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Behmardi nonetheless explained that the issue could be improved through the use of technology. In some American universities, for example, students sign in their names on a waiting list when the class is full. If a registered student drops, the first person on the list is enrolled automatically. In many of the departments, numbers were given out to students based on the time when they showed up. The measure facilitated the process to a certain extent. Priority during the first days was given to graduating students who had to show their clearance to be able to forceregister. The last day of drop-and-add was open to everybody.
On that day, Hazar Masri, a freshman, came at 11 and left at 1 without adding any course. The chairman left at 1 for a lunch break and I am still waiting. Masri said. They should somehow fix the system. The difficult process made way to manipulation. A student who wished to remain anonymous reported that she talked to the person responsible for handing in numbers, telling him that she would vote for a specific political party if he gave her priority. It worked. The process also created some altercations, especially in the narrow halls of the Fine Arts building.
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CAMPUS NEWS
No Evaluation, No Grade
By Ranim Hadid LAU Tribune staff
As of this spring, online course evaluations will become mandatory. Students will not be able to view their grades without filling out their teacher evaluations at the end of the semester. The news was positively received among many students. You spend the whole semester getting to know a professor in a way that the administration will not understand, Karim Yafi, international business major, said. Without evaluations, no one will know what really goes in a classroom, Yafi continued, emphasizing the role of evaluations as communication channels between students and the administration. Salwa Kobeissi, a computer science major, agrees. Our opinion about teachers is crucial for the administration, she said. Teacher evaluations at LAU were once paper-based and obligatory. In 2009, the university announced that they had become online and optional. The response to evaluations has seen a drastic decline since then. While 90 percent of students filled out the written course evaluations, only 5 to 10 percent take part in the online process. LAU Provost Abdullah Sfeir underlined the importance of students active participation in course evaluations as teachers are never flawless and would always look to improve their performance. The point of all evaluations is for the university to improve its faculty and courses, Sfeir said. Even if there is an excellent teacher, there will always be room for improvement. Evaluations, Sfeir explained, are the main tool LAU uses to know whether its students are satisfied with the services the university provides. Yet 60 percent of LAU students do not believe that completing evaluations would have a significant outcome, a survey of 120 students showed. I dont see the use of evaluations, Nour Diab, a marketing major, said. Its not like the administration will kick out a professor due to negative evaluations. Elias Saad, a mechanical engineering major, agreed. Even if I will fill the evaluation form and say sincerely what I think, I dont believe that my opinion will be taken into consideration, he said. In response, the provost insisted that the administration follows consistently-criticized professors closely. When an evaluation shows that students are angry about a certain course, it raises a red flag and we keep a close watch, Sfeir said. Action is taken when evaluations show consistent and repetitive statistics. Sandra Kansou, architecture major, affirmed that the administration needs to pair up its decision to make the online course evaluations mandatory with a careful consideration of LAU students verdicts. I think if they want the evaluation forms to be mandatory, then the university needs to take the students opinion into consideration, or it will otherwise be a useless new law, Kansou said. While some worry that making course evaluations mandatory would mean that students may fill them out carelessly, Sfeir said that the administration can easily distinguish between the evaluations that are completed seriously and those filled out hastily. We will know that there is a problem in the course when there is consistence, Sfeir said. When reviewing evaluations, we know which ones are completed carelessly.
