Vol.XLVII, No. 09NOVEMBER 19, 2014

One, two, three, sold: courses at AUB auctioned to the highest bidder

THEAUB ELECTIONSIN PICTURES

PAGE 12 - 13

A history of university election conflicts Dana Abed

Copy Editor

For most AUB stu-dents, registration pe-riod is survival of the fittest. If someone gets all the courses they want, they are considered to be highly fortunate. Of course you all know seniors get the chance to register first, juniors second, and sophomores last. This rule leaves sophomores with major registration issues: the courses they want are of-ten full even before their registration opens. Continued on page 4

OUR FOOD IS “DIPPED IN DISEAS-ES AND MICROBES”

PAGE 04 - NEWS

AUB ELECTIONS: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING?

PAGE 09 - OPINIONS

Lara El MekkawiStaff Writer

After the political brawl that erupted on the NDU (Notre Dame University) campus last month, the issue of conducting stu-dent elections has been put into question at ma-jor universities all over Lebanon. Due to the heated conflicts, NDU suspended student polls while USJ (Saint Joseph University) cancelled its elections to avoid similar fights due to the overall unstable climate. While

there was speculation that AUB would consid-er canceling elections as well, the administration decided to go ahead with them in the hopes of en-couraging a democratic and positive electoral en-vironment. Elections in Lebanon are generally always grounds for tension, with a presi-dential void dragging on into its sixth month and Parliament’s second ex-tension of its mandate. Political clashes are also

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March 14 wins majority, independents make gains

2014

Jason Lemon,News Editor

A competitive atmos-phere fueled the campus spirit Tuesday, peaking at around 5 p.m. as stu-dents divided into their respective political blocs by West Hall, in antici-pation of this year’s elec-tion results. Candidates affiliated with the March 14 politi-cal bloc took the largest number of USFC seats, eight, followed by March 8-associated candidates, six, with secular

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March 14 wins majority, independents make gainsContinued from page 1

independents winning four. Independents, who ran under the banner of the Secular Club’s Campus Choice campaign, made unprecedented gains this year with 17 overall seats, as the trend had been indicating since last year’s elections. Although no physical violence broke out between rival coalitions, as was the case in some other Lebanese uni-versities, many students hurled taunts and derisive com-ments back and forth during the announcement of results. Statements from the two opposing blocs such as “the uni-versity is ours,” reflected the sectarian tensions often in-herent to elections in Lebanon. Over 200 candidates ran for the 81 seats of the Student Representative Council (SRC), with students electing rep-resentatives within their respective faculties and years. Run-offs will be held for the SRC seats on November 20, because of a tie for one Junior OSB seat and one FAFS Nutrition 1 seat. Voting for the USFC Cabinet, which will represent the entire student body, is set for December 8, incidentally the first day of finals. The outdoor screen was set up in front of West Hall at around 5:30 p.m. and the winners were announced an hour later. The results came out about three hours earlier than in previous years, as electronic voting did away with the former method of manually tallying ballots. The Dean of Student Affairs, Dr. Talal Nizammedin reported a 70 percent turnout for voting by the student body, which he pointed out was slightly higher than the usual 60 to 65 percent. At the same time, Dr. Nizamed-din noted that this voting ratio was the highest in modern

AUB history, despite some students’ skepticism about the actual validity of this number. Whereas AUB was formerly criticized for institution-alizing the March 14 and March 8 political division by physically dividing the campus during elections with two screens, one to display the results for each side, the en-vironment was noticeably different this year. A rallying space during the announcement of results was reserved specifically for the independent candidates and only one screen displaying all the winners was set up in the center. Nizammedin also emphasized the success of the new electronic voting system that was tested during last year’s elections in several smaller faculties and was fully imple-mented across all six faculties this year. “The system we used for the electronic balloting has proved to be very effective, secure, and user-friendly,” Nizammedin said. Although several students mentioned problems with their student IDs not scanning properly or trouble with inputting the voting code before casting their ballot, the voting software seems to have worked well overall and clearly sped up and simplified the usually tedious counting process. Nizammedin also told Outlook how the voting software was developed by the AUB IT Department and created by an AUB alumnus. Student Affairs had previously ex-plored alternative options for a computer based voting solution, but this homegrown option proved to be the most secure and practical for the university. Student elections at AUB date back to 1949, when the first general elections took place. This annual event was interrupted in 1982 during the Lebanese war, but re-sumed in 1994.

OLAYAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Senior Sara Ziad Sakaya Christopher George Nasr Banah Sami Kayyali Junior Jean-Claude Elie Sfeiry Lynn Amer Fattouh Eric Elie Makhoul Sophomore Raed Maher Jamil Hind Nasser Abou Lteif Pierre Mansour Mobarak Graduate Shant Gerard Aknadibossian HARIRI SCHOOL OF NURSING II and III Siham Mohammad Nasser AmmarIV and Grad Amani Amin Hashem FACULTY OF MEDICINE I Amro Saad AldineII Sami ShayyaIV & Grad Sara Abou Azar FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES Public Health I Mhammad Jihad Al AkelPublic Health I Elige Joseph IbrahimPublic Health II Farah Shawki MadiPublic Health III Lama Omar Katerji Public Health III Zouheir Ismail Al Housseini Grad Reem AzizGrad Rana Chareedy FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE E4 Karl Fares Dimyanos Kattar E4 Michael HabrE4 Saleem Bassam El Jazaerly E3 Rana Georges BasbousE3 Galileo Nadim HusseiniE3 Mohamad Anas Fadlallah Bin AhmadE3 Houssam Mahmoud Naous E2 Karim Bassam KhoueissE2 Paul Tony HadchitiE2 Jad Zouheir Bou MattarE2 Karim Ahmad Rahhal E1 Angela Nazih BraidiE1 Claude Jean Zoghzoghi E1 Faysal Jamaleddine Madi E1 Akram Elias Barakat Archi III Ali Hussein KhodrArchi I Mohamad Hani Nahleh Graghic Design III Rawan Kobeissy Graduate Hadi Samer Jomaa FACULTY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES Sophomore Yasmina Badri Al-Rayes Sami Mohamad Assaf Leen Labib El Tawil Nazih Abdulrahman Bizri Khaled Abed Al Rahman Al Kurdi Abdel Kareem Bayoun Joseph Boulos Farchakh Senior Nour Ali Hijazi Sakhr Saeed Munassar Selma Mohamed Zaki Dina Masri Junior Dimitri Elie Maamari Joe Elie Mouawad Farah Wassim Semaan Maya Khodor Mikdash Iyad Zein Al Abedine Kobeissi Graduate Hassan Mohammad Harb Tala Ali Atieh Tarek Nawaf Nasser Freshman Mohammad Issam Oussama Zeitoun Jaleel Nader Chehayeb Ali Mohammed Kdouh FACULTY OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SCIENCES Nutrition III & IV Zeinab Chauki Hammoud Landscape I & II Mariam Abdallah YehyaGraduate Muhammad Rashid Murtada Agri I and II Fatima Albert Assad Agri I and II Marc Etienne Monarcha Agribusiness I, II, and III Nader Ali Sabbah Joey Tanios El MendelekFood Science III Priscilla Sarkis Bakalian

OSB Hana Ghassan Salem Anthony Robert Abou Nader Farid Issam Khaddaj Nursing Fawzia Abdirahman Osman

FM Cesar Yazbeck

FHS undergrad Sahar Mohammad Al Ferekh

FHS grad Sarah Ismail Bahr FEA Archi/GRDS/grad Judy Mazen Hussein FEA Undergrad Charbel Antoine Abboud Issam Mohammad Chmaitilly Jaymie Jebrael Frangieh FAS grad Ali Haidar Zeineddine

FAS Senior Meer Ako Ali

FAS Sophomore Maribelle Janos Komives

FAS Junior Mohammad Chahrour

FAS Freshman Zakaria Moustafa Haidar FAFS Loulya Malek Halwany Nour Simon El Haddad

SRC Results USFC Results

Students at Work 8Student Service 6Secular 4Total 18

NEWS2 NEWS 3

A history of elections-related conflicts at Lebanese universities

Continued from page 1

mirrored at the student level, causing university admin-istrations to dispatch armed soldiers around campus during elections to help maintain security. The recent history of election-related conflicts at AUB and other major universities in the country clearly indicates how Lebanese politics are reflected campus-wide.

