Campus Life Technology
Sharpnel to the heart Stalker, much?
Year XIII, Vol. II, No. IV
Exam Theft on Campus
By Mohamad Yahia Hamade
LAU Tribune staff
Just one night before her
midterm, a distressed stu-
dent at the social sciences
department checked her in-
box and miraculously found
a copy of her long await-
ed exam. Salma download-
ed the document and tried to
crack it, but eventually gave
up on the bootleg document
and went to sleep, hoping for
a miracle to come her way in
the exam hall.
The next day, an hour be-
fore the exam, Salma’s eyes
were bloodshot from the lack
of sleep and agitation. She
found out that the exam she
received by email was not
the right one, but was in fact
for another course.
“I got the email and tried to
solve the exam but it turned
out to be for my other class,”
Salma said, sipping a cup of
coffee and struggling to stay
awake. “There was a mix-up,
but my ‘contacts’ have access
to the professor’s laptop. I
can make it up with another
exam.”
Exam theft might seem like
an exaggerated plot of The
Perfect Score movie; howev-
er, official sources at LAU
and other universities told
the Tribune that this is a
problem all academic insti-
tutions face occasionally. In
a recent incident at LAU By-
blos, five students were sus-
pended when investigations
revealed that they stole ex-
ams from their depart-
ment, a staff member who
preferred to remain anony-
mous, said.
According to Provost Abdal-
lah Sfeir, investigations of
exam theft are conducted
around twice or three times
a year on average. “Whenev-
Culture
Sweats on campus
TRIBUNE
Page 4 Page 6
The Official Student Newspaper at the Lebanese American Universty
Monday, May 9, 2011
Photo by: Yasmine Dabbous
er [we] suspect in such a fact, The Tribune tried to obtain
we immediately take action the alleged exam but both
and an investigation is set Leila and Salma refused to
to examine the case,” he em- give it out. When challenged,
phasized. however, Salma gave us a
“In theory, it’s very easy [to set guideline manual that
steal exams], all you have was to be distributed during
to do is [illicitly] get access a psychology class, almost a
to the professor’s laptop or month after the theft had oc-
flash disk,” Leila, an arts curred. The paper that con-
and sciences student, said. tained term paper instruc-
“It’s simple.” However, that tions was not the midterm
action is not risk-free. Leila but was acquired though un-
said one of her friends was ethical ways by a “source”
apprehended by the admin- who accessed the professor’s
istration and immediately files.
expelled, after a pending in- “Students think that [steal-
vestigation proved she was ing exams] is shatara,”
guilty. Samira Aghacy, dean of arts
Leila said she had acquired and sciences, said. Those
Salma’s aforementioned students are paying im-
exam. She did so by illicit- mensely for their education.
ly accessing the professor’s What’s the point when they
flash disk files and copying do something like that? They
all the Word documents la- will suffer immensely when
beled by the course number. they graduate.”
Computer software that can Aghacy said that LAU pro-
be downloaded online free of fessors battle theft by chang-
charge allow perpetrators to ing their exams every se-
easily and swiftly complete mester. “This is the time for
this task. Leila did not dis- students to learn. It’s their
close what kind of software fuel for the future. If you are
she used, however, a Google not equipped then it’s a ca-
search revealed over a mil- tastrophe,” she added.
lion hits for the term “USB
cloning software” online. Continued on page 9
People Opinion
Meet Dean Aghacy Toilet paper rolls
Page 7 Page 8
www.TribuneLAU.com
Tuition System at LAU
By Diaa Aljurdy
LAU Tribune staff
When a Burberry hand
bag or an HP laptop cost
more than 600 dollars, why
wouldn’t a single credit at
LAU cost the same?
LAU is one of Lebanon’s
most expensive universities.
Every year, the cost of a sin-
gle credit increases in vary-
ing amounts depending on
the major. With the world-
wide rise of prices in every
area, such increases are un-
derstandable. At the same
time, mounting tuition fees
make the life of many quite
difficult.
“The cost of higher education
is ever increasing, and this
is substantiated by many
recent studies made in the
USA and worldwide,” Emile
Lamah, vice president for fi-
nance and chief financial of-
ficer at LAU, said. “The pri-
mary source of revenue for
higher education institu-
tions is tuition fees, espe-
cially in Lebanon. Annual
increases are therefore nec-
essary to cover the increas-
ing costs.”
But students who dream of a
strong degree suffer the con-
sequences. Some can’t afford
the expensive fees; others
pay a price to study at LAU.
“I’m taking nine credits for
this semester because I can’t
take more; each credit is
very expensive and I can’t af-
ford to pay for many credits,”
Tamara Farhat, a 19-year-
old political science student,
said. “That’s why I work as a
part-time teacher to help my
parents pay my fees.”
The credit for the school of
arts and sciences is between
513 and 585 dollars, the
school of business between
575 and 585 dollars and the
Page 10
school of pharmacy between
633 and 645 dollars.
“I couldn’t pay for my fees
on time because my par-
ents were in Ivory Coast and
they couldn’t transfer mon-
ey, so I had to fill a petition
signed by all my instruc-
tors to be able to re-register
for my courses,” Mona Ham-
moud, a 19-year-old commu-
nication arts student, said.
“I paid my fees after all but
with an extra 216,000 Leb-
anese pounds for late regis-
tration. The university has
to be more understanding in
such critical situations.”
During the fall of 2010, a
major change to flat tuition
fees was proposed. Accord-
ing to the new system, stu-
dents paid by credit if they
took less than 12 credits.
If they registered for more,
they still paid for 12 credits.
At the same time, the cost of
credits was increased.
Many public and private de-
bates took place. Most stu-
dents agreed that the change
was to their advantage. “The
new system is better than
the old one, you can take as
much credits as you want
for the same amount,” Ema
Hatoum, a 21-year-old polit-
ical science student, said.
Hatoum added, however,
that LAU remains an ex-
pensive university. “I used
to study at York Universi-
ty in Canada and the cred-
its there were less expensive
than LAU’s,” she said. “And
York’s courses are much
more difficult.”
Some students did not like
the new tuition system. “I
prefer the old one because it
Continued on page 9
2 Tribune
CAMPUS NEWS
Remembering the
Genocide
By Layan Doueik
LAU Tribune contributor
The Armenian student club
marked the 96th commemo-
ration of the Armenian geno-
cide on April 21 at LAU Bei-
rut. The event included
music, dance performances,
and three speeches.
Ghassan Rahbani, a promi-
nent Lebanese composer and
singer, and Pierre Sarkis,
LAU history professor, were
the guests of honor.
Chant Koroukian, president
of the Armenian club, opened
the event with a moment of
silence for the 1.5 million vic-
tims of the genocide.
“Ninety-six years of blood be-
ing shed to remember the Ar-
menian cause,” Koroukian
said. “We survived and pros-
pered against all challenges.”
Rahbani made a speech as
well, emphasizing the impor-
tance of adopting the Arme-
nian problem as a Lebanese
issue. “We should stop dis-
tinguishing Armenians from
the Lebanese,” Sarkis said.
“Armenians are Lebanese
Food Safety Conference: the Truth Behind
Most Deaths
By Zahi Sahli
LAU Tribune contributor
The fact that people die of
food-related illnesses almost
more than all other diseas-
es combined showed numer-
ous discoveries and also re-
vealed the importance of
implementing the safest pos-
sible measures in the food
industry. The conference
raised such issues and hoped
to improve standards and in-
crease level of care amongst
food safety.
Fuad Fleifel, the general di-
rector of the Office of Con-
sumer Protection, discussed
the topic at an LAU hosted
conference last week.
“On Earth, if we consider the
world population, more peo-
ple die of diarrheal disease
infections and such diseases
more than some Lebanese
people are.”
The history professor in his
speech focused on the si-
lence of the international
community and the Turkish
government’s denial of the
Armenian genocide. He also
emphasized Armenian par-
ticipation in sports and arts
in Lebanon.
“This is a complete cruel war
against Armenians,” Sarkis
said.
Rahbani wrote and com-
posed a song about Leba-
nese-Armenians called “Ne-
hna Hon Min‘ich” (We Live
Here), which he sang with
the club members.
Three traditional Armenian
dances were performed by
Armenian children who add-
ed hope and life to this sad
commemoration.
Current and former deans of
students Raed Mohsen and
Tarek Naawas were also
present to support the Ar-
menian cause.
than AIDS, malaria and tu-
berculosis combined,” Fleifel
said. “This is why food safety
really should be taken more
seriously.”
Fleifel spoke at the three-
day conference titled “Re-
search Trends in Food Safe-
ty and Security” at LAU,
which started on May 3 and
featured food scientists and
researchers from across the
globe.
Ahmad Kabbani, chair of
the natural sciences depart-
ment, noted that future col-
laboration between different
institutions is one of the key
benefits of arranging such
events.
“It is very important that ac-
ademia and industry come
LAU Sunny Day: Ice Cream and
Fun Under the Sun
By Ranim Hadid
LAU Tribune contributor
Students lathered them-
selves with sunscreen while
enjoying fun and ice cream
during LAU’s Sunny Day
hosted on April 20.
