune staff
For the third time in a row, Barcelonas Lionel Messi earned the title of the worlds best player of the year, winning the FIFA Ballon dOr at an awards ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland, on January 9. The Ballon dOr annually honors the European football player of the year based on his past performance. The Ballon dOr is the worlds most prestigious award a player can receive; Messi successfully got 48 percent of the votes from national team coaches, captains and media. He dedicated the award to this team and to Xavi, a team mate. Xavi, this Ballon dOr is yours as well, Messi said. Messi also won the Primera Division, Spanish Super Copa, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup last year. He told reporters that his team is looking forward for the upcoming year with a great deal of hunger to more awards and success. Other players such as Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Marco Van Basten have also won this award three times each. Ronaldo became the first Brazilian player to win this award in 1997. Italian clubs such as Milan and Juventus have amassed the largest number of Ballons dOr. The first player to win the Ballon dOr in 1956 was Stanley Mathews from Blackpool Football Club. He scored 47 points, equaling the record set by Platini.
Photo via Facebook

year 438.6m at the end of last season. It is also funded by the Spanish king. Famous football clubs feature all kinds of related commercial goods, from lunch boxes to clothes and accessories. I love wearing Real Madrid hats and jumpers, Othman said. I am a big supporter and I feel Im part of the team when I wear them. Fans may also purchase luxury sport commodities like a 2.5 million dollar football made of gold and diamonds the most expensive ball in the world. Just like the fashion and music industries, the sports industry has its celebrities, brands and followers. From a business perspective, every sports club can be considered as a commercial brand name, John McGill, marketing professor at LAU, explained. I absolutely love Beckham, he is an excellent player and let us not forget how hot he looks on the field, Tala

Jabri, an international business junior at LAU, said. David and Victoria Beckham are among the worlds most famous couples; they are followed by paparazzi and celebrity gossip magazines around the clock. The merging of these two celebrity tycoons gave them enough power and money to be influential names both in the fashion and sports industries. Although it did not win any trophies during the 2008/2009 season, Real Madrid became then the highest earning sports club in history as it made up to 541 million dollars according to Yahoo! Sports. Im not sure how much Real Madrid makes every time the team plays a game, Othman said. Im guessing a million dollars or two, maximum. Jerome Valcke, the general secretary of the Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), announced that the team that wins the World Cup trophy receives 30 million dol-

lars. The runner-up gets 24 million dollars; the team placed third gets 20 million dollars as for the fourth place the team gets an estimated 18 million dollars. All participating teams receive 1 million dollars each from FIFA for preparation costs. Sports are categorized under entertainment, even though it is a sport and a game, it is considered to be just like the music industry; for entertainment McGill explained. Viewers from all around the world gather to entertain themselves with football, unaware of the huge profit these teams make in every game. Samir and his sister Sarah are both fans of brands and are great supporters of two comparable billiondollar industries. Whether they buy a football-shaped bed or a Christian Dior fur coat, Samir and Sarah are both spending their money on commercialized goods that brands transform from a want into a need.

Quote of the Issue

No matter the honour I get, I feel its recognition for the 25 years of Manchester United. They always shared my vision and passion. Ive been a very lucky manager. That makes Manchester United such a special club, Sir Alex Ferguson, manager Of Manchester United, said upon winning the presidential award from Fifa.

Upcoming games
Serie A
21/01

Upcoming games
Serie A
22/01

Upcoming games
Premier League
21/01

Upcoming games
La Liga
22/01

AS Roma V Cesena Atalanta V Juventus

22/01

Udinese Inter

V V

Catania Lazio

Norwich City Bolton

22/01

V Chelsea V Liverpool

Real Madrid V Malaga Osasuna

Ath Bilbao

V Barcelona V Valencia

Novara Siena

V V

AC Milan Napoli

Man City Arsenal

V Tottenham V Man Utd

CAMPUS LIFE
By Iman Soufan LAU Tribune staff
At a time when LAU is considering a photography minor or major, some students taking photography classes at LAU buy their projects from professional photographers. Taking the pictures and then developing them takes too long. This is time-efficient and easier, a marketing student who is taking photography as his free elective said. Who has the energy to take photos? If I buy my projects, I get a B without doing anything. A communication arts senior agreed. Im taking photography as an elective and I want to raise my GPA so to make sure Im getting a good grade Id rather get it done professionally than to do it myself, the student said. To investigate the issue, I went to a nearby photography studio myself. I had seen the employee on campus taking pictures a few days earlier. I asked about buying photos shot on the LAU campus. For sure, Ill take the pictures for you, he said. The employee explained that he told the guards at the gate he was a potential student and wanted to go to the admissions office. Once on campus, he would meet me so I can give him my camera as he cant get in with his. A 36-photo film, printed on negatives and on a contact sheet, costs 159,000 Lebanese pounds, the employee also told me. Photography instructors are aware that students cheat and have been trying to prevent it. Every student should present a paper signed by the lab supervisor,

Tribune

Jan. 16, 2012

Students Buy Photography Projects

Bassam Lahoud said. I asked ex-photography students how they found a way around this. Id go sit in the dark room and listen to music and around an hour, a marketing senior said. I later walk out and make the dude sign my slip for me. A business junior had a similar strategy. Well, I would go in put my stuff down in the dark room and then go see my friends on campus and come back around an hour or two later pick up my bag and get the slip signed, the student said. I was lucky the men at the studio wouldnt notice that I had left. Wassim Karkour, the photo lab supervisor, found out about this and now asks students to develop photos while hes in the dark room. But a crack in the system still exists. If the students are new, I dont recognize them, Karkour said. As the semester goes by I become more familiar with the students level and so does the professor. Moreover, the new rule only applies to PHO210 since it is film-based. PHO211 and photojournalism are digitalbased courses. Pictures students present dont need to be developed in a dark room. Rached Bohsali, the chair of the fine arts department, said that the lack of facilities makes it easier for students to get away with cheating. The fact that there are no facilities means that we are encouraging plagiarism, he said. Bohsali revealed that LAU plans to build new labs to accommodate students. With the new labs and facilities, nobody would be allowed to do any work outside the lab, he said. All the work will be done under supervision. Bohsali however cautioned that only a minority is actually cheating. He explained that, when caught, students suffer dearly. This doesnt go buy unpunished, Bohsali affirmed. A design student who got caught several years ago was forced to fail his entire year. Faculty were then notified and kept an open eye throughout the students tenure at the university. This, for now, does not keep some students from cheating. I took photography I four semesters ago and I got an A on all my projects. I didnt do any of them myself, a marketing senior laughed. I dont know how to use a film camera and I dont want to know.

Do You Know Who Shannon and Nicol Are?