Prevalent political tensions at NDU

NDU has a notorious history with such conflicts. The main campus is located in Zouk Mosbeh, with a pre-dominantly Christian student body, as opposed to a confessional balance amongst students. Still, the two rival student clubs—the Lebanese Forces-affiliated De-bate Club and the Social Club associated with the Free Patriotic Movement—have a tumultuous history when it comes to elections. According to Mitchell Fahed, former member of the Student Union at NDU, political conflicts have affected NDU every since 2006. The conflicts were so severe at the time that elections were suspended for two years. Elections were held again in 2008, with increased se-curity measures in order to prevent fights from break-ing out on campus. In 2009, however, NDU saw one of the biggest clashes in the history of its electoral process, with around 100 students partaking in a physical brawl because of rumors each club spread about the other. Over the next two years, election season remained a strenuous time. In 2012 and 2013, the Social Club withdrew from the elections, leaving the Debate Club to run unopposed. This year was to mark the return of the elections with the participation of both opposing groups, and the university banned external politics on campus in an attempt to maintain security. Candidates unfortunately did not respect the rules; according to sources, members of the Social Club held up banners calling for a change in the electoral law, two days before a vote was scheduled to take place, and re-portedly played speeches of FPM leader Michel Aoun over a loudspeaker. Debate Club students took offense and confronted their rivals, culminating in a fight that once again led to the suspension of NDU elections.

Unprecedented turn of events at USJ

Other 2014 student election news arrived when the USJ board of directors decided to “suspend student council elections for the current academic year,” as Lebanon’s political and security situation has on-campus reper-cussions. During elections, political tension between March 8- and March 14-affiliated students instigate heated discussions, which sometimes turn into fights. Anthony Feghali, former president of the student council of the faculty of Law, said the main problem at USJ is that there is no room for political debate on campus, which leads to more conflict on the outside. The most notable elections-related confrontation at USJ took place in 2013, according to Feghali, when someone wrote “Chartouni, we love you” on a wall near the university. The graffiti offended and infuriated many including the university itself; even the Patriarch and the Lebanese President got involved. March 8 and March 14 supporters fought, amidst a generally tense atmosphere. The conflicts at USJ, however, seldom take the form of physical debacles, but turn into bullying instead. The targets are usually first-year students who have never participated in a university election. Elissar Madi, a

fourth year pharmacy student, said that students are pressured to vote for certain groups; friends are lost and enemies are made, all because of elections. With the polls cancelled this year, a first for USJ, students are protesting via a Facebook page. “Petition against the cancellation of student elections at USJ” expresses the student body’s dissatisfaction with the decision. Feghali remarks that the petition shows the positive side of politics with students from differ-ent parties and sects uniting to bring back their right to vote. He jokingly added that USJ students used to protest on campus in the past, whereas nowadays they have to protest off campus after the university banned elections.

LAU’s shaky grounds

The Lebanese American University has not been spared when it comes to problems during elections. Some of the student groups are associated with external politi-cal blocs, namely March 8 and 14 March, while others run as independents. With close numbers, the winner is always hard to determine, causing a stressful envi-ronment come elections season. In 2011, a sizeable fight broke out on the Beirut cam-pus of LAU, resulting in the expulsion of several stu-dents, the suspension of a 100 more, and the university itself closing for two weeks. As LAU elections usually take place in November, they coincide with former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri’s birthday, an important day for March 14 supporters. The celebrations can be a source of conflict within the student body, often ending in a fight. The 2011 fight was so severe that the Hariri guards in-terfered to protect March 14-affiliated students. LAU’s gate was locked, with half the students inside while the other half remained outside. On both sides students threw objects at each other, from benches to trash bins—whatever they could get their hands on. Many were injured and even taken to hospital, including the university’s head of security. Although the 2011 polls were not cancelled, they were postponed until March. Since then, elections have not been as problematic, but threats and bullying still pre-vail. In 2012, independents ran for the first time under the “Take Back LAU Campus” campaign, and to eve-ryone’s surprise, won the elections. Independent candi-date Hassan Harb, now an AUB graduate student, was elected president of the student council. According to Harb, however, a lot of pressure was put on him to quit; he was threatened and his family became involved as well, but Harb stood his ground and remained in his position. This year, the Step Forward coalition affiliated with March 14 won a majority of seats in the student council.

Pressure to perform at AUB

Over the past 10 years, AUB has had few elections-induced conflicts, with practically no record of a full-blown fight. This could be due to the university’s strict laws against conflict, with a zero tolerance policy that can result in immediate suspension for political con-frontations. Rarely has a debate ended in a fist fight—a rubber ball fight maybe, but no fists. Two main rival student coalitions comprise March 8 and March 14 supporters, but they do not exactly dominate the electoral environ-ment, nor do they usually incite intense physical con-flicts. Many students prefer to vote for the Secular Club and independent candidates to distance university pol-itics from the conflicts brought about by external politi-cal agendas. On-campus conflict is not absent, however, usually taking verbal form through intimidation, with many students allegedly dragged to vote on elections day. Others also complained about invasion of privacy, re-porting that they, and sometimes their families, had been hounded with phone calls that pressured them to vote for a specific party. In fact, some students said they choose to skip classes altogether on elections day just to avoid such coercion and harassment. The elections are not a formality at AUB, but a true democratic process often culminating in the formation of a student council made of several clubs that become obliged to work with each peacefully and effectively. Bilal Derian, former president of the Youth Club, commented on conflict in elections, saying “The per-ception of elections causing a conflict is deceiving and false as it is not necessary. Mainly problems caused from elections are merely be-cause of certain minorities who cause these conflicts, for a certain agenda or goal, or for attention seeking, or just because of an amateur decision.” Derian also remarked on the friendships that are sometimes formed between competing students dur-ing the electoral process. “In the case of some oppos-ing club leaders who are in charge of the elections, the coincidence was that they were best friends since high school,” he added, “and despite the clash of the elec-tions, they managed to maintain what they had.”

The electoral process can be quite educational for stu-dents especially in Lebanon, where general politics never cease to fail or disappoint. It is up to universities to uphold the democratic process, be it through wor-thy protests or through energetic elections, in ways that avoid the polarized influence of Lebanese politics, and work to achieve a positive political environment.

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Opposite screens during 2013 announcement of election results

NEWS4 NOVEMBER 18, 2014

One, two, three, sold: courses at AUB auctioned to the highest bidder

Continued from page 1

The issue is not new. Every semester, the same complaints are raised, but nothing changes. Many formal solutions are pre-sented to remedy the strain. If a student needs a major requirement and cannot postpone taking it, the department will open capacity for them. If the student wants a course that can be taken later, he or she is advised to take another one instead, or to choose another section even if it’s not convenient for his or her schedule. Sometimes, students are lucky enough to get spots during add and drop period. This means the student managed to

register in the course the minute someone drops it. Students usually feel that the solutions do not go far enough as they feel entitled to have a better chance at registering for the courses they want, especially as they are enrolled in the leading Lebanon institu-tion, paying a small fortune for their tuition fees. This difficulty with registering has led many to seek alter-native options in order to get their courses, some of which are less than ethical. One widely practiced so-lution is reserving a course. If a student has a senior friend, they will ask them to register for the course they want, and later, when the senior drops it, they register for it. This is con-sidered to be a loophole in

the system. Starting this semester, during registration for Spring 2015, some students who managed to “reserve” high-demand courses of-fered to “sell” their spaces to sophomore students. On AUB Courses/Teachers Guru, a group on Facebook with 8,000 AUB students and alumni, one student posted that he is willing to sell a spot in EDUC 290c for US$600, a price almost equal to one credit at AUB. According to the comments under his post, it appears that many stu-dents seem to think he has crossed a line. However, the desperation that many students express provided him with the incentive to make such an offer. Another student was so

Leen Bou Nasser Eddine Staff Writer

“The Lebanese citizen’s food is not only dipped with sweat, but also in diseases and microbes,” Health Minister Wael Abu Faour announced during a news conference. After 20 days of inspec-tion, many establishments across Lebanon were found at fault for serving unsafe food. The minister revealed that an issue like this could not be ignored or kept silent because there is a responsi-bility towards the citizens. “The Lebanese does not know what he eats, and it will be a disaster if he knows.” Many bakeries, super-markets and restaurants have been ignoring food safety protocols and are not concerned with the quality of food and products they were distributing. The su-permarkets included Fahed Supermarket in Jounieh, Hawa Chicken, Spinneys in Jbeil, Abou Khalil in Damour, Metro in Baaba,