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SPORTS
By Zahi Sahli LAU Tribune staff
Lebanon goalkeeper Abbas Hassans performance on his competitive debut may have not been very convincing, but fans must stand behind him instead of showering him with abuse. Many fans jeered Hassan for his blunder in Lebanons 4-2 defeat against United Arab Emirates, while some players sounded their disappointment with his performance, doubting his ability to remain as manager Theo Bckers first-choice keeper. But fans seemed to forget that even the most important goalkeepers make mistakes. Respectable keepers such as Edwin van der Sar, Victor Valdes, Dida and Fabien Barthez have each and on many occasions committed game-changing gaffes. And having come from Sweden where he plays for Allsvenskan (Swedens top division) club, Norrkping, Hassan underwent tremendous pressure to put in a reliable performance between the sticks. Although the national team sealed qualification, some fans did not handle the loss well, and therefore did not celebrate with the players after the game ended. Since the national team made it through, fans should have applauded the players and given them the confidence they will need as they prepare for some difficult encounters. Influenced by LBC commentator Joseph Abi Chahines utopic comments that Lebanon would beat Brazil, a portion of Lebanese believed that their team is a favorite ahead of the clash with UAE. However, a fact that slipped their minds is that the Emiratis had scored six goals against Lebanon just before the qualifiers startednot to mention that they have been investing for decades in football. Both believing that the national team had suddenly transformed into an international giant overnight, and not having sufficient sportsmanship to applaud the players for their noble efforts at the end of the game comes to show, once again, how hopeless it is to inject life in our veins, and how we miss the point of international foot-
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CAMPUS LIFE
By Aseel Baidoun LAU Tribune staff
Like many women living alone, the 65 girls who reside at the LAU dormitories are often cast into one category too liberal. It makes sense, because most girls live in tight constraints with their families and, as soon as they have the chance to live alone, they lose their self-control, and they will cross their boundaries, Tarek Kassem, a mechanical engineer student, said sarcastically. Ive lived in the dorms since 2008, and I made many friends. Except for one or two young women, none of the girls crosses the boundaries Kassem refers to. True. Minor things change when youre alone. Personally, I used to wait for my parents to go to sleep to smoke a cigarette on the balcony while here I can smoke whenever I want. But whatever I do here, I can do there. Living alone is not the determining factor behind my actions. Sabreen Zaben, a sociologist, believes the reason behind the stereotype is societys conception of women as inferior beings in constant need of a male protection (father, husband) hence the emphasis on their reputation. Ali Jammoul, LAU dorm student and human right activist, agrees. The foundation of our traditional families is based on the superiority of men, with fathers being the bread winners, he said. This structure creates a fear that, one day, women will become superior. Some of the interviews I made seemed to reflect this fear. Girls should never get complete freedom. They will certainly abuse it in a way or another, Jihad Akel, an engineering graduate, said. According to Zaben, it all depends on the values of the family in question and the gender relations within this nucleus. The sociologist believes that if such a relationship was built on respect, trust and freedom, then the girl will most probably succeed in living alone. She will make the right decisions and draw her own boundaries. I dont think that all girls in the dorms have a bad reputation, Ahmad Shehade, a business graduate, said. Only the girls who have the tendency to lose self-control will be noticed when they receive complete freedom. Mira Daher is an LAU dorm student. A typical day in her
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life starts at 9 a.m. when she goes to class. During most of the week, she is done around 4 p.m. and returns to the dorms to have lunch. Refreshed, she heads to her office at a local NGO. Daher goes out with her friends twice a week to a caf or a friends house and she returns to her parents home during the weekends. I have created my own rules and lifestyle to make sure I head toward a successful future, Daher said. Girl dormitories at the American University of Beirut and at LAU are over 60 years old and yet, many are still hesitant to have their daughters live there. Research shows that the most uncharitable parties
toward independent women are women themselves. Women accuse independent females of having a bad reputation to release the rage within them, due to their oppression, Jammoul said. Even some of the young women themselves seem to accept this stereotype. I think we cannot compare males who live alone to the girls who do, Alia Al Khatib, a business student, said. Men are different from women in the eyes of this society, and we cannot change that. Razan El Ghoussaini, a public administration AUB graduate, agrees. Young girls who live alone are vulnerable to all kinds of temptations and I think girls need to be protected by their families
boundaries, she said. But Haneen Shabshoul, an LAU dorm resident, strongly disagrees. Females should have complete freedom, because it is their natural right, and only complete freedom will help them develop a sense of responsibility and maturity, she said. Shabshouls lifestyle is somehow similar to Dahers; she spends her weekdays on campus studying and sometimes goes out to a restaurant or to the movies during the weekend. It is a shame that educated students still make stereotypical generalizations, Shabshoul said. It hurts me to know that I may have a bad reputation just because I am strong enough to live alone.
Layan Sherri 23-year-old graphic design student I am totally against online evaluations. I think it was better before when it was up to the students whether they want to do it or not.
Hatem Halawi 18-year-old business student I think it is a good idea that they are mandatory because this would benefit students and the university in the long run.
Mirna El Mokdad 19-year-old nutrition student I think that the online evaluations are absolutely pointless. Anyway every time I do the evaluations I do them off hand.
Jad Atoui 20-year-old industrial engineering student I think that is it better this way now that they are mandatory. It is of course better for the students to get their opinion heard.
Malak Takkoush 18-year-old banking and finance student I think that the evaluations are useless. They may not reflect the students real opinion because the latter are forced to fill them out.