By Mayya al Ogaily LAU Tribune Staff
Photo by Ahmad Yassine

You know the names, you know the places but you may not know the story hidden behind every name or place. The Lebanese American University was first established as a college for women in Downtown Beirut in 1924. Its founder, the American School for Girls, was the first missionary school for women in the region. The college became known, as of 1927, as the American Junior College for Women (AJCW). Since then, the campus has changed and slowly developed into the facilities we know today. LAUs Beirut campus now comprises seven buildings. Although most students here must have attended at least one class in each building, many admitted they have no idea what each buildings name stands for. Ive been at LAU for almost two years now and it

never occurred to me to ask about what the name of these buildings represent, or what they stand for, if they actually do, Safwat Al Jabi, nutrition sophomore at LAU, said. Nicol, Shannon, Irwin, Orme-Gray, and Riyad Nassars Library are all names of former LAU presidents who played a major role in the establishment and development of the university through the years. The origin of Sage Halls name, on the other hand, is obscure. We found no sources on the subject. Meanwhile, Al Safadi Fine Arts Building is not named after a former president, but after Mohammed A. Safadi, member of Lebanese Parliament and a major contributor to LAU. Erected in 1933, Sage Hall is the first building on campus. It was financed through gifts from the womens Orga-

nizations of the Presbyterian Church (USA). The second building on campus was established in 1943. James H. Nicol, president of LAU between 1941 and 1943, was the executive secretary of the mission that started the constructions; he had much to do securing the campus and its early development, thats why Nicol Hall was named in honor of his efforts. Irwin Hall came next in 1950, on the 25th anniversary of the founding of the college. It is named in honor of Frances Pryor Irwin, the first female principal of the American Junior College for Women, at the time. Irwin was described as a great mentor. She suffered from a terminal illness that took her life when she was only 44. After Irwins death, Winifred Shannon filled her place and became the acting principal in 1935. She was the found-

er of the nursery school and a leader in social welfare. Shannon was also a professor of home economics, an important course back when LAU was still women-only college. In 1954, Shannon Hall was completed thanks to The Ford Foundation. It was initially a daycare for the children of the universitys professors. In 1965, almost ten years later, the Orme-Gray Hall was built. It is not only dedicated to one president, but two. The first is Rhoda Orme, 19541955, and the second Frances

M. Gray, 1959-1965. The building was split in two halves in order to accommodate offices and faculty rooms on one side, and the women dorms on the other. Before current president Joseph G. Jabbra took over, Riyad F. Nassar was LAUs president. He served for 39 years in different capacities, 22 of which he was president. The new library was thus named in honor of his accomplishments. The library is part of the business building which is one of the newest buildings on campus.

CAMPUS LIFE

Jan. 16, 2012

Tribune

Vox Pop: How Did You Spend Your Christmas Vacation?

Rashid Mokaddam 20-year-old marketing student I went to Attaybeh. My village in the south of Lebanon

Karim Kanaan 18-year-old architecture student I traveled to London with my friends.

Mahdi Yahfoufi 22-year-old business student I relaxed, slept and spent time with my friends.

Tala Khansa 20-year-old education student I went shopping, clubbing and spent time with friends and family.

Lara Khaddaj 19-year-old interior design student I spent some time with my family.

Cafeteria Grows Too Small

By Ranim Hadid LAU Tribune staff
Iman Soufan only had 30 minutes before class when she rushed into the cafeteria. She patiently stood at the cashier for 10 minutes. Soufan then ran to the hot sandwich counter and stood in the back of the 15-person line. Twenty minutes later, she grabbed her sandwich and ate it on her way to class. Please dont let me be late, she gasped. Soufans experience reflects what LAU Beirut students go through on a daily basis in order to eat. The LAU Beirut cafeteria consists of six separate sections; salad, daily dish, hot/ cold sandwiches, saj, drinks and dessert. One waiter at each counter stands and, inside the kitchen, two extra waiters wait to be called when needed outside. According to Abdalrazak Sameh, cafeteria manager, most areas of the cafeteria only get crowded between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. since hot food is not served earlier. In the morning, its different, he said. The saj counter is most crowded because it is the only thing available. We always have unoccupied seats in the morning. Rim, a pharmacy student, complained about this specific issue. It takes me 15 minutes to find seats, she said. Its always really crowded and I end up standing with my tray almost every time I go. I decided to investigate the problem. Between 12 and 1 p.m., over 137 students entered the cafeteria to grab a bite. After standing in different lines several times a day, I noticed that, before 11:30 a.m., getting food is easier as standing in the line takes less than 10 minutes. This problem is during rush hour. Around 10 to 15 students stand in the line after 12 and it takes over 15 minutes to get food. The problem escalated recently due to the change of caterers from Faqra to Socrate. I didnt even know what the cafeteria in LAU looked like till this semester, I never used to go there, Ramzi Khaled, a business major, said. Now that we have Socrate, I visit two to three times a week. Nehmat Aoun, director of the hospitality office at LAU, is aware of the problem. After doing a survey, we discovered that students feel there is a shortage of staff in the sandwich section, Aoun said. At the beginning of each semester, a contract is signed between the university and the caterers. This contract stipulates that 18 people work in the cafeteria to accommodate students. Even if we hired four or five extra people the hot sandwiches take time to prepare, Aoun said. Aoun revealed work on a new bigger cafeteria under the LRC will begin in March. We told the contractors to take into consideration the growth of students in Beirut, she said. The current cafeteria accommodates 250 seats indoor and 250 seats outdoor. Since 2010, the number students at both the Byblos and Beirut campuses increased to over 8,000 students. Self-service will also be included in the new cafeteria in sections such as dessert and drinks to decrease the length of the cues. It is not manageable to have self-service in the current Beirut cafeteria, Aoun said. It wouldnt work. Aoun believes that students prefer food court style cafeteria, such Costa Coffee and Starbucks. Unfortunately, even if we renovate, not all the sections will be self-service, she said. We will have pre-packed salads and sandwiches, which will help control crowds in most sections. Soufan prefers the cafeteria over the restaurants and cafs around campus. She just does not want to be late to class. Its such a shame that it takes me so long to eat, its essential for us as students to find available and fast services in university cafeterias, she said.
Photo by Ahmad Yassine