MP in Aley and TSC Mega in the Metn area, along with other popular places such as Roadster Diner, Bedo, and Al-Hallab, a sweets shop in Tripoli. Although names have been mentioned through-out the conference, Abu Faour constantly repeated, “The purpose is not to dis-tort the image of any com-panies.” The reason behind this exposure is to raise aware-ness, and shed light on companies that need to change their processes in order for them to be trust-ed and considered to be safe and clean once again. Some companies were not only dishonest about the quality of the products, but they were going to great extents to delude the con-sumers into thinking the products were fresh. Both Tanmiya food re-tailer and An-Natour Butcher Shop used expired meat and marked them as fresh. Tanmiya advanced the production dates printed on its products and An-

Natour imported and dis-tributed expired and dis-eased meats despite being previously closed by the government for doing so. They did not learn their lesson the first time as these violations continued. “We found that they are us-ing expired Brazilian meat,” Abu Faour said, stressing that such violations would not be tolerated. Other violations included using rusty and old kitchen appliances, food kept near garbage, opening toilet doors near the kitchen, stacking meat in corroded containers, chefs not wear-ing gloves when dealing with food, not having hair tied up in hairnets and us-ing frying oils continually for months at a time. The minister ended the conference with the prom-ise to take the necessary legal measures against both companies and employees who had not been working with full integrity and had not been concerned with the well being of the con-sumers.

Health Minister: Lebanon›s food “dipped in diseases and microbes”

desperate for a specific CHEM 211 taught by a particular professor that she offered to pay US$200 to anyone willing to drop it. She claimed that she plans to travel and that she will be late to graduate if she does not take it. She fur-ther argued that since she is not a chemistry major nor a senior, paying is the only way to get in the course and that her offer remains val-id. Her post also received a great deal of criticism. Many commenters felt that again that this girl was taking it too far, and it’s not worth it. Others thought that she was right, that this was her only solution, not-ing the fact that she is des-perate and the university is not providing her with the courses she needs.

Dr. Talal Nizameddin, Dean of Student Affairs, assured Outlook that the university is taking this topic very seriously and has launched investigations after coming across several cases. “The University con-siders this as a breach of a service meant for students taking courses as part of their degree program,” he said. “Quite simply, a stu-dent who takes courses she or he is not meant to take but registers for profit or as a favor to someone else is a form of corruption and under the Code of Conduct may be a violation both in terms of academic dishon-esty and integrity.” He also added his own opinion, stating, “My per-sonal view is that this is quite a horrible thing to do

because it undermines free and open access to courses regardless of wealth and connections…. It’s cruel when a student who is struggling to pay for edu-cation gets pushed aside by a student who is financially well off and can pay for that ‘favor.’ This practice also closes capacity on many courses that are needed by other students to graduate on time. Students should be looking out for each other and I very much hope students themselves will stand up against this action and report anyone who is trying to abuse the system.” On that note, the question of whether the students got their courses or not remains a mystery—until next semester, of course.

NEWS 5NOVEMBER 18, 2014

IFI lecture: why social policy matters for LebanonDona El FarkhContributing Writer

The Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and In-ternational Affairs (IFI) hosted a lecture with Dr. Rana Jawad of the Univer-sity of Bath on Thursday, November 13 called “Why Does Social Policy Mat-ter for Lebanon and the Wider MENA Region.” The presentation explored the meaning of social pol-icy and its association with Western welfare states, in relation to Lebanon and the MENA region. Dr. Rana Jawad is a lec-turer and researcher in so-cial policy. She has long expressed interest in the Middle East and North Africa, and has published various articles on the topic as well as a book titled “Social Welfare and Religion in the Middle East: A Lebanese Perspec-tive.” She is also the found-er and current convener of the MENA social policy network based in the Uni-versity of Bath.

Professors, researches, graduates and several un-dergraduates attended the lecture. After a brief welcome, Dr. Jawad intro-duced the definition of so-cial policy and the research she has done in the field over the past fifteen years. The aim of her research is to find out what social wel-fare and social policy mean in the region in order to make an assessment about how social policy works within MENA. Social policy, according to Dr. Jawad, is the “policy” which focuses on the so-cial, rather than economic, dimension of life, including the public and private do-mains. Thus, social policy is made up of three main elements. Since there is a policy context, the first element concerns the role of the state in the social sphere: how the state relates to the government and how the policymaking process ex-tends beyond political pro-cesses to encompass educa-tion, healthcare and so on.

The second element is that of civil society and NGOs and how public ac-tion takes a variety of forms to help shape social policy. The final and most impor-tant element includes the businesses and the market. Dr. Jawad states that this is what makes the study in-terdisciplinary and allows us to understand the aim of development programs in a social context. Dr. Jawad notes that it is important to mention the role of social policy. It

seems that there are two overarching perspectives; the most dominant one includes thinking about equal redistribution of resources in society and access to public services, etc. The other perspective is related to social cohe-sion in society and the importance of recognizing people’s needs, demands, values, religions and so on. Her research looks into this aspect as well as whether states and institutions are achieving social equality

and effectively helping peo-ple access services. Dr. Jawad asserts that claims that social policy does not exist in the re-gion are in fact false, “the MENA countries do have education systems, they do have health systems, they do have social services and the idea is what do they provide and how could these provide a foundation for future development and some kind of reform,” she said. Understanding and recognition of social policy

could become a medium to promote social welfare and equality in distribution of resources among the differ-ent sectors of society in the MENA region. “Call me an optimist but I do believe that the MENA countries have the poten-tial for reform in social pol-icy,” concluded Dr. Jawad. Anyone interested to learn more about this lec-ture, can find it on IFI’s AUB page as well as on its Facebook page.

AUB professors receive research excellence award

AUB Office of Communication Dr. Souha Kanj, an infec-tious diseases specialist, and Ibrahim Osman, as-sociate dean and business professor, each received the 2014 Research Excellence Award from the National Council for Scientific Re-search (CNRS) Wednesday

during the annual awards ceremony held at the Grand Serail. A public institution head-ed by the Lebanese Prime Minister, the CNRS grants annual awards for research excellence in Lebanon in four categories; engineer-ing and basic sciences, medical, biological and public health sciences, ag-

ricultural and environmen-tal sciences, and human and social sciences. Osman was awarded for his research, which aims to create shared economic, environmental and social value using advanced data and analytic tools. “I am recommending the creation of a public, private and community partner-ship where the government acts as the regulator, the private sector acts as the operators and investors, while the community can invest through shares,” said Osman, who is the Husni al-Sawwaf Endowed Chair in Business & Management and and Chair of Business Information & Decision Systems at Olayan School of Business (OSB). “This also calls [...] for the greater involvement

of citizens in the develop-ment of their own societal needs.” Sharara, head of the Di-vision of Infectious Dis-eases and chairperson of the Infection Control Pro-gram at AUBMC, received the award in the medical sciences category for her findings on the preven-tion, control and treatment of resistant gram-negative bacterial infections. “Unfortunately, in our region most of the bacteria that hospitals struggle with is the multiresistant gram-negative type,” Sharara ex-plained. “These are bacteria that are usually acquired in hospitals and sometimes in the community. They can cause serious infections in the lungs, skin, urine and bloodstream and are very

difficult to treat. Some can lead to the death of the pa-tient, so I was looking on how we can improve this.” The CNRS’s role of fund-ing research initiatives in the country as well as an-nually recognizing research through the awards cer-emony has proven benefi-cial for the AUB awardees for both their personal and academic goals. “I think the CNRS has re-ally put a lot of effort into supporting and recogniz-ing research efforts in Leb-anon,” Sharara said. “It gives me pride that my efforts have been recog-nized at the national level.” Osman added, “The award provided me with an exciting experience and an opportunity to communi-cate my research findings. Before the awards, no one

was paying attention [...] but people now start to lis-ten to you and doors start opening for you.” The ceremony was con-ducted by the CNRS Presi-dent Georges Tohme and CNRS Secretary General Mouin Hamze. Prime Min-ister Tamam Salam was also present to distribute the awards and directly recognize the researchers for their achievements. “[The CNRS] will again announce the fifth cycle of the Research Excellence Awards for the year 2015 and identity the scientific sub-categories, which will be different from this year,” Hamze said in his speech to the attendees, which in-cluded the European Union and Italian ambassadors as well as several academics.