Numerous stands piled out-
side the Fine Arts Build-
ing. “Protect your skin,” one
banner said. “Do you drink
enough water?” another
asked. While a third warned
against skin cancer.
Jocilene Karkoor, LAU’s
nurse, told students to pro-
tect themselves from expo-
sure to the sun. “Minimal
consequences include hair
and skin damage,” she said.
“We decided to do this now
together,” Kabbani said. “We
believe that this will be of a
mutual benefit to both.”
The conference, which took
place on both Beirut and By-
blos campuses, also featured
local representatives from
the food industry and policy
makers.
Kabbani argued that Leba-
nese laws should be modern-
ized and regulated in order
to enforce the hiring of more
microbiologists who can help
control the quality of food in
the developing industries.
“We cannot leave it haphaz-
ard and random,” he said.
“We have to respect the cre-
dentials of our young gradu-
ates. They are the best pro-
tectors of our safety and are
because we’ve reached that
time of year where people are
preparing for the summer,”
Karkoor explained.
“I can now see what happens
if you do not take care of your
skin, and this is probably
one of the most useful things
LAU ever taught me,” Badr
Qaddah, a business major,
said.
Norma Moussally, the coun-
selor and one of the organiz-
ers, said that the aim of this
campaign is to teach stu-
dents to take care of them-
selves and have fun at the
same time.
“I always knew that the sun
the promise of this country.”
A food crisis looms over the
Middle East as the region im-
ports its food from other con-
tinents, according to Atef Id-
riss, the CEO of Mefosa, an
organization that provides
consulting and training ser-
vices to help food companies
establish safety and quality
procedures.
“MENA is one of the high-
est food deficit regions of the
world,” Idriss said. “When it
comes to food trade, we are
importing in excess to 50 bil-
lion dollars of food each year,
the highest per capital in the
world.”
Numerous question marks
over the current problemat-
ic standards of healthiness
May 9, 2011
Photo via Creative Commons
was dangerous but I nev-
er imagined it would be this
serious,” Karim Yafi, a busi-
ness major, said. “I’ll be sure
to always have sunscreen on
me from now on.”
Iman Soufan, a journalism
major, agreed. “It’s a good
idea to raise awareness about
this issue although I’m not
a big fan of sunscreen. I still
think people should be cau-
tious though.”
The LAU sunny day taught
students to drink more water
in order to prevent dehydra-
tion and to also generously
use sunscreen to avoid vari-
ous skin problems.
have especially troubled the
developing countries in the
modern world as besmirch-
ing outbreaks concerning
the diseases, infections and
even increased deaths due to
food-related issues amplified
in the last decade.
The conference was orga-
nized by the school of arts
and sciences and the depart-
ment of natural sciences.
Topics included food safety
microbiology, food toxicol-
ogy, post-harvest physiolo-
gy of fruits and vegetables,
global issues for food securi-
ty and safety, nutrition and
physiology, food health ben-
efits and anti-tumor effect of
many different food compo-
nents.
 May 9, 2011
CAMPUS NEWS
Stunning Victory
By Eleena Korban
LAU Tribune staff
The LAU Rugby League
team, composed of play-
ers from both campuses,
snatched the internation-
al RL 9’s tournament or-
ganized by the Czech Rug-
by League Association over
Easter weekend in Pardu-
bice.
Six teams from Leba-
non, the Czech Repub-
lic and Serbia competed
in the tournament. The
teams were drawn in a sin-
gle group and played in a
We’ve Got Talent
By Mona Hammoud
LAU Tribune contributor
We’ve Got Talent, a contest
organized by the students of
a public relations class, was
transformed into a sensation-
al event with Rahaf Abdallah,
Miss Lebanon of 2010, as a host,
the famous George El Rassi, Mi-
cheline Khalifeh and Ward El
Khal as judges and performer
Aziz Abdo as special guest.
“It was supposed to be simple
but it went beyond our expec-
tations,” Zeina Shehayeb, a
journalism junior, explained.
Ali Khalifeh, business stu-
dent, won the first place, fol-
lowed by Ziad Takkoush,
family business and entre-
preneurship major and Mo-
hamad Abou Younis, graphic
design major.
The group who organized the
round robin format.
In the seven matches that
the team played, includ-
ing the final, LAU went un-
defeated and scored 162
points. It only conceded 16.
“This is by far LAU’s best
international performance
and something we are cer-
tainly proud of,” Sami Ga-
rabedian, the director of
athletics on the Beirut cam-
pus, said. “The organizers
praised the overall perfor-
mance of the team, includ-
event included Shehayeb,
Abeer Shoukini, Aya Tak,
Maria Kelendjian and Maji-
da Khaled. The five students
worked on the project as part of
the requirements of COM213,
Tribune 3
Putting ‘the Best You’
Forward
ing exemplary behavior, By Reem Swaidan
and were impressed by our LAU Tribune staff
rugby league program.”
Walid Yassin, an LAU ex- Associate director of Proct- “Speak firmly and lively and
change student from Aus- er and Gamble Bassel Idriss only move with purpose,” he
tralia, was voted tourna- taught LAU students how to said. He discussed the impor-
ment MVP. He scored 15 enhance their communica- tance of hand gestures and
tries. tion skills in 10 steps, during eye contact.
The second position went a lecture in Byblos on April Idriss moved on to the sixth
to a university in Belgrade 19. advice, which focused on the
and the third to the Ameri- The first step focuses on tools one must use during
can University in Beirut. In knowing one’s audience, Id- presentations. “PowerPoint
the final game, LAU scored riss said. “You have to know is not the only tool, use flip-
38 points against Belgrade their culture, their back- charts and images as well,”
and conceded none. ground and how they might Idriss said.
understand what you are “In order to be credible, you
Photo provided by: Sami Garabidian
saying,” he explained. have to be confident and on
“You also have to involve the ease,” he also advised. For
audience,” Idriss continued. this reason, advice number 8
He explained that speakers revolved around dressing ap-
must treat their audiences as propriately. Such step pre-
part of the grand design. vents physical distractions
Idriss also cautioned that during presentations, the
speakers must not give more P&G director added.
than three messages in a pre- As part of point 9, Idriss cau-
sentation. “People will forget tioned students against ig-
50 percent of what you said, noring questions from the
immediately,” he said. audience. “Listen carefully
The P&G director also ad- and answer with your objec-
vised that each presenta- tives in mind,” he said.
tion should have a structure, Idriss finally emphasized the
including an introduction, importance of not letting the
a body and an ending that speaker’s nerve cripple him
summarizes the main idea. or her. “Use this energy and
Idriss explained the power channel it toward a better
of voice and body language. presentation,” he concluded.
an introduction to public rela- ceremony took place on April ness student, said. “I think
tions class taught by associate 29 at a packed Irwin Hall this event should take place
professor Ramez Maluf. auditorium. Singers, danc- every year.”
After auditions on campus, ers, rappers and a magician Abdallah, who happens to be an
only 11 students were quali- took the stage. “It was enjoy- LAU alumna, was equally hap-
fied to the final contest. The able,” Hasan Kaissi, a busi- py. “It is an honor for me to pres-
ent the show and I am proud of
my university’s talents,” she
Photo by: Mona Hammoud
said.
“I am very happy and pleased
to be here. You are the new
gifted generation. Long live
LAU!” Micheline Khalifeh ex-
claimed.
Shehayyeb explained that,
contrary to her group’s expec-
tations, celebrities were re-
sponsive and welcoming but
organizing such an event is
nonetheless difficult. “It was
challenging till the last mo-
ment,” Shehayyeb said.
4 Tribune
CAMPUS LIFE
Bathroom Issues
By Lama Al-Haqhaq
LAU Tribune staff
“I either use the Business
Building bathrooms, or I
just hold it,” Ranim Hadid,
a communication arts stu-
dent, said. “My friend uses
the gym bathroom because
it’s so clean.”
LAU offers 16 bathrooms for
males and another 16 for fe-
males, scattered across uni-
versity buildings.
When students were asked
to describe these bathrooms,
they quickly replied with
modifiers such as “dirty,”
“filthy” and “disgusting.”
“I give the cleanliness a sev-
en out of ten,” Rand El Zein, a
business student, said. “The
problem is how people try to
communicate on the walls
and write trashy things.”
Approximately 240 people
go into each bathroom ev-
ery day. In order to test how
consistently clean WCs are,
a bathroom check was con-
ducted during three differ-
ent times over the span of a
day.
Most of the bathrooms were
clean or in the process of
being cleaned early in the
morning, but some already
had problems.
The same verdict came up in
the afternoon; the morning’s
shady stains were taken care
of but wet tissues topped the
floor. During the evening,
LAU’s bathrooms were at
their worst.
Nehmat Aoun, director of
hospitality services, ex-
plained that 30 janitors
are designated for cleaning
bathrooms in the old build-
ings, not including the Busi-
ness Building.
“We also have a housekeeper
who does hourly rounds with
a checklist and a daily report
in order to spot the weak-
nesses,” she added.
The Tribune’s bathroom
check revealed that the Busi-
ness Building featured the
cleanest bathrooms while
Fine Arts WCs were in the
worst conditions.