PEOPLE
By Natalia Elmani LAU Tribune staff
I was told I would be eating Campbells soup for 10 years, Habib Battah, a journalism instructor at LAU, said, voicing the common predicament many journalists who enter the workforce face. Battah hesitated when he first began his undergraduate studies but he moved forward, eventually earning his BA in journalism from the University of Texas. The idea of eating soup out of a can for a long time seemed less dampening then the ambience hovering over the United States on a lot of Arab-Americans post 9/11. I felt like the atmosphere was very overbearing, he said, a feeling that some may find hard to shake off, especially when covering current news topics. It was very difficult for an Arab American who lived in Lebanon to be critical. Any kind of contrary point of view to the Bush foreign policy leading up to the war in Iraq was really viewed as almost traitorous. The fear rose for Middle Eastern Americans and Battah felt the pressure as a number of them were being harassed or even killed in Texas. I remember having a Pakistani neighbor who put an American flag on his front door, he recalled. It was a tough time. In this context, Battah felt it was best to head back to the receiving end of the issue: the Middle East. By 2002, he was back to Lebanon, greeted by a number of journalism opportunities. Jumping from different jobs across the country, Battah eventually ended up reporting from Doha, Qatar, set-

Tribune

Jan. 16, 2012

Habib Battah: The Adventures of an Arab Journalist

ting up the first English website for Al Jazeera. After pushing past the feeling that his Americanism was under scrutiny, Battah allowed Al Jazeera to give him that spark most journalists try to pursue. Al Jazeera was this phenomenon, he said. Americans were fascinated and disgusted with Al Jazeera at the same time. But the doors kept opening and the jobs continued to find him. He eventually became a managing editor for Middle East Broadcast Journalists for two years. Battah then explored freelance journalism. He worked with Variety, a magazine based in Los Angeles circulating around the media industry, and with some of the most well-known news organizations such as CNN and BBC. Packed with experience, Battah headed back to the United States and attended New York University, where he received his masters in journalism in 2010. Around that time, Battah published an article, Return to the Valley of the Jews, in Al Jazeera English, describing the Jewish quarters in Beirut and the remainder of its former glimmering existence. Authorities detained Battah, Solidere requested public apologies from him and he got to experience in-depth one of the countrys controversial topics. But the investigative piece led him to win the Samir Kassirs Freedom of the Press Award in 2011. During this period, Battah also got the chance to be up close and personal with Snoop Dogg. Originally planning to interview him for his own documentary, he ended up covering the American hip-hop rappers event in Beirut for CNNs series, Inside the Middle East. I was very surprised by his abilities, Battah said. With articles across some of the biggest news organizations, documentary involvement and his blog which fills in the gaps to his published pieces, Battah passes on inspiring motivation to his students today. You need to work hard to do good journalism, he said. The more we have journalists taking journalism seriously in Lebanon, the more accountability we will have from our public figures.

Ziad Abu Absi: A Theatre Veteran

By Rouba Jaafar LAU Tribune staff
Ziad Abu Absi is a man who made so many people laugh although in reality hes quite a serious person. He has a decent sense of humor but hates mockery. A former drama instructor at LAU, he is a veteran actor and director and an icon in the Lebanese theatre scene. Abu Absi was born on August 10, 1956 in Rashaya AlFukhar. He started his acting career as a young member of the Lebanese Scout. He soon fell in love with theatre and took external degree classes in communication arts, drama emphasis, at the Beirut University College LAU today. The drama veteran has worked with Ziad Rahbani in all his plays since 1978; Bennesbi la Bukra Shu? (1978), Film Ameriki Tawil (1980), Shi Feshil (1983), Bikhsous el Karami wel Shaab el Aanid (1993) and Lawla Foshat al-Amal (1994). Abu Absi describes his experience with Rahbani as quite fruitful and enjoyable. Ziad has his own style, which I could capture from the first play I did with him, he said. I dont adopt his style myself; my vision in theatre is different. Abu Absi also worked with other directors like Yaaqub Al-Shidrawi in Jubran wal Kaida (1981), Faysal Farhat in Soukout Oubes Agha (1981), Rabih Mroueh in Al-Mafatih (1996). He also worked in television with Rafic Hajjar. Abu Absi is the kind of person who never observes himself and always stresses on the respect of humanity. I respect humanity and I get angry when this respect is abused in any way, he said. For Abu Absi, theatre is the place to see more of humanity and examine how people behave in specific situations. He explains that theatre posits problems of behavior in the sense that characters face, and need to surpass, impediments. These are what we call dramatic moments, he said. In these moments, the viewers partake in the dilemma. Abu Absi became a theatre professor at LAU in 1986 after receiving a masters degree in philosophy and theatre from the University of Houston. In 1992, Abu Absi returned to the United States where he specialized in Shakespearean theatre. He directed several plays by Shakespeare after he returned to LAU, including Macbeth, Richard the Third, The Twelfth Night, The Merry Wives of Windsor and As You Like It. I introduced masterpieces from European drama like Shakespeare, he said. I selected plays written by pioneers and brought them to perform on stage. Abu Absi believes that theatre gave him pleasure but also tired him. Theatre gave me fatigue and this is why I think of going back but keep standing on cold feet, he said. Recently, Abu Absi acted in the movie Where Do We Go Now by Nadine Labaki, where he played the role of the sheikh who tries to help save the village from sectarianism. It was his first encounter in the world of film. Its a good movie but I didnt like my voice, he said. The Waltz of the Toreadors, a play written by Jean Anouilh and directed by Norman Lofland is Abu Absis favorite work. Norman Lofland was my mentor at that time, I didnt adopt his style either but I tried it, he said. I tried many methods and styles in acting until I settled on the no-style approach. Abu Absi wrote several books about theatre such as Kalam aan al Masrah. No doubt that the 56-year-old bearded man has done so much in his long-term relationship with Lebanese theatre, yet he conserves his typical modesty when he speaks about himself. I feel satisfied although I havent done anything special in my life, he said.

CULTURE & FASHION

Rola Hamadeh Living Her Dream
By Caroline Feghaly LAU Tribune staff
she greeted everybody. How are you all? I missed you!, she said joyfully, as if addressing her own family. Hamadeh already wanted to become an actress when she was eight years old. But, like many in Lebanon, her parents rejected the idea. They thought that I was a child and that, when I grew older, I would change my mind, she told me. They didnt take me seriously. Hamadeh and her parents ultimately reached a compromise; Once she got a degree in another major, she would be permitted to give acting a shot. Hamadeh pursued her studies at Saint Joseph University and earned a masters in business administration. To fulfill her dream, she studied acting with professors from the Lebanese University without earning a degree in the major. She also attended numerous workshops and acted in several of her friends plays abroad. Hamadehs first experience on television was with Lebanese actor Ibrahim Meraachli; a television program called Aghani wa Maani (or Songs and Lyrics). It was her first encounter with fame. This was my first time on television. I was still fresh, not an expert in acting, she said. I acted on television the same way I act in theatre. But people started knowing who I was without any effort on my behalf. It was spontaneous. The role Hamadeh related to most is that of a mother she played in the Tele Liban series Familia. The actress and her character were both women of reason, morality, and shared similar values. Family was their priority a priority which meant that Hamadeh temporarily stopped acting when she got her first newborn. Family comes first, she said. Hamadeh believes that an actor is a person who sums up all kinds of arts. To be good actors, drama students should educate themselves in music, drawing, writing, dancing, etc. An actor doesnt have only one hobby, she said. He is open to all creative endeavours and is very cautious and observant of peoples actions, especially when he is asked to impersonate a certain character. For her, ability comes with training. Actors should keep practicing. They should learn that their voice and body are their tools, Hamadeh said. Actors should also believe the character theyre playing. They should live the character. Hamadeh believes that acting gave her happiness and excitement. It made her feel fulfilled and satisfied. But, aside from acting, Hamadeh particularly likes dancing. If I had the oppurtunity to learn dancing, I might have pursued it, she said, smiling. I dont know why but I really love dancing. Maybe I danced in another life. Hamadeh advises drama students not to rely on acting in Lebanon because its narrow.
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Jan. 16, 2012