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NEWS6 NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Philae and the world’s first comet landingZiad LawenStaff Writer

November 12 was a historical marker for the first ever soft-landing on a comet. The Buzz Aldrin of this mission was nothing other than a 1m x 1m x 0.8m, 100kg robotic comet-lander going by the name of Philae. Philae is the lander module for Rosetta, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) robotic space probe. A space probe implies the mission is unmanned and being controlled from a center of operations, European Space Operations Center (ESOC), currently held in Darmstadt, Germany. Rosetta originally departed Earth’s surface on 2 March 2004; the European space probe has journeyed for just under 11 years to achieve its goal of landing on a comet. Throughout the overall duration of travel, the Rosetta mission accomplished many historical firsts for the ESA’s Space Travel. Rosetta is the first spacecraft to fly close to Jupiter’s orbit and extract energy from the orbit as a main power source. In addition to being the first probe to land on a comet, Rosetta is also the first ever spacecraft to fly alongside a comet. The probe will be able to examine the transforma-tive effects of the warming of the ice comet by the sun as well. Furthermore, the comet will be examined for its ag-gregate mineral composition.

Student clubs dispute over election standsKarmah ChehaitlyStaff Writer

During campaigning week, one stand is provided for every four candidates running with each club or coali-tion. Clubs generally prefer to have their respective stands grouped together. The allocation of the stands happens through a random draw, thus the odds of getting consecu-tive numbers for the stands are very low. Following the draw, clubs negotiate to exchange stands in a manner that allows clubs to have their stands grouped together. With negotiations and verbal agreements, every year some disagreements arise. This year, a dispute oc-curred between the Secular and the Leadership clubs. Abbas Saad, an active member and representative of the Secular Club, said that the Secular Club had the right to take eleven stands, but was willing to compromise and take only eight with the condition that the eight be next to each other in the center, in front of the stairs at West. Saad explained, “Student Service decided to give one stand from one end to an independent candidate. So they shifted their stands towards the center, and thus there were less stands in the center left for us to negotiate over. We then found out, from Student Service, that an inde-pendent candidate was actually running discreetly with the support of Student Service.” The Leadership Club had the right to three stands and according to Saad, they insisted on having the three stands in the center. Abbas stated that the Leadership Club was not willing to compromise. Ahmad Al Muhaisen, president of the Leadership Club, told Outlook that the club did compromise and indeed tried finding a solution that would satisfy both the Secular and Leadership clubs. Al Muhaisen claimed the Leader-ship Club made certain agreements with Students at Work and Student Services and exchanged the stands they got from the draw for stands numbered 15, 16, and 17, which were in the middle. The Secular Club suggested that the Leadership Club

take the three stands that were on the side and together, and the Secular Club take 15, 16, 17 in addition to other four stands in the middle. “We got the stands by negotiating fairly with the others. Why would we give up what we wanted and fairly got?” Al Muhaisen explained.

According to Al Muhaisen, the Leadership Club proposed that Students at Work move some of their stands that were in the middle to the opposite side and away from the center. This would allow the Leadership Club to shift their stands to the side and the Secular Club would then have enough space to fit four stands in the center. How-ever, Secular would still have to take three stands on the opposite side, not in the middle. The Secular Club was not satisfied with this proposition. Saad emphasized, “we made a deal that we will give up four stands in order to have eight stands in the middle. It wasn’t fair for us to be left with seven stands that aren’t even put together.” Al Muhaisen noted that the president of the Secular Club, Poliana Geha, was always polite and respectful in negotiations. He stressed that “other members of the club would come up to us and tell us that they had made a deal to have eight stands in the middle, but we didn’t agree to that deal. They had made the deal with other clubs so they should’ve argued with them about it.” The Secular Club also claims that the Leadership Club began hanging their posters and banners as soon as the Secular members turned their backs to discuss the situa-tion with the rest of their club before reaching an agree-ment. Mohammad Al Samad, Coordinator of the Leadership

Club, explained, “we did the best we could, and we sug-gested a solution where both clubs had stands in the mid-dle and the seculars were still not satisfied. At that point, other clubs had already finished setting up their stands and we still hadn’t started.” Al Muhaisen claimed that members of the Secular Club kept threatening the Leadership Club and insisting that they would call the Dean of Student Affairs if they did not get the stands they wanted. Saad stated that the Secular Club representatives talked to the Dean because they felt that the Leadership Club was not being cooperative. Dr. Talal Nizameddin told Outlook: “The Secular Club was claiming one thing and the Leadership Club was saying the opposite. I had no proof for any of their state-ments. So I couldn’t make a decision based on what one party said.”

Continuing, Nizameddin added, “I wanted them to re-solve the issue on their own, because I want the students to learn how to negotiate with each other so they can learn how to compromise and reach a solution that satisfies and benefits everyone.” Nizameddin stated that it has always been his method to let students attempt solve their issues on their own, unless they cross the line through verbal or physical abuse. Even-tually, a member of the Secular Club suggested moving the three stands, which were on the side to the middle, so that the Club had four stands and three stands facing each other in the middle. Nizameddin suggested that a new system for allocat-ing the stands is being considered for next year’s elections, however it is still being discussed and investigated.

Author of “Space Travel & Culture,” David Bell presents the mining-industry significance of comet mineral com-position. Of course all within the realm of speculation, comets may hold high abundances of high-valued Earth metals; comets can potentially have between 6-8 trillion dollars worth of nickel and iron metals. Despite the obvious economic motivator to capture and analyze these comets, however, the entire comet-mining concept is still within preliminary stages and much work will need to be done before comets become a non-Earth mineral resource. Comet 67P/Churyumov—Gerasimenko is the name of the comet nucleus currently hosting the Philae lander. A “comet nucleus,” the astrological term for the central re-gion of the comet, is mostly composed of rock, dust, and frozen gases. As mentioned earlier, the warming of the frozen comet, which will be a first for historical discoveries, produces a “coma.” A coma is the cloudy, nebulous envelope pro-duced orbiting the nucleus of a comet, which grows pro-portionally with the decreasing distance to the sun. As Philae will probe the 67P comet, it will be the first time humankind will be able to extract information from a physical-state changing comet. But the 67P comet is cur-rently frozen and the landing of Philae alone is considered to be an outstanding scientific and mechanical success.

The Philae possesses several mechanic tools that would drastically secure the landing process for the probe, but its landing was far smoother than the ESA had expected. Philae was equipped with 2 landing harpoons to anchor the land and feet screws that are a secondary contribution to the harpoons to combat unregulated wind speeds. The landing process was a seven-hour ordeal; as the comet exhibits an extremely low gravitational pull, Philae bounced twice upon original landing and was suspended for a total of 7 hours until finally safely settling on the comet’s surface. Despite the unexpected ease of landing, Philae has al-ready faced the first of its challenges—a depleted battery. On November 15, Philae successfully relayed the final data recordings back to Earth before losing its working battery and has now lost power. It is expected that the so-lar energy will eventually recharge its solar powered bat-tery, but that may take as long as 4 months before reach-ing the recharged level. The Rosetta mission has been a success thus far, and despite the already faced and upcoming challenges, this is a scientific victory for the history of space exploration. The results from the comet’s composition will be released in the coming weeks.

Nizameddin suggested that a new system for allocating the stands is being considered for next year’s elections, however it is still being discussed and investigated

During campaigning week, one stand is provided for every four candidates running with each club or coalition. Clubs generally prefer to have their respective stands grouped together.

NEWS6 EDITORIAL 7NOVEMBER 18, 2014

modern history. Of course, a major feature of the new system is that it allowed direct access to results, avoiding the controversy of anyone rigging the system. The winners were being announced nearly an hour after the screen had been assembled in front of West Hall. Yet within those 60 minutes, the crowd had intensified and the polarity was palpable. Derisive statements were hurled in the air and while the actions and reactions of those huddled around the barriers were not entirely unexpected, there is something to be said about their vehemence. For many, the so-called elections spirit comes off as nothing more than a popularity contest between those running and those voting, but the dichotomy no

Talia AbbasEditor-in-Chief

What would have seemed an ordinary day to mostwas in fact anything but. As November 18thmarked yet another year of student representative elections, the day wasover before it even began. IDs at the ready: a sea of undergraduate and graduate students casted their ballots from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.Following last year’s successful trial in the smaller faculties, the electronic voting system spearheaded this year’s polls.Adopted in all six faculties,students were able to input their choices via computer screens. Anddespite the few technical glitches, %70.2 of students registered their votes - supposedly the highest voter turnout in AUB’s

Outlook is a weekly publication of the American University of Beirut (AUB) and represents the voice of the student body. It is an independent, non-affiliated publication that favors no ethnic, religious or political group. All columns, articles and reports are the property of Outlook and do not necessarily represent the views of Outlook or the AUB community. Outlook welcomes all contributions. Authors are asked to please include their full name, major, ranking and contact information for verification. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way, shape or form without the written consent of Outlook and/or higher authorities. Outlook reserves the right to edit all material.