Most of the other bathrooms
were clean and only a few
had slight problem areas.
The females’ bathroom in
Nicol’s ground floor, for one,
was the only one with a dis-
turbing stench.
The males’ bathroom on the
same floor had few hairs in
the sink, wet floors and sus-
picious droplets on the toilet
seat.
“I think that the shortage of
bathrooms is one of the prob-
lems,” Aoun said. “For exam-
ple, there are many students
in the Sage building, but only
one bathroom available.”
Some students seem to think
that the size of the bath-
rooms is not sufficient.
“The bathrooms are too small
and poorly maintained,”
Hayfa Khaled, a communica-
tion arts student, said.
One of the recurring prob-
lems related to students’ hy-
giene. Many left the bath-
room without making sure
that nothing was left behind
in the toilets.
As Bilal Kbeissi, a biology
student, noted, this directs
the blame to the end-users.
“They are poorly taken care
of, not only by the staff but
also by the students who use
them,” he said.
Janitors work from 6:30 a.m.
to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays,
and from 6:30 a.m. to 11:30
a.m. on Saturdays. Some-
times they work overtime,
namely from 2:30 p.m. to
6:00 p.m.
While they work long hours,
these women have more
than bathrooms to tend to.
According to Aoun, the very
same people have to clean
up after on-campus events,
are in charge of the logistics
and even serve during these
events.
“There are a minimum of
two to three events per day,”
Aoun explained.
Still, many students try to
avoid using the bathrooms
due to their notorious repu-
tation.
“We are here to serve stu-
dents,” Aoun said. “There
are so many students in uni-
versity and we cannot please
everyone 100 percent, but if
we get to 80 percent, that’s
good.”
Shrapnel to the Heart
By Eleena Korban
LAU Tribune staff
Soft lights decorate the
stage. An old man sits lean-
ing on his walking stick next
to a little girl holding flow-
ers. Jazzy music serenades
around ten actors walking
on stage in a predetermined
route. “Stop!” Lina Abyad,
assistant professor of com-
munication arts, screams,
four seconds into the perfor-
mance. “Start again.” One of
the actors missed their cue.
All semester long, student
productions take the stage
for one or two nights but one
major production gets the
students really fired up. For
eight nights this month, Abi-
ad’s heart wrenching play
titled “A Shrapnel to the
Heart” will open to the pub-
lic.
The play is performed in Ar-
abic and revolves around
Wahab, a 19-year-old who
receives an urgent phone
call demanding he gets to
the hospital to witness his
mother’s last moments. On
the way there, he is haunt-
ed by memories that create a
dance between love and hate
for his mother.
The play consists of many
layers and dimensions that
interact with each other. The
lighting and stage directions
are meticulously repeat-
ed and tweaked to shift be-
tween past and present.
Abyad’s actors would say
that she paints her plays
like a masterpiece. The final
product is indeed a work of
art. However, there is a nit-
ty gritty process that the au-
dience never sees.
The first performance was on
May 8, but behind the scenes,
the cast and crew have been
drilling for months. “We
spend at least five to six
hours a day in this theatre
with Lina,” Zeina Kazimi,
one of the actors, says.
Rehearsals, dare I say, are
more entertaining to watch
than the actual play. In one
corner, some students are
huddled in a circle preparing
props. In another corner, an
actor is working closely with
the choreographer to final-
ize the steps of an abstract
dance. Bursts of sound and
music occasionally startle
the team. Lights of different
intensities and colors shine
randomly. Actors consume
chocolate left, right and cen-
ter to gain any energy they
can get their hands on. It is
almost unfathomable how
something so coordinated
and smooth could result from
such a chaotic process. It is
Abyad’s bellowing orders
and comments that set the
play in motion.
“I have two espressos and
two diet cokes… I am willing
to eat you,” Abyad hollers at
her actors as she pleads with
them to concentrate. Despite
the pressure, actors are all
willing to repeat a scene as
many times as it takes to fit
into the painting that is Abi-
ad’s vision. “She gives us the
freedom to do what we want
and listens to us, she prods
us to express realistically
without physically over-ex-
pressing, she makes us real-
ly feel it,” Kazimi explains.
Aside from the dozen stu-
dents working on the play,
Abyad’s status and pres-
tige allows her to call upon
greater forces. The role of
the mother in present day is
played by renowned thespi-
an Renee Deek, who has pre-
viously worked with Abyad.
“I love working with the stu-
dents, it creates for a beau-
tiful fresh contact. Even
though theatre is really tir-
ing, the students work as
professionals,” Deek says.
Aliya Khalidi, one of LAU’s
own theatre professors,
plays a slightly younger ver-
sion of the mother.
May 9, 2011
Photo by: Eleena Korban
Ruwaida Al Ghali, contem-
porary dancer, interferes in
the play to choreograph met-
aphorical dances between
Wahab and “the woman with
wooden limbs,” representing
death.
The process of creating a
play is not a simple one. It
demands great collabora-
tion and trust between vari-
ous team players. Hala Mas-
ri, the production manager,
is charged with coordinating
the various resources of fi-
nance, personnel, space, and
scheduling so as to allow for
the highest caliber of produc-
tion possible.
Claire Mechref, the costume
designer, is in charge of mak-
ing sure the costumes are
uniform and realistic to the
play. Diala Osseiran, the
make-up artist, is responsi-
ble for transforming the ac-
tors’ faces into that of their
characters. Fuad Halwani,
the light director, works
closely with Abyad to cre-
atively set the scenes.
Bane Fakih, sound direc-
tor, attentively coordinates
the sound with the actors
and their cues. “I cried at
one point, we work under a
great pressure because cues
change every day,” Fakih
confesses. “It is a beautiful
pressure though, one that al-
lows you to really appreciate
the product of your work.”
In one brief scene, Wahab
encounters a Santa Clause
with car trouble. “Even such
a small part requires passion
and sacrifice,” Mohammad
Khansa, the actor who plays
Santa, says. “We stay up late
and skip classes for the sake
of theatre.”
 May 9, 2011
CAMPUS LIFE
Can’t Stop the Music
By Munawar Abboushi
LAU Tribune contributor
Music is a way of life, some
will tell you. Whether pop,
hip hop, jazz, classical or
heavy metal, music is pop-
ular across cultures. Our
lives would be dry and dreary
without a few good notes are
heard on the way to work in
the car or in the evening be-
fore bedtime.
The LAU student body seems
to be a particularly musical
one as it rushes to fill mu-
sic elective classes almost to
overflowing every semester.
Of the fifteen LAC arts elec-
tives available at LAU, only
two are music electives. Oth-
ers range from architecture
and design, to communica-
tion arts and fine arts. And
yet, the two music classes re-
ceive more students than all
the others combined.
This spring semester, 14 mu-
sic sections are open, with
476 students registered. To-
gether, other arts electives
comprise 15 sections with a
total of only 376 students.
So what is behind the music
class craze? Many students,
like Samira Harb, a bank-
Keeping in Touch after Graduation
By Nour Monajjed
LAU Tribune staff
Although Alaa Minawi, a
communication arts alum-
nus, graduated in spring
2008, he still comes to LAU
at least once a week. “My ma-
jor is communication arts
and it assumes keeping com-
munication always open with
old and new,” he explained.
“LAU gave me the chance to
meet all the amazing people
I met.”
For graduates like Minawi,
LAU’s alumni office is there
to help. Connecting alum-
ni with their alma matter
and with the friends they
acquired during university
years, it keeps the communi-
cation “always open,” as the
former communication arts
student aptly put it.
“Our mission is to provide
you with the opportunity to
stay connected to the cam-
ing and finance junior, be-
lieve that the music courses
are “easy A” classes. “I didn’t
take Music because I was n’t
interested in it or anything
like that. In fact, I never
liked music,” she said. “I re-
ally wanted to take ceramics,
but then I discovered it was
not a LAC course. So I had to
take the easiest thing I could
find.”
The recorded number of mu-
sic students this semester is
the highest in recent years.
Nevertheless, numbers have
always followed this pattern.
In the spring of 2010, there
were 9 music sections open
with 246 registered students,
pus by giving workshops and
holding several events ev-
ery year,” Abdallah Al Khal,
alumni relations director at
LAU, said. “We’re working
on building a network.”
Graduation, for Al Khal,
doesn’t mean leaving ev-
erything behind. The LAU
alumni office connects past
friends and relations by pro-
viding former LAU students
with information of those
they knew during university
years.
Say, in a few years, you re-
member the good old days
and that one person who sat
next to you in the intro to
psychology class. With the
Alumni Program, you can
find out exactly who that
was, what the person is doing
now, and where he or she is
located.
Tribune
Photo by: Yasmine Dabbous
so I wanted an easy course.”