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Daily Bread
By Sari Shrayteh LAU Tribune contributor
In a consumer-based world, where our purpose is to buy, possess and consume, the future although always uncertain looks gloomy. Hasan Salemeh, a student director at LAU, has his own vision of what shall come. His play, Daily Bread, revolves around a set of characters in a post apocalyptic world, forced into the sewers when all the resources of the upper world were spent. Lost and crushed by the collapse of the system that defines them, the characters still struggle to adapt to this new world, each in his or her own way. They still live in a social hierarchy they built on their former lives. We define ourselves by the cars that we drive or the clothes that we wear or the house that we own, so when these things are taken away, who are we ultimately? Salemeh asks. We have lost our individuality, lost it under layers of cell phones and fast food. It is time to wake up and reclaim ourselves for who we really are not what we own.

I sat in the backstage of the Gulbenkian theatre in the Fine Arts building with the cast members of this falls major production. They were waiting for her to arrive. Around 30 minutes later, the backstage door opened and a tall woman with a slim figure entered, a wide smile drawn on her face trying to catch her breath. Yes, its her. The famous Lebanese actress, Rola Hamadeh, who performed in Lina Khourys first major production at LAU, Occupant. Like a loving and graceful diva,

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DnB: Misunderstood
By Nora Kamareddine LAU Tribune contributor
Walking on the sidewalk beneath the Broadway Center in Hamra, you see some familiar faces among small groups of people. Inside the elevator, you begin the swift ascend to the 10th floor. As you go up, you slowly start to hear the familiar loud beats. And, when you enter the room, you find the bar to your left and the DJ set toward the back of the dance floor. How is 1991 England related to 2011 Lebanon? Drums and Bass (DnB), a music genre with several subgenres, ranging from Techno to Jazz, has come to flourish in Lebanon. DnB was influenced by various genres starting with Reggae (in the early 60s), Hip Hop, Breakbeat, Rave, and Jungle. In 1994, it first carried the name Drums and Bass. The genre is characterized by Breakbeat and hardcore music that ranges from 185 to 190bpm. In terms of texts and lyrics, what started out as those of Soul went through Hip Hop type of lyrics into electronically altered voices or mostly none at all. I like it because its an interesting form of music, musical expression, lots of creativity, it gives you an adrenaline rush, Julian Tohme, a fan of the genre, said. For the same reason I like heavy metal. In the world of turntables, bands like Pendulum the most famous in the genre still perform live acts with real drums and bass players and a mix of rock-like lyrics to go along. DJs like Urban Hype, and Grooverider shaped the beginnings of the scene. Very little is known about them since DnB is not a mainstream type of music. In England in the early 1990s, parties were often held in warehouses that organizers illegally broke into. Since the early beginnings, DnB was rarely played by DJs in overly popular clubs. The first DnB parties were only accessible to a limited number of people informally invited through word-ofmouth. In Lebanon, five or six years ago it was spread in the same way, George, a frequent in the scene, said. In 2012, the scene is slightly different. Flyers litter the streets of Hamra to attract people to the parties. For up to 30 dollars, people go to dance the night away in various locations. Few DJs, like Kapushka and Screwheadz aka Ripsnorter, Tavarish, Spets, and Villiam, are already famous among insiders. Among the most popular locations is the Broadway Center in Hamra. At DnB parties, a colorful mix of Hippies, Trance Junkies, Rastafaris, Metal heads and Hip Hoppers meets the eye. I think DnB music here should be more accepted by the general public, Sagger Khraishi, a fan of the genre, said. Its listeners should not be negatively labeled.

Book Review: Zahras Paradise

By Chris Mellon LAU Tribune contributor
Zahras Paradise is a graphic, cartoon-based novel published by Amir and Khalil, who have chosen to omit their family names. In the novel, Zahra is a women searching for her son Mehdi who was arrested during the protests following the 2009 Iranian elections. Zahras search for her son transforms into a journey through modern life under the Iranian regime and the hospitals, courts, morgues, Revolutionary Guard, and State Bureaucracy as well as ordinary teenagers and taxi drivers. Although fictional, the novel attempts to depict life in Modern Iran and the hardships during and after the 2009 elections. Zahras Paradise opens in the Darakeh Valley north of Tehran with a man killing a sack full of puppies with a shovel and dumping their bloodied remains into a river while calling for the Imam to rid us of all these unclean creatures once and for all. This jarring opening scene sets the tone for the remainder of the novel and is meant to be a symbol of the Iranian regimes attempts to squash protests during the 2009 elections that saw President Ahmadinejad reelected. Zahras Paradise reflects the writers experience with the tensions of daily life under the Iranian regime. Zahra, on her way to the coroners office, listens to the complaints of her taxi driver caught in Tehrans congested highways while sipping watermelon juice. A nervous black market trader working as a copy center manager dodges the police while publishing contraband books for huge profits. A group of young computer hackers scouers the Internet for any signs of Zahras son in the Iranian regimes paper-

MEDIA & LITERATURE

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Jan. 16 , 2011

work while being on the look out for the police. But Zahras journey also reveals more dramatic hardships. Part of her journey leads to hospitals where

young bleeding protestors are taken from their beds by the militia for prison interrogations. Vivid scenes of beatings, food and sleep deprivation and rape are described.

After Persepolis, Zahras Paradise is an attempt by Iranian storytellers and artists to describe life in Modern Iran through images and words. The greatest contribution of Zahras Paradise is its depiction of everyday life in Iran today. Too often, the complexities of Iran are examined from a regional and international perspective. Zahras Paradise focuses on the lives of ordinary Iranians at the center of Irans modern history. Although the characters are fictional, their voices are realistic and anyone seeking to understand Modern Iran will benefit from listening. For more information, you may check the publishers website at http://www.zahrasparadise.com/ where samples of the graphic novel are available in thirteen languages including Arabic, English, French and Persian.