CAMPUS LIFE
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PEOPLE
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qaa, the LAU president attended French school then went to Saint Joseph University, where he completed his degree in law. When he moved to the United States to continue his studies, he didnt know a word of English. Since my family was divided between the United States and Lebanon, everyone wanted me to get a degree from the US, Jabbra explained. Jabbra has been LAUs
president since 2004. Between 1990 and 2004, he was academic vice president at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Before his tenure in California, the LAU president also served in an academic insitution; he was vice president of academics and research at St Marys University in Nova Scotia, Canada. By 2004, Jabbra was ready to come back home. I always had at the back of my mind a longing to come back to my
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generate. For this reason, establishing Beirutdesigners. com helps small designers grow, according to Dorra. For small designers, its pretty hard to be known outside of Lebanon and some shops are taking a big percentage 60 percent of everything they sell, Dorra said. Doing this will be helpful for them. Dorra, who was born in Paris and raised in Riyadh, has witnessed first-hand the popularity of Lebanese designs abroad.
a zone table that also spreads out the cost of shipping. Our aim is not to sell the designer but to make everyone around the world notice how talented and inspired Lebanese people can be, the website says. We truly believe in all of these creators/designers and also think that they need and deserve the chance to become internationallyknown and this can now happen, thanks to our website. The pieces truly symbolize what some may classify as traditional Lebanese designs. Items include MashAllah cuffs, personalized Arabic name necklaces and Kaff chains. Beirutdesigners.com ships to 106 countries and grants free delivery service within Lebanon. Hence, almost all around the world, people can gain access to up-and-coming local designers. I hope Lebanese designers become known, Dorra said. I hope all of them do.
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showed that, above a certain level of poverty, happiness becomes independent of an individuals economic status. So money doesnt buy happiness, after all. Many hypotheses about happiness were presented before researchers from the London School of Economics reported in the Journal of Human Genetics a direct link between an individuals happiness and serotonin levels. The chemical is a living energy molecule that delays gratification. When serotonin levels are low, it leads to failure and difficulty controlling impulses, which then creates feelings of pessimism, low
self esteem, excessive worry, obsession, chronic pain, etc. Some of the ways that help boost serotonin levels in our body are sunlight, massages, remembering happy events, exercise and a healthy diet. The 5-HTT gene codes for serotonin transporters within our neurons. It has an allele, which can be found as either short or long. In brief, the long allele is the better copy of the gene. Of course, one must always keep in mind that our wellbeing is not just determined by this one gene. Other genes as well as our environment and life experience play a major role in our well-being.
OPINION
When I look at my country Lebanon and find that the population below the poverty line is nearly 30 percent, and the unemployment rate is high, I realize that Lebanese peoples basic needs are neglected, I ask myself, when are we ever going to wake up? When I say basic needs I am talking about shelters that are collapsing, poisonous food and our well-being that is jeopardized due to air, water and sound pollution. Not to mention the abundance of other problems that endanger the rights and integrity of the Lebanese such as bribery, nepotism, favoritism, embezzlement, patronage, and vote-buying. Basically, lives are at stake here. Unfortunately, these complaints are very common. You can rarely pass a day without hearing the same symphony of people giving up on the countrys corrupted system. But the symphony suddenly mutes when political leaders call for a new demonstration to prove their massive existence. At that moment, Lebanese people brace themselves and become ready to raise their voice against opposing groups of the same corrupted system. From this point, I would like to compare Lebanese peoples mentality to that of children.. A very young child cannot understand anyones perspective except his or her own. This is what Jean Piaget, Swiss child psychologist and philosopher, explained when talking about the egocentrism of young children. Children believe that everybody around them must have emotions, thoughts and experiences similar to their own. The childish notion that ones own perspective is objective and absolute is similar to the viewpoint of a large amount of politically-fanatic Lebanese. Those people who advocate
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Note: The LAU Tribune is not responsible for the opinions expressed on this page.
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Souk El-Ahad
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well-off people do pass by Souk El-Ahad. They do not generally enter the souk to shop for their basic needs but are still interested in shopping for antiques or old books in the flea market, according to Nabeel, a stand owner. A well-dressed man, who was buying an old stove, explained how he did not intend to use it for its original purpose. I am buying it because I want it as part of my living room decoration, he said. Culture, arts and music also have their fair share in Souk El-Ahad. Stacks of used books are found on different stands. One can find all sorts of records, CDs, DVDs, cassettes by artists from starkly diverse backgrounds such as Fareed El-Atrash, Adamo, Elton Jones, the Beatles, Ragheb Alameh, Haifa Wehbe, and Umm Kulthoum. Used musical instruments such as violins, guitars, and flutes are on sale next to make-up tools and accessories for women. Agricultural products, such as olives and cherries, are also available in the souk. Coffee shops and sandwich stands welcome the passersby, offering popular food from the Lebanese and Arab cuisine, like Falafel and Manakeesh. The owners sit cross-legged on old chairs or on stools in the corners of their stands, or stand at the entrance to welcome customers as they enter. Any piece at a thousand! a stand owner called out, in an effort to draw the customers attention.