The situation at the commu-
nication arts department is
more than a little disconcert-
ing, as more and more stu-
dents flood the halls every
start of semester to register
for a music elective. Since it
was started, Survey of West-
ern Music has gone from a
solitary section to two sec-
tions, and was eventual-
ly joined by its sister course,
while there were only 8 other Survey of Middle Eastern
arts sections open with a to- Music. The number of stu-
tal of 190 students. dents that can be accommo-
What is even more strik- dated per section went from
ing is the fact that students 20 to 30. Today, it is possible
who register for other arts to find sections with up to 40
classes are not all LAC stu- students.
dents; some of them take But music courses have prov-
these courses as require- en interesting to more than
ments for their majors. Some one student. Abdo Salam
arts courses are not even of- Hamade, a third year politi-
fered every semester. How- cal science major, said that,
ever, both music courses of- although he took the course
fered at LAU are exclusively for the same reasons others
LAC courses and are open ev- expressed, he also enjoyed
ery term. the Survey of Western Music.
“I’m not good at art,” Karl “It may sound weird, but
Anghelopoulos, a business learning about the histo-
senior, admitted. “And hon- ry of European music really
estly, I have a very high GPA, helped me discover the Eu-
“We also hold numerous LAU alumni. Around 32
events each year to bring old chapters will be involved.
friends back together,” Al “Events are geared towards
Khal said. “Events include supporting LAU graduates
homecoming, reunions and and promoting connections
much more. They are open with the university,” Al Khal
to all alumni and we usually said.
tell them at least a month be- During the last five years,
forehand.” the LAU alumni office has
On April 29, the alumni office organized annual business
organized a lecture on busi- network receptions, during
ness etiquette. The fourth which business cards were
event this year, it was giv- exchanged, offers were made
en by former business stu- and professional lives of LAU
dent Hassan Shaker. “Our graduates improved.
first lecture was given by Elie Ceem Haidar, a journal-
Samia, director of the guid- ism alumna who graduated
ance office and our second in fall 2007, returns around
and third lectures were giv- twice a year to LAU.
en by Raed Mohsen, LAU’s “LAU was a nurturing com-
dean of students,” Al Khal munity that fused both aca-
explained. demic and social life – it was
On the 24th of May, an Alum- a second home,” Haidar said.
ni Book Exhibition will take The LAU alumni program
place, featuring books by expanded significantly dur-
5
ropean society of the time
and understand the develop-
ments on the political level,”
Hamade said.
The cultural appeal of the
music courses is not the only
thing that draws students to
them. Marcelle Shilik, busi-
ness banking, said she en-
joys oriental music, so Sur-
vey of Middle Eastern Music
was a natural choice for her.
“I liked the older music we
learned about, such as Oum
Kalthum and the like,” she
said.
Vatche Kalforian, a compos-
er and music instructor at
LAU, shared his positive ex-
perience teaching music. Al-
though he admitted some
students expect music to be
an easy class, he said that he
senses a general and genuine
enthusiasm for his course.
“I really believe that the stu-
dents feel like they have
gained something at the end
of the course,” Kalforian said.
“There should be more music
courses offered at LAU, es-
pecially as requirements for
majors in art.”
ing the last six years. “We
now have over 30,000 grad-
uates worldwide,” Al Khal
said. “When I graduated in
1984, there were 250 gradu-
ates. Today LAU graduates
over 1,500 students a year.”
In countries near and far,
from Montreal to Athens and
Riyadh, LAU chapters, made
up of groups of LAU gradu-
ates, are there to help. You
may contact them for assis-
tance when you move into a
new country, need to find a
job, or simply need friends to
communicate with. “In 2005,
there were 16 chapters and
now we have something like
50 to 60,” Al Khal explained.
Minawi still returns to LAU
to attend events, meet with
friends or check the library.
“I feel like [I’m at] home. Yes
I do,” he said.
6 Tribune
SOCIAL MEDIA & TECH
Facebook Depression is a Confirmed Diagnosis
By Lea Giusti
LAU Tribune staff
After a long day at university,
22-year-old Noura is stuck to
her screen, checking Facebook.
She would rather look at what
other people have posted than
study. The popular social net-
working site has become her ad-
diction.
“It’s simply out of boredom,”
Noura, who wants to stay anon-
ymous, said. “Facebook is pure-
ly entertaining.” Checking what
other people are up to seems to
amuse the young woman. Nou-
ra admits that Facebook is her
“cup of coffee.”
But the time she spends on the
social networking site is not al-
ways fun. “Checking your ex’s
picture is not a very good dis-
FourSquare: I Know Where You Are...
By Diana Bachoura
LAU Tribune staff
These days, discovering the
city around you is easy as push-
ing a button. I’m talking, of
course, about FourSquare.
FourSquare is a social media
application for smartphones. It
allows you to discover different
places in your city and helps
you interact with other us-
ers. Because it works via GPS,
checking in to a location allows
your friends to see where you
are on the map and vice ver-
sa. For those who like to keep
track of where they spent their
time, a “history” option is avail-
able.
The main idea behind the ap-
plication is to prompt you to
try new places and recommend
them to friends or try some-
traction, especially if you read
all your friends happy status-
es,” she said. “It makes me jeal-
ous.”
For daily browsers, Facebook
may not seem dangerous but
doctors disagree. According to
the American Academy of Pedi-
atrics, a child’s social and emo-
tional development is clearly
affected by his or her online ac-
tivities. Children, who spend an
increasingly larger amount of
their time online, are more ex-
posed to Facebook depression.
Checking happy statuses and
photo updates can make one
feel he or she doesn’t measure
up.
“When I was younger, I was
thing your friends have rec-
ommended. “I actually heard
about it while having lunch
randomly, so I downloaded it on
my phone and I’ve been using it
for approximately five months,”
Hassan Charafedine, an inte-
rior design graduate, said. “My
favorite part about the app are
recommendations and tips.”
You can earn points by check-
ing in different places. “Check-
in” to a place more often than
your friends and you win the
mayorship of that particular
place. You can also collect badg-
es for various activities, such as
the Explorer badge for trying
out different places.
“My favorite thing about it
is the fact I get rewards with
Photo by: Eleena Korban
not allowed out. That’s when I
stuck to Facebook,” Noura said.
“That’s when I felt like I was
missing out on outings.”
Researchers disagree whether
Facebook depression is a phe-
nomenon inherent to the social
network or whether it is an ex-
tension of troubles in the real
world.
Laura Nassar, a student at
LAU, admits she has delet-
ed her Facebook account due
to a bad experience. “There
was this one person I got into a
fight with,” she said. “And I saw
some pictures on Facebook and
it got me so down that I immedi-
ately deleted my account.”
According to the AAP, peers
time,” said Loulou Bousamra,
an architecture student at Leb-
anese Academy of Fine Arts.
“It’s fun! The trophies I get
make me want to go out more
often. I try to oust friends and
become the mayor of places.”
While food, coffee, nightlife,
shops and entertainment are
the most popular categories
you will explore using Four-
Square, you may also discover
fun and educational facts when
you “checkin” to an area of his-
torical relevance.
With its growing popularity,
FourSquare is being used by
business owners to keep track
of people’s interests and of re-
views of their own products and
services.
who self promote through pic-
tures and statuses, tend to hide
their real negative emotions. In
creating this false impression,
they make browsers feel lonely
and dissatisfied.
Ketty Sarouphim, associate
professor of psychology at LAU,
explained that it is only human
nature to look at people who are
better off than us by checking
their pictures and statuses.
“People become obsessed,” Nas-
sar said. “They have this con-
stant need to check others pro-
files every day.”
Facebook is also related to more
serious problems. Experts wor-
ry about cyber-bullying and
sexting. They explain that peo-
ple who use social media are
more exposed to predators.
As a younger child, Noura was
harassed by a man who sent her
threatening messages. “I didn’t
know what he wanted,” she
said. “He threatened to kill me
and my family if I didn’t do what
he wanted me to do.”
“At the beginning I was scared
and depressed,” Noura contin-
ued. “I never wanted to leave
my house.” The young woman
ultimately got rid of her abuser
by ignoring his messages.
Nour Mady, 16 years old, had
been using Facebook for a while
Some people joke that Four-
Square was created for stalkers
since checking in allows people
to see where you are and where
you spend most of your time.
And since you can alert your
Twitter and Facebook friends
whenever you check in via Four-
Square, some people would say
you’re asking for it.
“Privacy is not an issue to me,”
Bousamra said. “I think if peo-
ple want privacy, they could just
remove the posts from Facebook
or Twitter. Or if it really bothers
them, they shouldn’t even use
FourSquare.”
Fortunately, you do have the
option to maintain your priva-
cy while enjoying what Four-
Square has to offer. You can
May 9, 2011
when her account got hacked.
“He changed my picture, the
settings, and I no longer had ac-
cess to my account,” she said. “It
really bothered me.”
Madi then received threatening
messages from her aggressor.
“He asked me to do things, and
said that, if I did them, he would
give me back my Facebook ac-
count,” Mady said. “I had night-
mares about it. I always felt
someone was following me.”
Sarouphim explained that big-
gest fear of teenagers relates to
their social desirability. If one
of the messages they receive on
Facebook threatens their sta-
tus, then for them “it’s the end of
the world.”
“Not only will it affect them, but
some committed suicide,” Sa-
rouphim said.
Sarouphim believes that Face-
book depression could be due to
bullying, mocking and threat-
ening messages.