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Staff ListChairperson Talal NizameddinEditor-in-Chief Talia AbbasAssociate Editor Ellen FrancisArabic Editor Nizar AouadProofreader Sarah KhalilNews Editor Jason LemonBusiness Editor Mohamad SalehOpinions Editor Azza El MasriArts and Culture Editor Vicken MargossianCommunity Editor Linda Bou AliLifestyle Editor Carine LemyreLayout Editor Maha HaiderWeb Editor Joy WakedCopy Editor Shereen El Ladki Dana AbedSocial Media Manager Samaya Atallah

Staff Writers Ahmad Ayoub Camille Mroue Dana Kambris Firas Haidar Ghada Seifeddine Giselle Yasajie Karmah Chehaitly Meer Rashid Michael Barret Mona Jouni Jane Nasr Lara Mekkawi Laura Al Bast Laudy Issa Leen Bou Nasser Eddine Nerses Arslanian Rayan Al Arab Rafika Ghrawi Roni Rafeh Serine Haidar Ahmad Tala Ladki Yara Beaini Yusra Bitar Ziad Lawen

doubt reflects an aggregate we are far too unfamiliar with. Yet it strikes me paradoxical how students can display such individual passion for their clubs and affiliations, when the candidates instead should be gathered together, cheering each other on. After all, isn’t the main purpose of their election to act as an extension of the university body and to strive as anentityto better the experience of campus life for students? The storm in front of West Hall may have died down, but the euphoria remains. As a new day ushers in a new beginning, only time will tell what the crop of elected SRC and USFC students have in store for us. Here’s to them making it worth our while.

Dana AbedCopy Editor

Lebanese success sto-ries are not hard to find, the most recent example being the three Lebanese women who made it to the “Top 100 Successful Women” list published by BBC. Coming from different fields and backgrounds, Hind Hobeikah, Bushra El Turk and Bahia She-hab were honored as pio-neers of our society. Hind Hobeika is a young Lebanese scien-tist who created diving goggles with attached sensors that monitor your heart rate and oth-er physical data in real time, just as if you were on a treadmill. Hobeikah presented her idea first at the Stars

of Sciences Arabic ver-sion in 2009. Back then, Hobeikah was still an undergraduate student at AUB, completing her last semester. Hobeikah managed to finish her semester online, and travelled to Doha. All eyes on her, Hobei-kah finished the compe-tition and received 3rd place. The product she created is now ready to go on the markets in 53 countries. Bushra el Turk is a Leb-anese-British composer, pianist and cello player who pursued a PhD in musical composition at Birmingham University. El Turk’s music is famous worldwide and notable for its selection for the London Symphony Or-chestra. El Turk’s mas-

terpieces are published on radio and television in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, the Ameri-cas and Australia. According to her bi-ography published on bushraelturk.com, her music “of ironic, arrest-ing and limitless im-agination forebears the influence of her Leba-nese roots and straddles Eastern and Western idi-oms all the while leaning towards the absurd and theatrical.” Bahia Shehab I is a Leb-anese-Egyptian activ-ist who gave a stronger meaning to the word No (in arabic لل [La]). She-hab raised her voice and the voice of many op-pressed Arabs when she started her artistic cam-paign “No and a thou-sand no.” All over the

walls of Egypt, especially during the revolution you could read “No to sexism,” “No to oppres-sion,” “No in inequal-ity,” “No to extremism,” etc. Bahia Shehab mani-fested her views through her graffiti art and influ-enced thousands of peo-ple who stood up and re-fused to be deprived on their rights. Hobeikah, El Turk and Shehab believed in their potentials and spread their influence globally. Individually leaning on science and the arts, they were capable of leaving their mark in the world. As female pioneers, their pursuits are inspir-ing, and their dogged determination should impel all of us, particu-larly Lebanese women, to reach for the stars.

BBC’s “Top 100 Successful Women” list features three Lebanese pioneers

A VOTE TO REMEMBER

BUSINESS8NOVEMBER 18, 2014

The Freedom Tower officially opens for businessYusra BitarStaff Writer

The new World Trade Center officially opened its doors earlier this month. The tower was meant to open eight years ago in 2006, but “cost overruns and political infighting caused several delays,” ac-cording to several news sources. The Museum and Memorial were both opened prior to the office building, on 11 September 2011, and six months ear-lier, respectively. Both were built to commemorate the lives lost in the 9/11 attack. Renowned trend-setter Conde Nast, the umbrella under which major pub-lications like “Vogue” and “GQ” fall, was the first

company to move into the 104-story building. The employees of this major publisher had mixed feel-ings about moving into the World Trade Center, with some employees and their families feeling constant fear. Others, however, felt extremely proud of tak-ing the first steps into this brand new tower, con-sidering this move only one of the many symbols of resilience that comes with being an ‘American citizen.’Despite the hope-ful mood of some, it seems that companies are any-thing but rushing to get a spot in the tower. Only 60 percent of the entire build-ing has been leased, which has been a source of worry for both the construction

company Tishman Con-struction and the devel-oper, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The top floors are sched-uled to open in the spring, which could be a reason why companies have yet to initiate the moving in pro-cedure—the tower is not complete. In other words, those in New York have to wait a few more months to check out the amazing view from the highest point of the tower. As for those who are not planning to visit NYC any-time soon, they can visit the official World Trade Center Website for a virtual tour of the floors and their views. One can choose to navigate the range of floors (from 20 to 90 with an in-

Marie LayounContributing Writer

The Coincident Indica-tor (CI) is a business cycle-type variable. It is used as an accurate indicator for the Lebanese economy up to one year ahead of time. The World Bank (WB) cal-culated it based on 85 ob-servations of 13 variables covering all the sectors of the economy (real, exter-nal, monetary and fiscal) from December 2004 to December 2011, accord-ing to data obtained from the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Banque du Liban (BdL), Lebanese Customs, and Ministry of Tourism (MoT). Its properties include a high degree of accuracy, frequent release, and avail-ability (2-3 months’ time lag), which makes it ideally suited for economic ana-lysts, investors, and policy makers alike. We all know—perhaps not to which extent though—that the Lebanese authori-ties not prone to provid-ing trustworthy economic data, whether it is because of the black market, the

lack of regulation, the cor-ruption, the instability, or the lack of professionalism, among other issues. And without this impor-tant data, “timely decision making by businesses, in-vestors and policy makers” are compromised. It just seems like eco-nomic problems produce more economic problems. We are not alone in this fight for information, how-ever. The first effort to create prediction-type economic statistics in Lebanon was evidently made by the BdL, first by setting the CI in 1993 after the Civil War, then based on a set of fixed weights and indexes. As you can guess, many changes have transformed the country since then, namely structural changes, as Lebanon became a liber-al banking-based country. So the CIs developed then do not provide accu-rate information about the economic situation today. Subsequently, the Interna-tional Institute of Finance (IIF) came to our rescue and instituted a new more reliable CI, adding five new

variables to the BdL’s origi-nal indicator. This effort, although an improvement, still pro-duced inaccurate predic-tions of economic activity. Thus the second rescue mission, this time by the World Bank, brought about the creation of a new CI for Lebanon. The notable difference is the choice of weights as-signed to each variable: the growth rates are relatively adjusted every year.