Online Profiles Could Affect Your Career

By Lama Al-Haqhaq LAU Tribune Contributer
I use Facebook to keep in touch with friends and upload pictures, Farah Komati, a business student at the American University of Beirut, said. Little does she know that the popular site is now being used for much more then connecting with family and friends. Social networking platforms have been around from as early as 2003, ranging from sites such as Hi5 and Myspace, to the now widely popular Facebook and Google+. Most people use them for recreational purposes, such as socializing and sharing personal information. Today, however, employers use these online profiles to check up on applicants and search for prospective employees. According to an article which ran on December 1 in the Daily Mail, some job applications now have a section demanding that Facebook passwords be disclosed. A number of students are aware of this phenomenon, and have adjusted their online profiles accordingly. Amer Ryan Bechnak, a premed student who has accounts on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, has placed high privacy settings on his profiles. I also make sure that I have a decent profile picture up, he said. Badr Qaddah, business marketing student at LAU, has taken the same privacy precautions. I make sure that access to my profile is limited, he stated. Not everything can be seen by just anyone. Other students, like Komati, are not aware of this new system some companies have adopted. Hind Abdul Khalek, an English literature student at LAU, was surprised when she found out about it. They do? she asked. I didnt know that! Still, the young woman does not feel the need to alter anything to her existing Facebook profile. Im fine with the information I have, she said. Even if they look at my profile, I wouldnt change anything. Tala El-Riz, who graduated with a degree in journalism from LAU, was also surprised. Its the first time I hear that employers do this, she said. El-Riz is active on several networking platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and FourSquare, and was already careful about information she posted online. She said she would not change anything about her Facebook profile. Facebook is the fun aspect of my character, she said. I keep that separate from the work field. Online experts explain that the problem with social networks is that they give an impression of privacy when, in fact, they are not really private. When you write to your friend on Facebook, you do so using the same language you would use if you were talking faceto-face in private. In reality, youre talking to your friend possibly in front of hundreds of people, depending on your privacy settings and the number of friends you have. Youre also doing that in front of potential employers. Students agree that browsing social networks is not the most efficient way of checking up on future employees. Abdul Khalek explained that employers would not be able to get information about how the person would perform in a work environment, as these networks are more social. Unless the work involves being social, of course, she laughed. El-Riz agreed. She said that Facebook does not show how cooperative and hard working an employee may or may not be. Facebook and Twitter are a means of expressing oneself in an entertaining way, and that has nothing to do with ones work, she said. Bechnak feels that a personal interview is what really matters when it comes to hiring employees. Its the best way to judge future employees, he said. Everyone goes crazy once in a while, so these networks arent a good way to check on people.

OPINION
By Mahmoud Arayssi Special to the LAU Tribune
Gold is the most popular precious metal in which people invest. It is a safe-haven against any economic, political, social or currency-based crises, such as investment market declines, currency failure, inflation, war and social unrest. Historically, it played a central role in the worlds monetary systems. Recently, the price of gold fluctuated widely, this prompts the question of what drives the price movements of gold. Gold was 20.67 dollars a troy ounce in 1933, when gold was money and a 20 dollar gold coin contained 0.9675 ounces of gold. But President Franklin D. Roosevelt had set the gold price at 35 dollars an ounce in 1934, overvaluing gold and undervaluing the dollar. As a result, the US Treasurys gold reserves increased by 117 percent from 1934 to 1940, as foreigners sold metal to the United States. In 1944, Bretton Woods agreement laid down a monetary order that established the rules for global commercial and financial relations. This agreement promoted the US dollar to the reserve currency with a fixed exchange rate of 35 dollars for one ounce of gold. The Bretton Woods System bound the United States to redeem the participating countries foreign dollar reserves for gold. From 1940 to 1957, the US Treasurys gold reserves remained constant but, by 1958, they started falling since foreign governments held more dollar reserves than the US central bank had gold reserves. Within three years, by 1960, Treasury gold reserves declined 22 percent. The decline in reserves after 1957 indicated that the dollar dominated. It was becoming more and more difficult for the European and American Reserve Banks to maintain the gold price at 35 dollars an ounce. In 1961, the situation was severe enough that the US, Britain, West Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg all agreed

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Note: The LAU Tribune is not responsible for the opinions expressed on this page.

Gold Prices: Where Are They Going?

to sell gold into the market to try and prevent the price from exceeding 35 dollars an ounce; so the London Gold Pool was created. The French realized that the London Gold Pool was a losing proposition, so they started selling francs for dollars and sent the dollars back to the US in exchange for gold. By 1968, when the London Gold Pool croaked, US gold reserves had declined more than 52 percent from their 1957 levels. In 1971, US gold reserves were 9,070 tons, only 72 tons more than they had been in 1935. Thirty five dollars were no longer worth an ounce of gold. In 1971, Nixon closed the Gold Window (the dollar convertibility of gold) in an attempt to retain some gold in the Treasury. This led to a collapse of Bretton Woods and the fixed gold price of 35 dollars per ounce ceased to exist. The gold price should have been 103 dollars an ounce then. Gold was being bought hand over fist at thirty five dollars an ounce, and the gold increase immediately after it was emancipated. But, by 1974, it had reached its inflation-adjusted price of 150 dollars an ounce. In 1975, the New York Commodities Exchange was established and trading in gold futures could begin. By 1978, it was trading around 200 dollars. Gold became freely-supplied money: a currency independent of any government, whose value is market determined. In 1980, a 20 year-long gold bear market began. In 1983, a new financial risk management tool was developed to mitigate the impact of gold price on mining companies: hedging. Total gold hedging increased very rapidly in the eighties and nineties. Gold inflation also contributed to the fall of gold prices in this period. The establishment of the Shanghai Gold Exchange in 2002 expanded the gold trade and thus increased demand for this precious metal. Within the next five years, China overtook the United States to become after India the second biggest gold buyer. The financial crisis in 2008 increased the demand for physical gold and exchange traded funds (ETF). The gold reserves of ETF, SPDR Gold Trust, reached in 2010 a record of 1320 tons. This gold fund controlled more gold than the Chinese National Bank. In the same year, several central banks planned to increase their gold reserves, among others the Chinese National Bank, the Reserve Bank of India and the Central Bank of Russia. Compared to gold, the US dollar experienced an alltime low due to sustainable economic recovery, increasing inflation, possible corporate insolvencies and defaults of corporate bonds. Other drivers of demand for gold were growing national debt, low interest rates and an expansion of money supply. The decrease of gold production by 10 percent since 2001 and strong demand for jewelry were other factorsdriving up the value of gold.