“Kids used to be bullied at school
then it eventually stopped at
the end of the day,” she said.
“But now, the bullying is never
over.”
The psychology expert advised
that parents follow up on their
children. “If your child has a
Facebook account, you should
get one too,” she explained.
choose to go “off the grid” so you
don’t show up on the map and
your whereabouts are undis-
closed.
FourSquare was officially
founded by Dennis Crowley and
Naveen Selvadurai in 2009.
Originally, the application was
named Dodgeball and was sold
to Google in 2005. Google then
rejected the service and re-
placed it with Google Latitude.
FourSquare crossed the seven
million users in February 2011.
While other social networking
sites such as Facebook, Gow-
alla and Google Latitude have
launched their own versions of
the location-based social net-
work, FourSquare continues to
be in the lead.
 May 9, 2011
CULTURE & FASHION
Kings of Sarcasm
By Maria Fellas
LAU Tribune staff
Can you put all the following
terms in one sentence? Lady
Gaga, Justin Bieber, Barack
Obama, Soviet Russia, forev-
er alone, clever bot and pedo-
bear.
If you think no one can, you
stand corrected.
Through “DeMotivational
Posters,” a group of smart-
mouthed LAU students came
together to bring you the best
of what’s out there in their
own demotivational way.
“We are not weird, we are
just unhappy with what’s
out there,” Maurice Andary,
a marketing student at LAU
Byblos and a weekly contrib-
utor to the group, said.
What all the members have
to do is choose a picture they-
like and write a caption un-
der it. The caption helps
other members look at the
picture or what it represents
from the point of view of the
person who posted it.
The process, in technical
terms, is called anchoring.
When a given person adds a
caption to a picture, he or she
limits the meaning of the pic-
Sporting Gym Wear on Campus
By Lama Al-Haqhaq
LAU Tribune staff
Badr Qaddah, a political sci-
ence student, walked into
university dressed in baggy
Nike pants with matching
Nike shoes. His friends were
dressed the same, some in
gym shorts, others in hood-
ed sweaters. Together, they
looked like a sports team in
motion. But in fact, none of
them planned to hit the gym
that day.
Tracksuit pants seem to have
replaced jeans around LAU’s
campus. This new phase
has students focusing more
on comfort than on fashion.
At the same time, however,
gym wear is slowly becom-
ing a fashionable statement
of prestige.
Looking around now, it is
not hard to notice the slow
ture to one particular frame –
his own.
“If you need a platform to
express your resentment,
you’ve definitely come to the
right place,” Andary said.
The spelling of the group’s
name is not a coincidence or a
typing mistake.
The M was written in capital
to avoid confusion with oth-
er groups that have the same
name.
“This doesn’t take out from
the originality of the group,
we took an idea and made it
more approachable to our
friends,” Joseph Hasbany,
one of the original creators of
the group, said.
He and a few of his friends
had taken the habit of check-
ing out these types of groups
on Facebook.
They found it funny and en-
tertaining. Ultimately, they
decided to create their own
version.
Knowing that Hasbany is a
pharmacy student at LAU
Byblos, one can be surprised
that the young man has the
time to maintain the group
yet emerging change of cloth-
ing choice. Even stores in the
Hamra area seem to have
picked up on the trend, as
more gym wear is being dis-
played in their windows.
“I wear tracksuit pants a lot,”
Qaddah said. “It all depends
on my mood really.”
“I always wear tracksuits
mostly because I’m in a hurry
and don’t have time to pick out
an outfit,” Tala Kojou, a busi-
ness student, said.
The stereotype of LAU stu-
dents and their over-dressed
fashion sense seems to be dis-
solving because gym wear is
not only seen on students tak-
ing physical education cours-
es. Now, almost everyone
seems to embrace this laid-
back look.
Tribune
and check out all the posts.
“The group was started as a
birthday gift to me,” Hasba-
ny said. “But it soon start-
ed growing. People from out-
side LAU and even foreigners
started posting. We had no
idea that it was going to meet
such approval.”
Over 41108 members lat-
“I wear mine on campus,”
Yara Ghabris, a freshman,
said as she discussed track-
suit pants. “I wear them
when I don’t want to keep
worrying about my jeans be-
ing too tight, or at least to feel
comfortable.”
“They’re practical for stu-
dents and everyday life,” Ko-
jou said.
At other universities, stu-
dents have been dressing
this way because they believe
that comfort is key in an ac-
ademic atmosphere. While
many LAU students choose
gym wear for comfort, some
feel that it has turned into
the latest fad. Well-known
gym wear brands, such as
Nike, Juicy Couture and
American Eagle, abound on
Photo via Facebook
er, DeMotivational Posters
has become one of the largest
groups in its genre on Face-
book.
“No matter who you are, or
what you look like, you are
more than welcome in this
group,” Andary said. “It feels
like a family. We all like to ex-
press how unhappy we are
the Beirut campus. “It’s the in
thing to do now,” Qaddah said.
“Juicy, that’s definitely a
trend,” Ghabris said. “There’s
no doubt that some people fo-
cus on the brands.”
Norma Mousally, LAU’s coun-
selor, explained that trends
in clothing are, most of all, a
form of social identity. “It says
who you are and means some-
thing to subcultures,” she ex-
plained. “It tells which group
you belong to.”
According to Qaddah, gym
wear started to pick up in
the fall of 2009. Earlier on,
only people who were actu-
ally going to the gym dressed
that way. “It’s not a bad thing
though,” he said. “It was the
same thing with Ralph Lau-
ren Polos. They’ve been
7
about some of the current is-
sues and even some celebrities
who bother us.”
“It’s not just about that
though, we just like to laugh
and we happen to do it on a
grander scale,” Michel Bara-
kat, an LAU graduate, said.
“We take something that peo-
ple are not interested in or
laugh at, and we turn it with
our captions into something
hilarious.”
Presidents, priests, Face-
book and even Barbie got their
share of the cake.
“I enjoy it greatly,” Andary
said. “This group brings me
and my friends together, and
gives us a better sense of real-
ity.”
Not all members are that com-
mitted to the cause. Although
he finds it interesting, Bara-
kat would still choose a game
of pool with his friends over
sitting in front of the comput-
er posting pictures to a group.
“No matter how interesting it
may be, I still prefer face-to-
face communication,” he said.
“Jokes just sound better in
person.”
around for a while, but all of a
sudden everyone started buy-
ing them.”’
Qaddah explained that LAU’s
new stereotype is one of a stu-
dent dressed in Polo shirts
and Nike pants.
“Belonging to a group is some-
thing biological and innate,
it’s a need we all have,” Mous-
sally said. “The most danger-
ous thing you could do to a per-
son is make them feel that
they don’t belong.”
LAU students’ reputation
makes many wonder whether
it is comfort they’re really af-
ter, or whether they’re just fol-
lowing today’s trend. “Know-
ing the university, I would
say yes; it has turned into a
trend,” Mazen Assaad, an in-
terior major, said.
8 Tribune
PEOPLE
The Humble Dean
By Diana Bachoura
LAU Tribune staff
When asked about her work,
she lights up. The energy she
exudes is an obvious give-
away to what she enjoys do-
ing most. “I am an academi-
cian; I love teaching, writing
and I love doing research,”
she says.
Samira Aghacy, the dean of
arts and sciences at LAU,
began her ever-flourishing
career here in 1986, a time
when Lebanon was at its low-
est point. “Because the war
was going on, we had a lot to
do in making sure that the
students got along,” she ex-
plained. “LAU was much
smaller; we were more like
a family. We knew most of
our students personally and
were able to do a lot more for
them by helping them both in
their academic and their per-
sonal problems.”
In 1987, one year into her
career at LAU, Aghacy wit-
nessed an extraordinary
and unpleasant moment in
the history of the universi-
ty. Among several other for-
eigners, three American
and one Indian professor at
LAU were kidnapped: Alann
Steen, Jesse Turner, Robert
Subtle Student Leadership: Abdo Salam Hamade
By Caroline Hodroj
LAU Tribune staff
Within the open space of the
LAU campus, a 20-year-old
student saunters quickly and
swiftly across the crowds and
races to achieve whatever ob-
jective he has in mind. His
look of fierce dedication and
calm demeanor, his quizzical
brow and the hands that are
usually heavily laden with
books all reveal the profile of
a hard-working student.
Abdo Salam Hamade is a stu-
dent of political science and
international affairs, a com-
mittee member of the UNES-
CO Club and the director of
school relations at the LAU
Model United Nations. As
he crosses through the LAU
cafeteria on an average day,
Polhill, and Mithal Eshwar
Singh.
“I remember very clearly how
we had to cope with these
problems,” Aghacy said. “You
think now; how did I man-
age to do all that? Time heals
wounds but this is a memory
that is always present.”
During the past 25 years,
Aghacy has taught courses in
English and comparative lit-
erature and served as chair
of the humanities division for
several years. Now the act-
ing dean of arts and sciences,
she will reach the end of her
eight-year term next fall.
“Being dean, I hope I have
served LAU in the best pos-
sible manner and I hope that
I continue to always serve
LAU,” Aghacy said.