What is an inaccurate prediction? The CI helps to predict growth rates of an economy, among other things. If the CI’s predic-tion and the actual rate are very different, the CI is no longer a sound indicator of the growth rate. This is why the variable by itself, like many other economic variables, doesn’t lead to much interpreta-tion. It is when you com-pare the CI derived rate to the actual rate of growth of

GDP and evaluate the error (difference between them) that you know if your eco-nomic indicator is trust-worthy or not. Testing the World Bank’s CI through the years 2006 to 2011, studies have found that their CI equals exactly the actual growth in GDP in Lebanon. In other words, the er-ror is zero through all the years. So if the CI-WB for GDP growth in March 2011 was calculated to be

two percent a year before, they knew they had a zero error estimation and a 100 percent chance the actual GDP growth would be two percent that month - and it was! This zero error makes the WB-CI a trustworthy estimator, and allows eco-nomic actors to take bene-ficial measures and act for a healthier economy; we are in growing need for some sort of stability it in these restless times.

The error scale of the World Bank’s Coincident Indicator

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terval of 10 floors) and in any direction. The structure is 1,776 feet (541 meters) high. 1776 also happens to be the same year the United States was established as a nation, with its official independ-ence declared on July 4 of that year. This was not a

coincidence. 9/11 was not only a dark day for the US, but for the entire world. There is widespread hope that the opening of this new Freedom Tower would signify the birth of a new US, a US that does not ter-rorize, that follows the in-ternational laws and regu-

lations that it helped set itself; the US that follows through with its promises, that is filled with the hope it reflects with every speech its officials give. The Freedom Tower is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere and the fifth tallest in the world.

A Lebanese trader monitors the markets in Beirut. [Jamal Saidi / Reuters]

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NOVEMBER 18, 2014 OPINIONS 9

AUB elections: Much ado about nothing?Michael BarrettStaff Writer

For an exchange student inexperienced in the peculiar-ities of AUB’s interpretation of the tradition of democra-cy practiced at higher education institutions worldwide, the AUB elections, the campaigning, and the resources available to participating groups make for an impres-sive spectacle. Social media presence, representatives on campus, platforms: It’s all there, a veritable exemplifica-tion of choice and pluralism. But to scratch under the surface of this breeding ground for Lebanon’s future politicians—i.e., to hear the thoughts of disillusioned students who have witnessed the elections and their implications year on year—is to discover a system run aground by affiliations to the tra-ditional political blocks in the country. It is to under-stand this process married to a lack of effectiveness in making tangible change to the everyday issues that affect the people the student councils are chosen to represent.AUB students are able to choose between the following main club coalitions in the upcoming elections. Social Club, Youth Club, and Communication Club (under the Students at Work campaign, associated with the March 14 block); Freedom Club, Cultural Club of the South, Lebanese Mission Club, and Civil Welfare League (un-der the heading of Student Service, affiliated to March 8); Secular Club (Independent). The Red Oak has mean-while decided to boycott. No wonder, then, that there is so much popular media interest in Lebanese student elections. “The Daily Star,” along with other major media outlets, reported March 14’s narrow victory in LAU’s elections on November 8 and is likely to show a similar level of interest in the November 18 elections at AUB. While political par-ties are not officially allowed to maintain a presence on campus, the structure of the alliances of these student clubs matches exactly the block politics of the (currently fundamentally flawed) national government. Therefore, political leanings amongst of the country’s youth are re-flected, making it important for all parties to see their youth affiliates come out on top.This brings us to a key issue that would appear to be un-

Lara El MekkawiStaff Writer

Before Nayla could go for her run around the campus track, she had to think about what she was going to wear first. Since it was hot, shorts were the more practical op-tion, but a lot had to be taken into consideration. How would passers-by react to her attire, and how they would make her feel about it? A simple workout outfit seemingly transforms into a full-blown taboo, and since society is nothing if not judgmental; shorts are quite the provocative topic. A woman wearing shorts is automatically scrutinized by her environment. Some professors raise their eyebrows, deeming her choice of clothing inappropriate. Men on the street harass her; some women even call her “slutty.” With that derision in mind, why would anyone choose to wear shorts instead of pants? It could be because it’s hot outside; because you feel more comfortable running in shorts, or maybe because you are proud of your legs and

On shorts and “slut shaming”

dermining the confidence of student voters in the system of electing the student council. If the elections are more about March 14 vs. March 8 than about what the elected members to the student council can achieve, then they are beginning to lose their significance for the people they should actually be important for—not the national media and not the main wings of the political parties, but the students. Reports of fights breaking out over the elections at NDU, as well as students at the election-free USEK, like AUB, campaigning effectively against tuition fee hikes, highlight in parallel the ludicrous filtering down of sec-tarian tensions to student council elections. It also sheds light on the ability of students at universities without these to tackle the actual important issues that can alter the course of their student life. While independent candidates do exist at the AUB elec-tions, they are not able to wield enough influence to chal-lenge the now well-established composition of the power of the two chief rival blocks. The overall impression many students are left with is that the elected council repre-

sentatives are more occupied with their own interests and loyalties than the welfare of the people they are represent-ing. The result is a resounding echo of the cynicism with which many see the current dire situation of the national government, one not likely to improve following its recent approval of a two-and-a-half year mandate extension.Using the expression “Much ado about nothing” to de-scribe the differences in the interest of students, national media, and the main political parties in AUB’s elections is perhaps an oversimplification. The title of Shakespeare’s play, which suggests that a fuss is being made of something that is unimportant, had in its day a double meaning, as “nothing” in the English of the time was pronounced in the same way as “noting”. In other words, gossip. While such strong links between the main political parties con-tinue to exist, though, perhaps the elections serve more as a source of hearsay on the political attitudes of Lebanese youth than a method in which voice is given to students who actually want to make much-needed improvements to the way their university is run.

you want to show them off. Whatever the reason, it is not my concern to justify why women wear shorts, but rather to object to their social implications. Women are sexualized; their bodies are seen as a means of incitement which may offend certain members of so-ciety. If it does not offend, it excites or intimidates. In any case, it is not left alone. Women are expected to take into consideration how their outfits would make others feel and act: shorts could make people think of her as “asking for it.” She is asking for attention, inviting the glares and the catcalls, possibly even assault. More than once I have heard students, male and female, speaking of girls who wear short shorts as “obvious sluts who are just out there to get some” and that it is “no wonder so many rapes are happening, they are practically inviting it.” Hearing such statements is infuriating because no one invites assault; no one invites the degradation of catcalling.

Instead of teaching people to act in a civilized manner, girls have to be wary of the “animals and perverts” roam-ing the streets. Why is it acceptable to call out a woman as a slut based on her clothing, but not the man harassing her as a pervert? The fact that we live in a “Middle Eastern culture” does not excuse or justify any shaming behavior. Ironically, just as a girl is judged for wearing shorts, even in Lebanon, women are judged for wearing the hijab, and automatically profiled as close-minded. Yet, wearing the hijab is a religious choice that women take pride in; it does not reflect an oppression, but rather pure faith. Similarly, a woman wearing shorts should not be cast aside; what she chooses to wear is her own choice which should not be seen as a full reflection of character. The point I would like to make is to live and let live, the judgment has to stop and everyone, women especially should be free and safe to wear whatever they please. After all, not every girl in shorts is the Whore of Babylon, and not every girl in pants is Mother Theresa.

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OPINIONS10 NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Lebanese bands: they come and go

Karim MerhejStaff Writer

In Beirut, many bands emerge and manage to play a gig or two, with a prepared setlist usually comprised of cliché covers, and end up disappearing, never to be heard from again. I can still recall the many times I’ve seen a band play a cover of the Bob Dylan classic “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” or a cover of a Pink Floyd track, usually “Com-fortably Numb,” in which the lead guitarist would try to emu-late a note-for-note cover of Da-vid Gilmour’s epic solo. Not that there is anything wrong with covering classics, of course. On the contrary, it is a heartwarming sight to see young teenagers playing and covering classic rock songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s, showing that their in-terests go beyond the redundant tunes diffused by pop radio sta-tions. Still, I’m compelled to ask: Why do these bands never end up ‘going somewhere?’ Back in 2011, my friends and

I formed a band and our setlist was a collection of these same cliché tracks that I mentioned previously. I still recall the enormous joy and pride we felt on stage when we performed a few times at small pubs around Beirut, mostly in front of close friends and acquaintances. It made us feel like rock stars ready to conquer the world. Even better, we set up a page on Facebook and attracted over a hundred likes. Then, little by little, less peo-ple started showing up to our shows, and I look back with sorrow at how only five people attend what ended up being our last concert. We blamed everyone and everything but ourselves: the unstable politi-cal situation, the lack of park-ing spaces, the lack of interest in rock music and so on… Only later on did I finally re-alize that what had caused this downward spiral was the very music that we performed: our whole setlist was based on well-performed covers. In other

words, there was nothing new in what we were offering. Eventually, people realized that the music that we per-formed, despite our best efforts, was nothing but a simple copy-paste from what they were used to listening. A lack of originality was the root of our problems. We had nothing personal to of-fer. What helped Lebanese bands such as Mashrou’ Leila or the Wanton Bishops reach a certain degree of success was precisely the fact that what they offered was new and original, with their own personal touch. Peo-ple love listening to unfamiliar, well-performed music. Perhaps this, along with the members’ excellent musicianship, is what helped Mashrou’ Leila’s speedy rise to success: Back in 2008, Mashrou’ Leila released its first album, and it was unlike anything that had ever been re-leased previously. It contained the band’s spark; a distinctively new take on al-ternative rock, as all the vocals were sung in Arabic. What I am trying to say, is that bands who dream of achieving lasting success and having a fan-base should focus on telling sto-ries that haven’t been told yet.