Seven Tips of Investing in Real-Estate Properties

By Maher Kalach Special to the LAU Tribune
Being a part of LAU alumni community and working as sales/marking manager at a family-owned real estate development, investment and management company, I feel pleasured to share my experience with fellow LAU students by writing about the Seven Tips of Investing in Real-Estate Properties. Following the same symbolic pattern of attractive worlds sevens such as Seven hills of Rome, Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Wonders of The World; the Seven Tips of Investing in Real-Estate Properties will widen your horizon in what to consider while renting/buying a flat and help you take a better decision in making right investments. Simply youll not be investing in an apartment no more; youll be investing in a home. The top seven tips you should consider before renting or a buying a home are: 1. Legal issues: Investors should always make sure that there are no financial problems with the apartment such as bank loan problems, inheritance disputes between families, or any other legal obstacle. 2. Under construction apartments: If you aim to buy an apartment while the building is not fully constructed you should be aware that the developer has a record and an excellent reputation so he would finish the project without counting on the buyers. In such cases, the preconstruction price would help you save around (15-20 percent). 3. Location and neighborhood: Choosing the best possible location is yet the most challenging factor in buying or renting an apartment. End users should always invest in a good location with the best possible neighborhood, because such macro factors cant be easily modified. Therefore, buying the worst apartment at the best area is a win/win situation because the apartment would be underpriced unlike some well-decorated apartments at underprivileged areas that are overpriced. 4. Size and view: Since buying an apartment is usually a once in a life time situation, buyers should take a strategic decision in choosing the right size that accompanies not only with their present needs but with future ones also. Yet, the view might not seem very important before buying but it definitely plays a great role on the long run. 5. The big three: In our country, The Big Three are a vital factor in the formula of living a comfortable life and core requirements of any building you want to buy in. A parking spot, an elevator, and a full-load back-up power planet (Generator) are a must in todays life. 6. Value for money: Before buying an apartment, the consumer should always make sure he is buying with a fair market price. Consumers should check recent sales in the same area and take the opinion of qualified and independent real estate agents. 7. Technical part: Fortunately, the technical part is the easiest part of the whole the process. Buyers should take the opinion of a consultant which is usually an engineer or a person with a great experience in the field who would check up on every technical issue.

CONTINUED
Continued from page 1
Many of the USAP students, who come mostly from rural areas and public schools, and MEPI students who come from different countries and cultures, are facing problems trying to fit into LAUs welloff society. Ahmad Saleh, a senior radio/ TV/film MEPI from Egypt, has no friends yet. I met two Lebanese friends and got really close to them during my first year but they ditched me when I decided not to vote at all in the students elections, he said. In Cairo, Saleh added, people are more friendly and welcoming to foreigners than they are here. When I tell students that I come from Bekaa, they think that I used to live with cows and cattle, a USAP student from Middle Bekaa, said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. Mohammed agreed. If I am not like them; I am never with them, she said. I dont know anything about Lebanese politics and I dont have a boyfriend to talk about. Yasmine Dabbous, the adviser for USAP communication art students, explained that this cultural clash, along with the pressure to excel, ultimately creates inner stress, thus affecting the students academic performance. Some tend to look at us in a different way when they know that we are USAP students, Chmouri said. Few are those who interact with us and, when some do, we tend to search for the catch. To verify this phenomenon, I hanged around scholarship students at the LAU dorms. One day, a group of female students at the dorms entered the kitchen without greeting their USAP counterparts. An obvious grimace on their faces, they estranged themselves and had a conversation on the side. They furtively looked at USAP students every now and then but didnt mingle with them. I was really annoyed from the way they treated us, a USAP student said. So I gathered my stuff and left to my room. Taking a walk with five USAP students in the Orme Gray lobby, I ran into one of my classmates, whose name is R. A.. She gestured with surprise. What are you doing with them? her facial expression seemed to say. R. A. lives with USAP students in the same dormitory but rarely sees them. Still, when asked about it, the young woman recognized their intellectual excellence. Honestly, I sometimes feel jealous because I look at them as the smart students, R. A. said. Khaled Nasser, an interpersonal communication lecturer at LAU, believes that some LAU students may refrain from mingling with their USAP and MEPI counterparts due to association problem. Students living in this society avoid communicating with people they consider different because they fear they will be perceived as part of them, Nasser said. Some of the quotes I got illustrated his point. A hospitality management student said that USAP candidates are different at social and behavioral levels. You can tell who they are from their accent and the way they dress up, she explained. The student complained that USAP candidates cling to each other. Theyre always in the kitchen cooking and studying together, she said. Nasser explained that USAP and MEPI students are facing cultural shock. They are confronted with a new way of thinking, different from what they were used to in their surroundings. At this first stage, they dont have the specific script or brochure of how to act as an LAU student, Nasser said. Therefore, a we versus them relation develops, creating this seclusion. Nasser added that what USAP and MEPI students face today is very similar to the hardships all students coming from abroad will face. They need some time to adapt and build relationships on campus.

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Discrimination Based On Status

He pointed out that any student or any human being introduced to a new environment goes through the same stages. When Darine Nasr, education student from Hasbayya, receives her stipend, she shops for clothing before she even buys her food. Nowadays, I really care about my looks to fit in this society, Nasr said. Some problems follow MEPI and USAP students into the classroom. Aseel Beydoun, a Palestinian MEPI student, feels that some students make fun of the way she talks or act extra nice with her in class because they associate that I am a scholarship student therefore I am smart and I have valuable notes. Almost all teachers know that we are USAP students so they tend to give us more attention and expect more from us, Hiba Bazzal, an USAP business student said. I have a teacher who defined almost every English word which made students look at me in a different way. When asked about the problems USAP or MEPI students face, Raed Mohsen, the dean of students, ruled out the possibility of a culture shock at LAU. He spoke instead of a difference in behavior. Maybe they are facing problems but I am unaware of them because their case is not within the scope of my responsibilities. Other people at LAU are in charge of the program, Mohsen said. USAID and MEPI students were chosen after an intensive and thorough study of their social status and academic performance. Applicants were required to enroll in one of 13 highly requested majors in the country, including education, nursing, engineering, business, social work and communication arts. But, despite the difficulties, the prospects are still encouraging. Nasser indeed believes that, with time, students develop adaptation skills and gradually accept the differences they find. This eventually releases their anxiety and they adapt to the new culture, he said.

Rola Hamadeh
Continued from page 7
She also hopes Lebanese drama would be encouraged and the people who control all the keys would seek art instead of profit. In her last work with director Lina Khoury and the cast and crew from LAU, Hamadeh is particularly happy. I love Lina Khoury the director, Edward Albee the scriptwriter, and the students, she said. I also love the character I am playing and wish to play it from the beginning to the end.