As a chairperson, Aghacy
was able to work with stu-
dents on a closer level –which
she prefers. Being dean, she
considers, is more isolating.
“But each job has its own
charm and I guess I can’t re-
ally say which I find better,”
Aghacy said.
A recurring subject in our
conversation was her re-
search, which she considers
Hamade finds the time to di-
rect several confused stu-
dents, finish his assignment,
distribute the LAU newspa-
per, organize his timetable,
secure his food and get to ap-
pointments without break-
ing a sweat.
One thing is sure: if chairs
were capable of voicing their
thoughts, they would say
that “Abdo,” as his friends
call him, is an absolute
stranger to them. The ma-
ture and busy 20 year old
rarely sits down and has a
second to himself.
“When you want something
done, you’d better be on the
ground and do it yourself,” he
says.
as her greatest accomplish-
ment. Half-jokingly, Agha-
cy said she would be terribly
depressed if she did admin-
istrative work without doing
research. “I can just go home
and work on my book or arti-
cle and just spend the whole
night doing that,” she said.
In 2009, Aghacy published
a book titled “Masculinity in
the Fiction of the Arab East
Since 1967.” The book ex-
amines masculinity in Arab
literature around the Arab
world since the Six-Day War.
The arts and sciences dean
has written for several pub-
lications. Her work covers a
wide range of topics includ-
ing feminist theory. Between
2000 and 2003, she wrote for
and was the editor of Al-Rai-
Subtlety and moderation
are the key words that de-
fine Hamade. He isn’t overt-
ly commanding of attention
or gruff with his control of
any given situation. To him,
there is a time for coercive
leadership and others for col-
laboration.
“It’s important for people to
get motivated and do some-
thing to help. There are some
who won’t even move a bottle
of water because they think
it risks their prestige,” he
says disapprovingly.
Since his admission into
LAU, Hamade has sought to
live a full and rich student
life that is rooted in commu-
nity development. This mo-
May 9, 2011
Knio, chair of the communi-
Photo courtesy of Samira Aghacy
cation arts department, said.
Myriam Sfeir, managing ed-
itor of Al-Raida, explained
how easy it had been to work
closely with Aghacy when
the latter edited the journal.
“She was so accommodating,
easy to work with, and she
had a great sense of humor,”
Sfeir recalled.
Students also shared the
da, a journal published by opinion Aghacy’s peers had
the Institute for Women’s of her. “Besides being a pro-
Studies in the Arab World. fessor and a dean, she is
Aghacy is also a member of someone a student can rely
several professional orga- on during times of need,” Mo-
nizations including MESA hamad Yahia Hamade, a vis-
(Middle East Studies As- iting student at LAU, said.
sociation), MLA (Modern “I’m proud to say that I’ve
Language Association), been her student.”
BRISMES (British Society Most students have no idea
for Middle Eastern Studies) that Aghacy is the dean of the
and APETUS (Association arts and sciences school. “It’s
of Professors of English and something I don’t like to im-
Translation at Arab Univer- pose on them so they don’t
sities Arab). feel uncomfortable with me if
Speaking to LAU staff, ad- they take my class,” the mod-
ministrators and students, est professor explained.
I learned that Aghacy’s po- “Deep down I am a really
sition of authority is one of shy person,” she continued.
guidance and sharing. “Being dean, I work with all
“She’s a poet, she is a writer, sorts of people so I have to
a researcher; I’ve never seen work really hard on myself to
her doing nothing,” Mona be more extroverted.”
tivational force come from a a high grade but also a stu-
long family heritage. “People dent who can best represent
in my village always sought university,” Hamade adds.
my family for council,” He affirms that the way to
Hamade modestly explains. get things done is not only
His family’s active role in so- through the sheer power of
ciety translated, for Hama- will and hard work, but also
de, into a sense of responsi- through a commitment to in-
bility toward another village, tegrity. “All work should be
LAU. “University is not only done within ethics,” he said.
for education. I’m more than As Hamde holds his breath
lucky to have LAU as the in- and stifles a grimace while
stitution that educated me,” clenching his teeth, one can
he says. “But you also have plainly see that these sever-
something that is life guiding al weeks have taken a toll on
and a vision that they [LAU] him. However, regardless of
will invest in you, to carry out his evident headache, he still
this vision.” comes to university to com-
“My vision of a well-round- plete the job. “I’m sick but
ed student is of one who can- I have work,” he mumbles
not only study a book and get playfully.
 May 9, 2011 Tribune
CONTINUED
Exam Theft on Campus Tuition System at LAU
Continued from page 1 Continued from page 1
Photo by: Yasmine Dabbous
is not fair that a student tak-
ing 12 credits pay the same
as a student who is taking 18
credits,” Reef Sughayyar, a
22-year-old journalism stu-
dent, said.
Lamah explained that the
main reason for tuition in-
creases is to maintain high
quality education standards.
The cash flow helps LAU re-
cruit and retain highly qual-
Rabiaa Hobeika, an instructor who teaches German, has her ified faculty and maintain
own way of protecting exams. “I bring my students on Satur- state-of-the-art facilities,
day to take the exam,” she said. “Everyone has to be in the labs and equipment.
classroom on time before we start.” Sughayyar, however, com-
Hobeika has a strict attendance policy for more than fifty stu- mented that journalism stu-
dents in two sections. Exams are counted before and after class dents still do not have prop-
is over and then matched to the names signed on the exam fold- er equipment. “They should
er. Hobeika also locks the door five minutes into the exam and at least fix some things so we
does not allow any late students in. can see the money we pay be-
Karim, a pre-med student, doubted any exams were being sto- ing invested,” Sughayyar
len in the natural sciences department. He attributed this to said.
the highly competitive nature of pre-med students. “Everyone Instructors also expressed
is trying to get a good recommendation,” he said. “Why would their skepticism about LAU’s
someone blow it [by stealing exams?]” new tuition strategy. “Stu-
“It’s very hard to cheat or take out a phone during an exam,” R. dent take courses and end up
M., a student who refused to be identified, said. “But I think it dropping them.
might be possible to steal an exam because some classes have It is disruptive to the class,”
forty students and the teacher can’t remember everyone in the Kristiaan Aercke, associate
classroom.” professor of cultural studies,
Despite the moral and academic consequences, some students English and comparative lit-
still try to get ahead of their classmates by soliciting help from erature, said.
people outside campus who are more than willing to help for a He added that the new tu-
financial compensation. ition system promotes a “su-
Ali, a tutor for business majors, offers his services to students permarket” approach to edu-
who have difficulties in class –if the price is right. The young cation.
man made a career out of tutoring (and stealing) service and it “Students take courses like
is a full time job that keeps him busy near campus, where stu- they taste samples and then
dents can seek his services out. drop them if they don’t like
Posing for a student who needs help, a Tribune staff member them,” Aercke explained.
called Ali to inquire about his services. “I can steal any exam, Rima Bahous, associate pro-
from any course or classroom,” he claimed confidently. His spe- fessor of education, said that,
cialty, however, is business, finance and math. Ali asks for 100 although the new tuition sys-
dollars for the price of every exam. tem was “good” because it
“I guarantee you the A,” he said. “One of my students got a 104 helped students’ financial-
over 100.” ly, it still affected their aca-
When asked, Ali explained briefly how he steals exams. He demic performance. “They
claimed that, when possible, he sneaks into the room where take 18 credits because they
the exam is held, swipes a copy and then heads to a location can pay only for 12 and lat-
outside LAU to solve the exam. He then sends the answers via er feel the pressure and don’t
text messages or through BlackBerry Messenger to the stu- do well in their courses,” she
dents who paid for his services. said. “Many end up dropping
“There’s an instructor who allows the use of iPhones during them.”
their exams, because of an app that allows the phone to be Pharmacy, medicine and
used as a graphing calculator,” Ali explained. He said he uses communication art credits
this to his advantage because it makes it easier for him to text cost higher because they in-
students without fear of them getting caught. volve higher expenses. Bi-
“Students just tell the teacher that their phones have the ology and chemistry labs al-
graphing calculator app,” he said. “Meanwhile, what’s really ways need new equipment
happening is that I’m texting them the answers.” and chemical products while
Adviser: Editors-in-Chief: Staff:
The Team:
Yasmine Dabbous Mohamad Yahia Hamade Lama Al-Haqhaq, Diaa Al Jurdy, Diana Bachoura, Tala El Riz, Maria Fellas, Lea Giusti, Ivana Hindi, Eleena Korban,
Caroline Hodroj Sahar Moukaddem, Nour Monajjed, Tala Osseiran, Reem Swaidan
9
cameras, editing programs, high need students and ac-
lights and other technology cordingly allocates grants
in the TV studio, newsroom that cover 25 to 50 percent of
and theatres are expensive. a student’s tuition fee.