Graffiti and ISIS: Say it, don’t spray it Dana AbedCopy Editor A few days ago, a group of Leb-anese students “painted their opinions on the walls.” As at-tractive as alternative and crea-tive modes of expression may be, it might as well have been an ordinary story until the graf-fiti put up was brought down a mere few hours later. The graffiti portrayed the well-known Statue of Liberty holding the flag of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Regardless of its accuracy, it is undeniable that a lot of individuals argue that the United States of Amer-ica and ISIS are somehow “po-litically linked.” Also, it is un-deniable that ISIS’ existence is a terrifying phenomenon boiling in the Middle East and so is, in some way or another, the US. Yet, this begs the questio n: who would stand against this

graffiti? First to come to mind are minor ISIS alliances present in Lebanon which aim to pro-tect ISIS’ reputation. If that was the case, then the power of ISIS cannot be underestimated. How did they know where the graf-fiti was? How was it removed so fast? And if ISIS has resources planted in the heart of Beirut then it isn’t unreasonable to think that ISIS’ dominance over the region isn’t all-consuming. But, you realize quickly how propestrous that might be and shake your head, as even to you, it sounds too much like a con-spiracy theory. It is easier to assume that a police officer or a citizen might have taken it down as a preven-tive measure. If this were true, then what are we really afraid of? Is it the possibility of retri-bution from a terrorist group known to be more extreme than al-Qaeda? Will it add to the al-

ready tense internal differences that we have? In all cases, taking down graf-fiti that gives rise to opinion of a certain political entity is not the wisest thing to do. If we were to ban an extremist movement like ISIS from invading our “lib-eral” lands, we should not ban expressing acceptable opinions about it. Media are the most power-ful tool today, and graffiti is an alternate way of spreading a message to a vast part of the population. Anyone can remove a graffiti, but no one will be able to silence an angry generation. Although some say that Leba-non has witnessed a failed “Arab Spring” in 2005, what’s sure is that this generation will stand by idle any longer. One way or another, the youth will have their “made in Lebanon” revo-lution—whether it starts with a graffiti mural or a call to protest.

A tale of two grocery stores: rivalry between al-Fakahany and TSC

Meer Ako AliStaff Writer

Lebanese grocery shop chain al-Fakahany opened its newest branch one block below the TSC in Hamra. Earlier this summer, experts on the grocery market economy claimed this move would essentially be translated as a call for war between the two grocery giants. Others found it to be a strengthening position for al-Fakahany’s reach into West Beirut. The Sultan Center (known as TSC) is a Kuwaiti retail company that first opened in Lebanon in 2008. It operates eight strategically-placed branches in the Beirut area, and has easily become a popular shopping destination in the country. Hajj Samir’s al-Fakahany comes from more modest and local means. It has been slowly growing in popularity and presence, catering to a wider socio-economic clientele and threatening to dethrone TSC with its Hamra branch. Grocery market analysts believe that the winner at the Hamra grocery war front will dramatically increase its market concentration in all of Lebanon. Both sides have been investing heavily in the ongoing confrontation. TSC, as the incumbent firm, has obvious market leadership advantages. Nevertheless, it had to revamp its Rewards Customer Loyalty program to include more coupons to more mundane piano lessons. It also redecorated its floor layout to reduce the incidents of lost customers. The Kuwaiti giant capitalized on the difference in experience they provide. TSC bag boys were seen handing out leaflets that read “What do you want more: freshness or alcohol?” apparently poking at al-

Fakahany’s halal-only policy. The entrant firm, al-Fakahany, set out by shelving its products in choking proximity and committing to a customer-to-stock-boy ratio of 2:1. Some reports claim that the al-Fakahany bag boys tip every customer and smile 18 times as they bag their purchases, simultaneously making sure the bulky items go in the bottom. Earlier in September, when cats were found in TSC meat refrigerators shocking Lebanese consumers, the company’s competitive position was compromised. TSC later released a statement blaming al-Fakahany for planting the cats as a scandalous stunt. Multiple other stories about the growing rivalry between the two franchises abound. Most are difficult to confirm. One report claims that after midnight on weekdays the stock boys from TSC and al-Fakahany meet in the parking lot between the two stores for physical, bare-fist encounters. Many jokingly refer to it as the “Grocery Boys Fight Club.” There is growing emphasis on al-Fakahany’s Lebanese roots. Supporting local firms is big in Lebanon, as long as the firm owner is from one’s own sect. However, AUB has brought up a generation of Lebanese students who think differently, and support al-Fakahany’s locality regardless of sectarian affiliation. “I support domestic ownership, al-Fakahany all the way!” said one AUB student. “But it is uncomfortably close to Hubaish,” referring to the newly rebranded Ras Beirut Police Station. After the interview, the student proceeded to the green oval to play “Comfortably Numb” on his guitar.

SATIRE

ARTS & CULTURE 11NOVEMBER 18, 2014

Will ‘Gotham’ survive without its hero?Firas HaidarStaff Writer

Gotham before Batman: The mere thought of it is inexplicably fascinating. But when the pilot for a new show about the fa-mous fictional city aired a couple of months back, everyone understood that “Gotham” was going to be something much different than what people expected it to be. The collaboration be-tween DC Comics and Fox premiered to a shaky start, only to improve as its episodes went by, albeit not enough to latch on to its viewership. “Gotham,” as the title in-dicates, tells the story of the city before the caped cru-sader was introduced, back

at a time when Jim Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and his partner Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) were fight-ing organized crime. It also gives viewers a glimpse at the origins of a few known characters from the fran-chise, such as the Riddler, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Cat-woman, and Bruce Wayne himself following the death of his parents. That said, it does not fo-cus on the origins as much as people thought it would, but rather on Gotham when organized crime was at its peak; a mashup of sorts between “The God-father” and Detective Jim Gordon. From a technical point of view, the series fails to im-press. Poor camera work,

lackluster editing, and a bland, unoriginal script make it somewhat pain-ful to watch. As the series moves forward, however, these elements somewhat improve. Yet at this rate, it will never become aestheti-cally appeasing for the eye to convince viewers to stay and watch. Alongside the disappoint-ing technical aspect, the actors were hard to iden-tify with. After the Dark Knight trilogy, it is only normal that viewers would find it difficult to digest a completely different and much younger cast play-ing characters people have come to love over the years. Luckily, after a certain number of episodes, each performer gradually syncs