Conservative Lebanon?
Continued from page 11
The responsibility toward our children cant be placed in the hands of maids, who may very well have no idea what theyre doing, Shayto added. The percentage of women registered in the workforce is on the rise as women seek to fulfill their aspirations. But for traditionalminded men, their womens ambitions might trouble their manhood. I would not like my wife to earn higher than I do though, Chkeir said. It goes against the instincts of a man.

Fine Arts Building

Continued from page 1
it from the class. Students get sleepy because the air is warm. The radio/TV/film studio does not fair better. The humidity reaches 80 to 90 percent and it affects the people who work, George Tarabay, studio staff, said. People are always sick and suffer from respiratory problems. Upon entering the recording studio, you know immediately it is not sound proof. There are holes in the pads which are supposed to trap sound. There is another hole in the ceiling that links the microphone to the control room. The room is also used as a storage facility where tables, boxes and other material are dumped on the floor. Omar Moujais, a third-year radio/TV/film major, explained that there is always static whenever he uses the studio equipment. This is because the electricity is not grounded properly according to Farid Boustani, the studio supervisor. Communication arts students staged a sit-in in front of the Fine Arts building in 2010 to protest the decaying status of the studio. The administration responded to the problem partially by building a temporary studio in Nicol Hall. George Hamouche, assistant vice president for facilities management, revealed that the Fine Arts building will be renovated this coming summer. Originally due in the summer of 2011, renovation efforts were cancelled due to delays and class conflicts. Its an old building that needs refurbishment, he said. All the floors will undergo some renovations. I think that we will have to live with partial renovations. But the Fine Arts building does not only suffer from decay. Many at the building complained about the space problem. We are in very deep trouble regarding space on campus, Mona Knio, the communication arts chairperson, said. We need classroom space and office space. Very often we need to open more sections but we do not have enough space on campus for that. Office 108 at the Fine Arts building accommodates no less than seven instructors. Space at the buildings student facilities is scarce too. Theres not enough space for students at the photography lab, Andrea explained. We have 130 students. The facility was designed for two sections, which is 60 students. Its double the number now.

When Abuse Victims Speak Up

By Samia Buhlaiyem LAU Tribune staff
because no national statistics on the issue exist. But Kafa, an organization that aims at reducing the incidence of violence against women in the Middle East, reported that its Beirut offices alone admit about 400 cases a year. Many more exist but we do not feel they are able to come forward, Rola Abi Murshid, Kafas coordinator, said. Muhammad Itani, a psychologist and a former instructor at The Lebanese Association for the Development of Health Sciences (LAPAHS), explained that domestic violence has different forms; it can be physical, sexual, emotional, verbal or economic. Physical violence ranges from beating to throwing objects on the victim, while emotional abuse includes humiliating a subject privately or publically, controlling what he or she can or cannot do, deliberately embarrassing the victim or isolating him or her from friends or family. Dr. Majid Kanj, a psychiatrist, explained that holding a victim in a double bind also constitutes emotional abuse. When the aggressor sends conflicting messages to his victim, she will inevitably respond successfully to one message and unsuccessfully to the other. This makes her feel automatically wrong, regardless of the response. Over three million children worldwide witness domestic violence at home and the numbers are escalating. Itani explained children of abuse victims experience feelings of shame, guilt and self-blame. They grow conflicting feelings towards their parents while fearing abandonment at the same time. Children who witness abuse may typically stop expressing emotions while feeling helpless and powerless. They might withdraw, become passive-aggressive or even refuse to go to school. They might turn into liars or resort to attention-seeking behavior. Some experience nightmares and bedwetting. They might engage into stormy relationships or isolate themselves from friends and family and stop trusting others. At her house in Shayyah, Khadeeja Tabaja felt grateful for divorcing her husband after long years of suffering. It was just after he was released from his five-year imprisonment, she remembered. He sat at the dining room table asking for his bottle of arak. It took Tabaja some time to get the bottle, so her former husband grabbed her hair, dragged her to the balcony, and threw her on the floor while calling people to watch how he would punish his disobedient woman. He hit her head to the floor and kicked her in the stomach. I hid my head with both arms, but he kept on kicking me until I passed out, she said. Neighbors were afraid to interfere. My three children just stood in a corner, terrified. The issue of domestic violence has stirred attention on the international, regional and national levels. Kafa participated in a 16-day white ribbon campaign in Lebanon and the Middle East. It included a documentary by Diana Moukalled, lectures and workshops by surviving women, campaigns at five universities, launching a research study at LAU and various forms of advertisements. Kafa also offered a specialized psychological clinic for men where they may air out their experiences, identify problem-solving behavior and find appropriate solutions for their social problems. Men are part of the problem, but they are also part of the solution, a press release by Kafa said. We are against violence, not men... If we want to begin making real change in ending violence against women it is simply illogical to leave men out of the equation. As for dealing with victims, Dr. Kanj stressed that the key words are love, respect, and trust. One should promote their independence, respect their feelings for the other parent and allow for privacy. Dr. Kanj also said that one should provide victims with emotional security, provide shelter, healthy food, appropriate clothing and maintain family routine while providing discipline, and consistency. Itani, on the other hand, talked about early detection of childrens troubles at schools. He explained that there is not a formula that applies to all children since each child responds differently to a violent parent. As to proposed solutions, both experts agreed that authorities should make legislations and erect specialized centers to protect victims of domestic violence. Also, people intending to marry should be subjected to mental health tests that assure they are responsible enough to start a family.
Photo via Creative Commons

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Nada M., who suffered with her children from abuse by her former husband, agreed to meet me at a psychiatric clinic. She was being treated for depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome. First, he would tie up our son and daughter then beat them, she recounted. And if I tried to stop him, he would put a knife to their throats and threaten to kill them. Nadas husband then asked her to choose the instrument of torture when it was her turn to get beaten. Now I got a divorce, but it seems a divorce is not enough, she said. I am afraid to use our bathroom or kitchen or even sleep in my own bedroom. I keep my eyes open when Im in bed. Domestic violence is one of Lebanons hidden problems