“The tuition fees are not that The office bases its decisions
expensive,” Ali Alwan, a on students’ financial aid ap-
19-year-old pre-med student, plications.
said. “Our courses have Har- The financial aid office also
vard curriculum and the lab provides students with the
is well-equipped to prepare opportunity to work at the
us for later.” various departments and of-
Raed Mohsen, the dean of fices on campus. It offers sev-
student affairs, explained eral types of scholarships to
that LAU offers several fi- deserving students, includ-
nancial aid packages and ing merit, entrance, honor,
scholarships to help students athletics and talent and ex-
cope with mounting tuition ternal.
fees. Yamen Ataya, a 21-year-old
“We are always open to new hospitality management stu-
ideas that can help stu- dent, worked at LAU’s guid-
dents,” he added. ance office after he applied
The financial aid office, for employment, “I benefit-
which provides assistant- ed a lot from my work, money
ships and scholarships, pro- and experience wise,” he ex-
motes its program every se- plained.
mester during recruitment Ataya also tried work out-
and through pamphlets, the side. “I worked three months
LAU website, posters, elec- in a restaurant during night
tronic boards and web mail. shifts to pay for my credits, I
“I applied for financial aid used to study make up for the
the moment I entered LAU, time lost on weekends,” he
after I heard about it from said.
my relatives,” Mohammad But, although LAU helps its
Halabi, a 19-year-old busi- students in many ways, cred-
ness student, said. “It helps its remain expensive and the
me a lot in my tuition fees ev- opportunity for the needy to
ery semester.” join the university is limit-
“Financial aid applications ed. “I would have loved to join
are open to everybody at LAU or AUB,” Mohamed F.,
LAU,” Samir Obeid, the di- an engineering student, said.
rector of the financial aid of- “But the credits are so ex-
fice, said. Packages include pensive that I couldn’t af-
work study and loans. The fi- ford them even if I got finan-
nancial aid office distinguish- cial aid. Very unfortunately,
es between low, medium and I had to settle for less.”
Be sure to follow the Tribune online!
facebook.com/TribuneLAU
twitter.com/TribuneLAU
and visit our website on TribuneLAU.com
Send us your feedback and comments to
TribuneLAU@gmail.com
10
OPINION
Awkwardness... and Toilet Paper
Ruba Haj Hassan
LAU Tribune contributor
You know that feeling when
you wake up on New Year’s
Day and your friends send
you a link to a drunk video of
yourself on YouTube climb-
ing a wardrobe screaming, “I
want to go to Narnia?” Well,
this is nothing like that.
This is about a whole dif-
ferent kind of awkward. Do
you ever feel like you’re un-
able to perform any mun-
dane task without creating
an awkward situation for
yourself and those around
you? Do you ever feel like you
can’t achieve any form of hu-
man contact without exces-
sive awkwardness involved?
Well, I’m here to tell you
that you are not alone. (Un-
less you’re in the bathroom.
Then you are. Go to class).
Naturally, I’m an awkward
person. For some strange
and unexplained reason I of-
ten find myself in weird sit-
uations, unsure of how I got
there or why I have a turtle
on my head.
And I’m sure I’m not the only
one. (I think. That’s what I
tell myself at night). Some-
times it’s not our fault at all.
Sometimes the universe just
creates chaos around us to
amuse itself with our awk-
wardness. (Not cool, Uni-
verse). So this is to all you so-
cial outcasts who suffer from
the same thing. These are
just a few examples of the
awkward occurrences you
might have to deal with ev-
eryday.
Number 1: Stairs.
Battle of Kings
Tala Osseiran
LAU Tribune staff
As the countdown starts for
the announcement of the
Champions League Cup,
all eyes are on the two lock-
ing horns that are at the top
of the scoring chart of goals:
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ron-
aldo. Hearts are pounding
and sweat has begun to pour.
Bets have been made.
Both teams will be taken
I want to know what stairs’
problem is. What the heck,
stairs? Who invented you
anyway? All you do is make
me fall. Personally, I would
have called them The De-
scent of Shame… but no one
lets me name anything. You
know those stairs. The ones
with the 4-feet-long steps
that were apparently made
for our giant ancestors, or
Big Foot. (Are our ancestors
real?). There is no right way
of walking down these stairs.
You can either take two
short steps on each stair
or extremely long ones. Ei-
ther way, you will look stu-
pid. There is no graceful way
to descend these stairs. It is
best to get it over with fast.
You have to accept that at
some point in time, you will
fall down these stairs. People
will stare.
You will pretend to be invisi-
ble. It will become clear that
you cannot pretend you are
invisible. You will walk away
quickly.
Number 2: Acquaintances
It’s not that I don’t like peo-
ple. It’s that they scare me.
They’re all like: “I know you!
Let’s converse!” And I’m like:
“But I have nothing to say.
And all I can think of is uni-
corns and chocolate bun-
nies.” And they’re like: “This
is awkward, I’m leaving.”
And I’m like: “Wait! Bun-
nies!” And thus, I find myself
in a quandary. (Quandary: A
state of confusion. See also:
“Pickle”). What am I doing
down to the field headed by
these two undoubted leaders.
However, the question re-
mains: Who will end up scor-
ing more goals in the battle of
kings?
I won’t go into the two nation-
al teams’ individual success-
es; let’s keep the focus on the
two beauties that provide us
each game with more of their
thrills and frills.
Tribune
wrong? Usually I manage to
avoid these kinds of situa-
tions by ducking for cover ev-
ery time I spot someone who
slightly resembles someone
my cousin thinks is famil-
iar. If that doesn’t work, I
pretend to be a tree. But ev-
ery once in a while, my tree
mimicking methods fail me.
And I’m forced into having
an actual conversation. I try
to avoid the subject of bun-
nies, and hopelessly attempt
to find interesting common
ground. (It’s not my fault you
have no opinion on commu-
nism in egalitarian societ-
ies). Naturally this results in
an awkward situation where
my friend spends the rest
of his day trying to figure
out what happened. Poor,
poor friend. (He’s not dead. I
didn’t kill him).
Number 3: Bathrooms.
More like badrooms. Get it?
Bad-rooms? It’s like bath-
rooms, but with bad... I
swear I’m funny sometimes.
Public bathrooms are a very
awkward place to be in. Es-
pecially when people speak
to each other through stalls
like it’s the most natural
thing in the world, while
you’re trying to make a seat
protector out of pieces of toi-
let paper. (You know you do
it too.)
And then you’re thinking;
should you flush while the
other person is talking? Is
that rude? What if they get
mad? Is there some kind of
bathroom etiquette? Like I
Let’s forget Rooney, Kaka,
and the rest. There is no
doubt that Messi and Ron-
aldo can rightfully claim the
“world’s best player” title
more than any other.
Messi, the little Argentin-
ean, is a joy to watch and a
nightmare for the opposing
defenders who break down in
cold sweat just at the thought
of trying to stop him from
need more awkwardness in
my life. It really sucks when
people stare at you in there.
Everybody knows you’re
supposed to look straight
in the mirror and avoid any
form of eye contact. Did you
not get that memo, Per-
son Who Stares At Me To
No End? It makes me think
you’re laughing at my hair.
It’s not THAT bad, okay? Ap-
parently they have a lot of
conversations in there. I was
surprised too. What kind of
idiot decided it was a good
idea to socialize in a bath-
room? Most of said conversa-
tions go like this: “I like your
blouse.”- “Thanks!”- “…Do
you like my pants??” -“Uh…
yeah, yeah they’re great.”-
“I got a new phone.” -“Oh.
Cool.”- “It’s pink.”- “Okay.”-
“Wanna touch it?”- “Uh…”
Number 4: Elevators… or
Doors, or really Anything
That Moves.
So I’m waiting for the eleva-
tor, minding my own busi-
ness (tra la la!), and a guy
stands next to me. The el-
evator comes and the nice
guy steps back and lets me
go in first. I chipper a cheer-
ful “Thank you!” to Nice Guy
and walk in. After an awk-
ward silence in the elevator,
we reach our floor and the
doors open.
This is where I panic.
Should I walk out first? If I
do, should I say “thank you”
again? Does the first one
still count? Or should I re-
turn Nice Guy’s polite ges-
scoring.
Both players are blessed with
unbelievable skills, yet one
is conceited and doesn’t per-
form in the field and the oth-
er appears to have gotten the
ball magnetized to his feet.
Messi could go in and out of
the attackers and score a
goal in a blink of an eye, the
same way he stormed his ri-
val Ronaldo with a shocking
May 9, 2011
ture by letting him go first?
What if he expects me to?
What if he wants to continue
his act of chivalry, though?
What if it’s impolite? What if
Nice Guy doesn’t like me any-
more?! Usually, Nice Guy is
a normal person who politely
waits for me to walk out first
and forgets about the whole
thing in two seconds. I, on
the other hand; spend the
next hour agonizing over ev-
ery awkward detail. I usual-
ly end up spilling something
on someone later though, so
it gives me something else to
think about.
In time, you learn to adapt
to your awkwardness. (Not
really. I lie because I care).
But you know who else was
awkward? Lady Gaga, that’s
who. And she’s like totes
cool now. If she manages to
not blind us with all her glit-
ter, that is. (Unless you’re al-
ready blind. Then you can’t
read this. I could totally
make fun of you. But I won’t,
because making fun of blind
people isn’t funny. Ever. Ex-
cept sometimes.) I hope this
helped some of you awkward
souls out there, and oth-
er people who read my ar-
ticles. (Hi mom.) But don’t
worry, everybody knows all
the great world leaders were
awkward. (Except for Hit-
ler. He just needed a hug.)