The Team
Adviser: Yasmine Dabbous Editors-in-Chief: Farah Al Saati, Iman Soufan, Zahi Sahli Staff: Ranim Hadid, 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, Aseel Baidoun, Samia Buhulaiyem, Yasmine Sarhi, Francesco Laurenti
According to the Health Services at LAU, the average number of medical reports signed per semester is approximately 270. LAU professors have varying points-of-view about this issue. Rached Bohsali, fine arts chairman, said that he has been aware of this issue since he started teaching in 1983. He charged that fake medical reports are legalized through the guidance office. I do blame the guidance office because they can hire a consultant to check the facts the way insurance companies do, Bohsali said. Bohsali added that he is able to uncover fake medical reports based on two factors; the performance record of the student and the credibility of the doctor. I tend to accept it because I have to be in solidarity with the guidance, he said. Reine Azzi, English and moral reasoning instructor, believes that a professor cant tell in all cases whether the report is fake or not. In my moral reasoning class, I usually send them to the nurse then I set a date for the make-up exam, she said. But the number does not exceed three to four students. It is not an epidemic. The ways through which students have access to these reports vary. I dont pay anything because the doctor is my relative, a senior management student said. Another senior marketing student admitted that the physician who gives him a fake medical report is his friends relative. I tell the doctor that his relative sent me here so he immediately writes me a report without going into discussion, he said. An LAU graduate has a different approach. He gets any old report, deletes the name and date and then fills the required information on top. After this editing, he photocopies the corrected version so the changes wont show. Many doctors know the reason why students ask for medical reports but try to disregard it. I always ask why they need it, just out of curiosity, a physician who wished to remain anonymous said. I want to help them and I dont care much why they want it.
OFF CAMPUS
By Farah Al Saati LAU Tribune staff
As the police screams, beats and drenches demonstrators with hot water and pepper spray, only one face stays rigid with a motionless expression, a coy smile and a weird moustache the face of Guy Fawkes. A chalk-white mask pops up in every protest against corrupt authorities around the globe. Fawkes face became a popular part of demonstrations worldwide during the past two years, in WikiLeaks demonstrations, the Arab uprisings and the Occupy Wall Street movement. In the London riots and the actions of famous hacker group the Anonymous, the Guy Fawkes mask has shown up regularly to challenge the system. Its an icon thats already there so its easy to copy and paste, Mona Knio, communication arts chair, said. Guy Fawkes was involved in the Gunpowder Plot, whose aim was to assassinate the British King, James I, and re-establish a Catholic regime in England. Authorities arrested him in Westminster Palace during the early hours of November 5, 1605. He was executed few months later. But Fawkes face did not acquire popularity before the 1980s, V for Vendetta, a comic book series, was created by Alan Moore. The series was set in a future Britain where an anonymous masked figure, V, plots to tear down the dictatorial government. He wore a Guy Fawkes mask to hide his mulled face and as a tribute to the legendary rebel of the 17th century. In 2005, Warner Bros. released V for Vendetta, the film adaptation. The most astonishing adaptation of the mask came during the mass uprisings that led to the downfall of former president Hosni Mubarak in Egypt. Not only did activists and demonstrators put it on during protests; it was also featured in caricatures on Facebook, Egyptian publications and on the streets. One of such illustrations featured the King Tut legendary golden mask with Guy Fawkes features. Knio finds that the Egyptians might relate to Guy Fawkes mask because they suffered from British occupation once and they had to work in the darkness to free
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their country. Closely related to this is the video, Khaled for Vendetta, uploaded on YouTube by Mohamad Alm Elhoda on June 2010. To date, the video has only 20,000 views despite its importance. It tells the story of Khaled Said, the Egyptian young man who was arrested and tortured till death during interrogations. Like the Guy Fawkes story, the killing of Said set a chain of unstoppable events on a national scale. Julian Assange, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief, wore a Fawkes mask when he arrived at the Occupy London Stock Exchange protest to de-
liver a speech, but the police insisted he takes it off. V quotes like Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. Beneath this mask there is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof became popular sentences on banners during demonstrations. Back in the Middle East and more specifically in Lebanon; the mask has rarely been used in demonstrations here but it is becoming a symbol online. Many activists today use photos of the mask as their profile pictures. Imad Bazzi, one of Lebanons chief bloggers and political activists, succeeded in acquiring the mask from abroad.