Conservative Lebanon?
By Zahi Sahli LAU Tribune staff
For a country deemed as a breather among more conservative ones in the Middle East, Lebanon surprisingly offers its women a dismal 29 percent of the labor force, according to a 2011 report by UNDPs Program on Governance. Although Mercer Human Resource Consultings survey ranked Beirut as the 80th most expensive city worldwide ahead of Los Angeles, Munich and Montreal, and the fourth in the Arab world, a considerable share of Lebanese men would still want their wives to remain home rather than help with the household income. One of the main reasons for the marginalization of women in the Lebanese labor force is the burden laid by patriarchal traditions. Paul Chkeir, a 27-year-old engineer, would not want to see his potential wife make a larger income than his. Despite having lived in Sweden during his childhood years, Chkeir points to his Eastern roots and admits he would like to be the familys main source of income. I dont want to seem like an old-fashioned person, but I would like to see my family rely on me financially, Chkeir said. I would rather that my wife takes the role of a traditional housewife. Chkeir, whose mother did not continue her education past the Lebanese Baccalaureate and was never employed, would only welcome his wifes contribution should he face an economic catastrophe. Generally, Lebanese men prefer to get married to women who can be conservative housewives rather than equal partners and providers for the same household, Khaled Nasser, a lecturer of interpersonal communication, said. A traditional-minded man looks to marry a woman which corresponds best to the image of his mother and her expectations, Sevag Hagopian, a sociologist, said. Mohammad Shayto, a business major at LAU, says that he would never object to seeing his future wife work at a certain institution. But he would not want her to forget that her principal responsibility is raising children. If I work and fulfill the familys financial needs, my wife could work in order to fulfill her aspirations too, as long as she works for a limited number of hours; during the morning hours, lets say, Shayto said. Our children at home need the utmost care of one of the parents as scientific studies and research show that children need and strive on mothers love especially during their early years, he continued. Shayto pointed out that he would prefer that his wife limits her interests to domestic activity if her employment would mean that she relinquishes her mothers role to housemaids. The responsibility towards our children cant be replaced in the hands of maids who may very well have no idea what theyre doing, he said.

continued on page 10

OFF CAMPUS
By Zeina Shehayeb LAU Tribune staff
Photo by Zeina Shehayeb

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Jan. 16 , 2011

The Tribune Goes Shopping in Sabra and Chatila

which vary from sofas to beds and tables, in the shop as well as on the sidewalk, as a way to attract whoever passes by to come in and buy. Welcome, come on in I have other pieces inside that youll definitely like, a furniture trader said to a woman passing by. In Beiruts regular shopping districts, shops compete with each other by starting a sale before others do or by making offers on certain products. Buy a jeans and get a belt for free, an offer on a Hamra shop door says. In the Sabra and Chatila camp, you dont need a sale; products are already much more affordable. Ayham, a thirty-year-old Syrian man, sells watches on his carriage. He buys them from wholesale stores in Lebanon and Syria. The prices range from 5,000 to 50,000 Lebanese pounds. The prices are much cheaper here since we dont pay rents and dont have expenses, Ayham said. The prices within the camp differ between the shopping carriages and the stores. Masses of people between ages of 20 and 40 flow in all directions leaving you with a question in mind about the source of this flow and whether there are suburbs in the suburbs. But this is a normal scene in Sabra and Chatila camp. All you can see are herds of people from different ages walking altogether, the majority of which are men. Stop for a second and look straight in front of you. You feel an urge to move few steps to the right or to the left to allow them to pass. The United Nations established the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) under UN General Assembly Resolution, of 8 December 1949, as a subsidiary organ of the United Nations. According to the UNRWA, there are more than 8,500 registered refugees in the Sabra and Chatila camp, two schools and one health care center, which makes it one of the most overcrowded camps in Lebanon. Refugees in the camp suffer from environmental and health problems. Tissue papers, sandwich foils, cigarette buds and the like are scattered on the floor. Garbage escapes from the three huge Sukleen cans and finds its way through the floor. It doesnt make life any easier. Akram Shehayeb, a deputy in the government and a former minister, explained that the Sabra and Chatila camp was there to bring together Palestinian refugees who left their country after the establishment of Israel. They are outnumbered in the camp and lack the basic needs of life, Shehayeb said. They are living a miserable life with tough circumstances. And yet, life goes on as usual and the shops are always crowded, visited by camp residents and beyond. A mother of four children from Mount Lebanon, who insisted on speaking anonymously, goes to the camp every now and then to buy fruits, vegetables and other products. Whenever I go to Beirut to get some official papers done, I pass by Sabra to buy some groceries, the woman said. They are as good as other products from other markets but with a much lower price.
Photo by Zeina Shehayeb

A huge portrait of a March 8 figure stands still on the entrance to welcome visitors. On both sides of the narrow street, which depends on sun rays during the day and fluorescent light bulbs in the night, you can see two-bytwo-meter shops and scattered shopping carriages. Crowds of people, mainly men, pass by in both directions. A close-up of the crowd reveals dark skins, thick beards and tattoos on the neck and the hands that sometimes feature names of lovers. Outfits are mainly composed of leather black or brown jacket and jeans, sometimes covered with dust from the road. The shoes might vary from shoes that have the form of a rocket to flat rubber slippers. In the Southern part of Beirut is the Sabra and Chatila Palestinian camp. It was established in 1949 by the international committee of the Red Cross to accommodate the hundreds of refugees who poured into the area from Amka, Majed al-Kroum and al-Yajour, area villages in northern Palestine after 1948. I go there every now and then to get my dvds because they are cheaper there, a university student, who preferred not to reveal his name, said. I usually buy more than thirty, so I get each dvd for 750 Lebanese pounds. Shopping as a dictionary term is based on observing goods and services with an intent to purchase. It is usually referred to as a leisure

activity. Shopping in the Sabra and Chatila camp, however, has a different taste. On both sides of the narrow street are small shops and shopping carriages that sell whatever comes to your mind, with prices cheaper than usual. Shops may not have the brand names you might relate to but they do have imitations of them sometimes. A Syrian trader, who wanted to remain anonymous, sells houseware and electric appliances in his 2x2 meter shop. He explained that all his merchandise is imported from China and his customers are Syrian workers who live in Beirut. Other shops outside the camp sell similar items but with double the price because they treat the customers in a different way, he said. I treat my customers like my brothers and sisters. He believes that his way of communication with customers is the reason that makes his business flourish. Shops in Hamra are prestigious thus traders dont bother to hold on to the customers through communication, he said. In Beiruts shopping districts, restaurants and shops of different kinds are placed within a certain distance from each other to avoid overcrowding. In Sabra and Chatila, huge farrouj grills lay out in the sun next to furniture stores on the camps entrance, leaving the owners with two businesses to profit from. Furniture shop owners in Sabra display their products,

The Team
Adviser: Yasmine Dabbous Editors-in-Chief: Farah Al Saati, Ranim Hadid, Zahi Sahli Staff: Iman Soufan, Carla Hazarian, Lyn Abu-Seraj, Layan Doueik, Omar El Tani, Zeina Shehayeb, Mohamed Al-Oraybi, Mayya AlOgaily, Natalia Elmani, Assaad Hawwa,Caroline Feghaly, Rouba Jaafar, Maria Fellas, Samia Buhulaiyem