Vicken MargossianArts & Culture Editor

Any horror movie buff would agree that recent attempts at creating a film that truly shined in terms of its narrative formal ele-ments—this latter impera-tive for the genre—have been underwhelming to an alarming extent. Save for a few flicks here and there, one cannot help but wonder if such low expec-tations for horror movies pave the way for slightly-original films to be unjustly hailed. Director Kevin Greutert offers his rebuttal to this argument in his horror thriller, “Jessabelle.” Released on Novem-ber 7, “Jessabelle” tells the story of Jessabelle “Jes-sie” Laurent, who returns to her childhood home in Louisiana—one she hadn’t been to since her mother’s death—after suffering a car accident that left her in a wheelchair, killing her unborn child and fiance in the process. Strange occur-rences ensue as Jessie finds some old tapes her mother

left for her, sparking Jessie’s interest in the life and town she left behind. What’s striking about this particular horror movie is the tasteful balance be-tween story and visual ef-fects. A major problem with recent horror movies is that they sacrifice one for the other. Viewers are treated either to an intrigu-ing premise spoiled with an abundance of cliches (see: “Annabelle”), or chill-ing effects with a somewhat underdeveloped story that loses its hook after a while (see: “Paranormal Activity” franchise). In that context, “Jessa-

belle” succeeds in deliver-ing a story that goes be-yond its plot to portray the relationship of a mother and her daughter, or lack thereof, all while providing chills through its effects, which are uneven at times.. The film is overwrought with poor performances save for those of Joelle Carter (Kate, Jessie’s moth-er) and Sarah Snook, who shines as Jessie. Her per-formance keeps viewers attached to her character, their fingers crossed for the girl in the wheelchair trapped in a house with multiple other presences. Cleverly shot and edited,

the film masterfully em-ploys elements of lighting and sound.. Greutert and cinematographer Michael Fimognari do a great job of playing with lighting to drive the darker aspects of the narrative, such as us-ing it as a leitmotif for the appearance of the more demonic forces in the house. This is particularly challenged throughout the movie as conventions of lighting in horror movies are defied. As for sound, the inter-play between presence and absence is manifested in the use of sounds—both diegetic and nondiegetic—

unfaithful to their sources, keeping audiences at the edge of their seats. Another interesting as-pect is the movie’s mise-en-scene. The setting is perfect for the story being told.. The house where most of the events take place seems isolated from the rest of the town, aggravating the feeling of hopelessness. The props around the house and clothes the charac-ters wear are faithful to the southern theme of the movie. What is disappointing about the film is its limited scares. The film-makers

had the perfect setting to create haunting scenes that could’ve forever scarred viewers, but failed to make use of these elements to go the distance and mortify its audience to the point of no sleep. The inclusion of so many unnecessary characters and plot details such as the un-born child the lead miscar-ried (which should have borne some sort of signifi-cance to the narrative) is a nuisance. While it may have been a ploy to confuse viewers, the constant inter-action with various charac-ters depleted the possible psychological route the movie could’ve treaded, given the cripple lead and her house’s isolation from the town. Backed up by an extreme-ly interesting setting and premise that seems to only get more and more com-plex with the addition of themes of witchcraft, mur-der, and sacrifice, “Jessabelle” provides view-ers with a pleasurable mov-ie watching experience, de-spite having not lived up to its full potential.

‘Jessabelle’ shines amid recent horror flops

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with his role, and watchers come to accept them more and more, but by then, one worries that the damage is already done. “Gotham” is not as dark and poetic as a comic book fan would have hoped for, and a stark difference from comics such as Bat-man: The Long Halloween

or Batman: Dark Victory. It follows a path of action, spectacle, and sometimes humor, yet keeps its dis-tance from the philosophi-cal, romantic, and intrigu-ing path the Dark Knight trilogy – and the comics – followed. Unless that is changed, “Gotham” will become a failed addition to

the “Batman” franchise. Comic book fans can en-joy “Gotham” if they bring themselves to accept the changes, while others can consider it as a chance to get to know the history of Batman better. Either way, the future of “Gotham,” the way the show is now, re-mains in jeopardy.

ARTIST REVIEW

TV SHOW REVIEW

Two students climbing the windows of West Hall in hopes of getting a clear view of the crowd

Security guards policing the outcome of results at West Hall

Students huddled around the Engineering faculty to cast their ballots Seculars chanting «Secular is the solution”

Students at Work cheering their candidates; booing their opponents Student Service Coalition chanting «Ours oursours, this university is ours!

Photographers:

Philippa DahroujHeba HaiderFaisal AnnabReem Al AwarRiham Ghosseini

Red Oak members boycotting elections Fists pumped; the heat is on

Student surfing the crowd, unable to contain excitement Students at Work member fiercely chanting during outcome of results

Security guards clustered next to the big screen making sure the flow of events runs smoothly

Full of anticipation, the Secular crowd on the steps of West Hall

COMMUNITY 14

First annual Salon du Chocolat melts hearts at Beirut Cooking FestivalTala LadkiStaff Writer

For the first time in Lebanon, a three-day event was held in dedication to chocolate. Yes, you heard me correctly. Chocolate. From November 6 to November 8, Beirut’s first annual Salon du Chocolat opened its doors in coordination with the fourth annual Beirut Cooking Festival. After witnessing much success in many countries around the world, Salon Du Chocolate managed to completely enthrall a large number of Beirutis. The event kicked off with a special fashion show showcasing a never-before-seen collection of dresses entirely made of chocolate, all the way down to their studded and pearly details. One of the designers, and ESMOD Beirut graduate, Missak Haji Avedikian, stood out with an incredible chocolate dress featuring lace chocolate details. Besides a whimsical

fashion show, the festival also included different stands featuring different chocolate stores and patisseries, both local and international, handing out samples of their delicious products with representatives eager to help customers with any questions or purchases. Further, live cooking

and baking sessions were given by renowned pastry chefs. Some of the many highlights included a Syrian ice cream show in which its traditional ice cream was served with a twist. There was also a finger-licking chocolate knefeh, a chocolate-based checkers board, and a chocolate Christmas tree.

If all that isn’t enough to excite your taste buds, spectators could walk to the other side of the room, to the Beirut Cooking Festival, to enjoy some savoury treats and live cooking demonstrations from different Lebanese and international chefs. Food stands also offered different food samples

advertising their work. From organic honey to deep fried falafel, one would have been amazed by the number of participating food brands and stores. It didn›t stop at food, as many stands advertised kitchenware as well. It is important to note that this is the fourth year that

the Beirut Cooking takes place, but this was the first year it was overshadowed by Salon du Chocolat’s success. Famous restaurants from all over Lebanon, such as Tomatomatic and Cup and Roll, had food stands at the end of the BIEL hall with special offers, for all the food-lovers who had spent an exhausting day walking from booth to booth. Apart from the never-ending Lebanese traffic that soared during the “chocolate weekend” and made it nearly impossible to reach, both festivals were extremely successful. Salon Du Chocolat in particular, and although initiated for the first year in Lebanon, was particularly successful. Overall though, the three-day eve racked in over 10,000 visitors. If you didn›t have a chance to pass by this year, make sure to pencil in a date between 7-5 November 2015.

Linda Bou Ali Community Editor

The winter of 2014-2013 brought with it a drastic drought, leaving the health of Lebanese citizens in jeopardy. According to a UN report, the estimated amount of rainfall that Lebanon received was about 431mm since September 2013; less than half of the 812mm yearly average witnessed during the winter. The country has not experienced such low levels of rain since 1932, when 335mm was recorded. This incited considerable skepticism about the possibilities of a drought during the following winter, yet the measures that were necessary to prevent such an occurrence were not taken due to the country’s

poor water management policies and infrastructure. Proposals have suggested the enforcement of regulations for water usage which include, according to the Parliament’s Public Works Committee, reducing irrigation, taking public control of illegal wells, organizing the distribution of water trucks, and fining those who are overusing water. None of these regulations have been implemented so far, however, nor have any truly indicated surefire ways to solve the problem at hand. In order to properly address the issue, the government must monitor the extraction of underground water through the wells that are privately owned by households all across

Lebanon. Instead of building dams (which they cannot afford either way), they should construct water storage facilities that are above the ground and can be easily monitored in comparison to underground storages. It is therefore evident that the government needs to gain the necessary resources that can allow for monitoring the water usage among households and creating a system in which water is distributed equally. This is definitely much easier said than done, considering all the political turmoil that is constantly on-going in Lebanon, but that does not belittle the importance of the war situation. Rather, we should shed light on the importance of addressing it, in efforts to lessen the

burden on everybody’s shoulders. This lack of appropriate water usage has created an unsettling health problem that has recently surfaced through the release of information regarding the ways that food is produced in Lebanon. The recent outbreak of the unsanitary kitchens in the country’s restaurants can be attributed to the lack of availability of appropriate water storage, and lack of monitoring by the government. On a brighter note, on November 15, there has recently been a discovery of a large amount of underwater springs between the Litani River’s estuary (the mouth of a large river) in Qasmieh and Naqoura. The spring that has been found, by

the Lebanese Union of Professional Divers, is approximately three meters deep. A submarine-like device dived 40 meters into the sea until it reached the bottom and took a sample

of water from a spring. Hopefully, the results of this discovery could allow us to reach a solution for our water crisis, and enhance Lebanon’s water wealth.

Lebanon needs to find an abundance of water, and quick

NOVEMBER 18, 2014

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