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OFF CAMPUS
High Destinations
By Omar El-Tani LAU Tribune staff
F.B., an education major who spoke on condition of anonymity, has often visited Amsterdam. The capital of the Netherlands and one of Europes major economic centers, the city is known for its historic canals and numerous museums including that of Dutch native Vincent Van Gogh. But F. B. was not there to stroll along the streets of the beautiful city. He visited Amsterdam to buy drugs at the capitals well-known cannabis coffee shops. F. B. purchased LSD, mushrooms and cannabis. He also visited museums dedicated to marijuana. During one of his trips, F. B. and his friends almost got beaten up in an alley trying to buy cocaine illegally. Despite the many hazards of drug intake and/or addiction, narco tourism is well and booming. Few countries are renowned for such a brand of travel. The most famous is the Netherlands but other destinations in South America and East Asia also provide possibilities of easy access to drugs. There were many starting points, of course. A couple of such [hippie] trails went using the magic bus in the 60s and early 70s which set out from Victoria Station in London and ran all the way to Marrakesh on one line and to Katmandu on another line, Brian Prescott-Decie, a cultural studies and English instructor at LAU, explained. It wasnt as such a drug line, but inevitably it was sometimes used by those sorts of people looking for those experiences, he continued. The National Drug Policy of the Netherlands states that the maximum amount of cannabis that can be sold to a given individual is 5 grams and that a person can cultivate no more than 5 plants. But even though cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands, the Dutch simply dont enforce their laws against the shops, according to Time Magazine. Amsterdam, a city well-known for its tolerance of marijuana,
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is a dream for some that is going up in smoke. According to The Huffington Post, visitors who go to coffee shops in Amsterdam constitute 23 percent of the countrys overall visitor count but, as of January 2013, these tourists will not be able to purchase cannabis. A ban has been put forth and is already effective in some parts of the Netherlands. As reported by Dutch News, Dutch nationals would still have the right to enter coffee shops and buy cannabis if they are registered members and provide their weed pass, only given to people ages 18 and up. Tourists, on the other hand would not be able to do so a governmental measure to cut back on crime and public nuisance. R.A., an LAU student who wished to remain anonymous, plans to go to Amsterdam this summer before the ban is implemented. I want to experience new things, like crystal, the student said. I am also thinking of soaking
the mushrooms in my medication so I can inject them. The ill effects of heavy drugs such as cocaine and heroin are well-known. They range from hallucinations to death. Some people have the misconception that cannabis is a benign drug. According to Time Magazine, studies reveal that a persons ability to develop schizophrenia is augmented by 40 percent when he or she consumes marijuana for the first time. Drugs may cause symptoms that are similar to those that lead to a psychiatric diagnosis, the website www.mind. org.uk reveals. In the worst cases, drug use may trigger serious conditions such as schizophrenia or long-term depression. According to The Guardian, in the Bolivian capital of La Paz, Route 36 is not just an afterhours bar but a cocaine bar, where you can order drinks and cocaine handed on a platter. Because the drug in question is illegal, the bar changes locations all the time.
The Amazon and neighboring countries like Colombia and Peru are also destinations for some tourists who travel there to indulge in an intoxicating and hallucinogenic concoction called ayahuasca, made from tree bark. Many shamanic workshops and spiritual retreats provide it. Ceremonies are led by shamans who perform a series of chants and aid the subjects through their mental journey. A medicine man is one kind of shaman.. Medicine men, witch doctors. They come under a variety of labels but generally they are religious leaders who relate more to the spirit world than to God, Prescott-Decie said. Further east, Asia hosts a variety of religions including Hinduism. In Nepal, you can smoke in a cab, you can even smoke in shiva temples, Tarek. K., an interior design student, said. He recently went to Nepal. [Hashish] is part of their culture, the Hindu culture,
he said. But Prescott-Decie cautioned against such overgeneralizations. He explained that all religions feature fringe cults. If some of those involve drug use, that does not in any way make them mainstream, he added. A political science student who wants to go by the alias of Louise finds narco tourism overrated. You dont need to go too far from home to find the drugs you want any drug, she said.