I leave you now with some
wise words by the great Rene
Descartes: “I smell; there-
fore I am.” See you on the
other side, kids.
2-0 victory.
With every game, Messi is
able to prove his excellence
by his finishing powers, his
delicate skills and vibrant
runs that are enough to light
up any game.
It’s frightening to think that
Ronaldo won’t be able to
reach half the peak of this
little wizard for another few
years.
 May 9, 2011
OFF CAMPUS
Lebanonization of Ads
By Ivana Hindi
LAU Tribune staff
Behind the reconstructed
bridge that links Zalka High-
way and Antelias, a Johnny
Walker billboard stands tall.
It depicts a strong illustrat-
ed message, one that is an
ironic reflection of our coun-
try’s mindset: A man travers-
es a broken bridge, and a poi-
gnant slogan screams “Keep
walking.”
Commercial billboards in
Lebanon are perfectly re-
flective of this small coun-
try, where everything is spe-
cial and typically Lebanese.
Highways are coated with
huge billboards that adver-
tise a variety of products.
Talk about a clashing and col-
orful emotional roller coast-
er.
Khaled Nasser, an adver-
tising lecturer at the Ameri-
can University of Beirut, said
that Lebanese billboards are
sometimes void of a specific
Lebanese identity. “We have
no such thing as ‘a Lebanese
ad’ but we do use local pop-
ular figures such as ‘Pipo’ or
the ‘teta’ to create a bonding
bridge between audience and
product,” he said. “People can
relate to typical ‘Lebanese’
characters, which ultimate-
ly make up the ‘Lebanese’ sig-
nature in most of our ads.”
Some products, such as Alma-
za, have acquired this nation-
al character status through
the wittiness and creativi-
ty of the country’s art direc-
tors. The new ad of this Leb-
anese alcoholic beverage on
the Dora highway takes one
of the typical Lebanese com-
plaints to another level. “Am
I the reason behind all this
Dora traffic?” the billboard
asks, in a nod to the Alma-
za headquarters on the busy
highway.
According to a Daily Star ar-
ticle, Lebanon has earned the
reputation of a driving force
behind the regional adver-
tising market over the past
few decades. The well-edu-
cated, multi-lingual human
resource pool and a relative-
ly free, though politically sen-
sitive, media environment
have indeed made the coun-
try the creative hub of the
sector.
Manal Al Rahi, a commu-
nication planner at Feed-
back, skimmed through a set
of worldwide inspiring ads
in her business files as she
abruptly commented on the
problem the industry fac-
es here. “Unfortunately, lo-
cal creative work sometimes
lacks professionalism,” she
said.”
Al Rahi’s face evoked skep-
ticism. “Some Lebanese
brands have kept a high
standard throughout the
years but, lately, they have
failed to measure up to the
right ethical standards,” she
complained.
Criticism of billboards and
other advertisements is not
limited to Lebanese citizens.
According to a 2009 study, 60
percent of consumers world-
wide believe that market-
ing and advertising are “out
of control.” People in general
believe that advertisers are
there to sell us products we
do not need. “In a very flawed
world, advertising gives you
a hint of the perfect won-
derland, in the sense that it
makes your life easier, nic-
er,” Al Rahi said.
Studies about advertising in
Lebanon demonstrate that
creative departments some-
times “import” visuals from
abroad. Reproducing west-
Tribune
ern ads appeals to the coun-
try’s sophisticated audience,
especially when it comes to
perfume and cars.
Nasser explained that Leb-
anese advertising is far clos-
er to the European concept of
publicity, which differs from
North America’s heavy focus
on promotion and hard-sell-
ing. “We tend to build brand
images, to develop the poten-
tial customer’s emotional at-
tachment to the product,”
Nasser emphasized. “Our ads
do not necessarily emphasize
buying on the spot.”
Another form of “lebanoniza-
tion” reveals itself in the ob-
jectification of women. “The
Lebanese perception of the
western world is one of naked
bodies on billboards and on
TV, which is wrong,” said Ma-
rie-Joe Jamous, a 22-year-old
fresh advertising and mar-
keting graduate. “They are
trying to be westernized but I
believe they got it wrong.”
Nicole Nahas, a 45-year-old
Lebanese, argued that Eu-
ropean countries seem to be
more conservative than Leb-
anon. “We see billboards that
represent half naked wom-
en or almost naked women
every day,” she said. “Is that
ethical?”
“Television ads in Lebanon
tend to hint at sexual mes-
sages or visuals, while bill-
boards tend to be straight-
11
Nepal
Child Mar-
forward about it,” Nasser
said. He also pointed out that
riages
billboards reveal more sex- By Iman Soufan
appeal and are more “daring” LAU Tribune contributor
in areas outside Beirut.
Leo Burnett Levant is the According to human rights
firm behind the Johnnie activists, a child bride is
Walker bridge campaign, killed every month in Ne-
which has become one of the pal, mostly over arguments
of dowry.
Photo via Creative Commons
Child marriages are common
in Nepal. Parents of girls as
young as four years old mar-
ry off their daughters to teen-
age boys for financial and so-
cial reasons. The assumption
is that weddings will put the
parents’ responsibilities to
an end.
“Doesn’t a daughter’s mar-
riage weigh you down? How
would we get her married lat-
er?” Ram Pari Kapre, mother
of a child bride who recently
got married, explained. “If I
get her married early, my re-
sponsibility will be over soon-
er. I still have the burden of
marrying one more daugh-
ter.”
The lives of young girls are
most iconic images of the July put in danger, especial-
2006 war. The managing di- ly when families argue over
rector of this firm revealed dowry. A bride’s family pays
that a little less than half of a colossal sum of money
the agency’s campaigns were (dowry) to the groom’s. If this
cancelled then, resulting in a amount isn’t paid, girls often
30 to 40 percent drop in rev- get tortured and sometimes
enue. killed.
Political and social events Not only does this practice
seem to be the main fuel be- endanger young girls’ health,
hind creativity and profit in it also increases the amount
the Lebanese advertising in- of uneducated females in Ne-
dustry. A battle of political pal.
parties is indeed expressed “I wish my parents had nev-
through witty billboards of er done this to me, getting
different flavors and colors. me married instead of send-
Research reveals that elec- ing me to school,”14-year-old
tions, wars and similar politi- Laxmi Chaudhary said. She
cal events may make or break was married at age nine.
the volatile market. Accord- “I hope other children will
ing to a study by Ipsos Medi- not suffer like me,” Chaud-
aCT, the Future Movement hary added.
was spent most on billboards, Nepal boasts the highest
with an expenditure rate of amount of child marriages in
957,728 dollars in 2009. It the world, according to Ne-
is followed by the Free Pa- pal’s Demographic Health
triotic Movement, with a to- Survey.
tal of 514,775 dollars on out- “Most parties representing
door ads for the same year. the area have the same cul-
Like Lebanon itself, adver- ture, it’s a very feudalistic
tisements in this small Med- culture,” Mahendra Paswan,
iterranean country go up and a member of the Nepalese
down with the national. Parliament, said.
 May 9, 2011
OFF CAMPUS
I Put a Spell on You
Sahar Moukaddem
LAU Tribune staff
Umm Omar is a 54-year-old
woman with dark hair and
light blue eyes. People fear
her and try to avoid her be-
cause, they say, she has the
power to cause impairment,
domestic problems and acci-
dents. She gives the evil eye.
Umm Omar believes she has
the strange power to dam-
age anything she stares at
for a long time. “The eye has
energy, like any part of your
body, but this energy differs
from one person to another,”
she said. “Evil eye is related
to envy and jealousy but I’m
not an envious person. I just
have a power that causes mi-
nor accidents to things I look
at for a long time.”
Umm Omar discovered this
power at the age of 10, when
she and her sister want-
ed to test for how long they
can stare at a waiter work-
ing in a café. “I noticed that,
for three times in a row, he
tripped or dropped the plat-
ter he was holding whenev-
er I stared at him,” she said.
“I was really shocked and I
tried to strengthen this pow-
er through trials.”
“I am known in the vil-
lage for giving the evil eye,”
Umm Omar added. “The fun-
ny thing is that people try to
avoid me. But this doesn’t
bother me, it just makes me
laugh.”
The middle-aged woman con-
firmed that she could hurt
someone unintentionally if
she gets angry at him or her.
“If you don’t want to get hurt,
don’t hurt me or my chil-
dren,” she said firmly. “One
time, my daughter was talk-
ing with a guy and he mis-
treated her, I got so upset and
the moment he left our house
he fell on the stairs and broke
his leg.” She laughed at the
memory.
Umm Omar said that the
power she has could even
hurt her own family. “When
I say my son is doing great in
school, the second day he fails
his exam,” she said. “Some
people advise me to go to a
sheikh to find a cure but I re-
fuse. God gave me this pow-
er and I don’t want to lose it.”
The belief in the evil eye is
ancient. For centuries, this
supernatural power has been
blamed for diseases, death,
natural disasters and acci-
dents. Reference to the evil
eye is found on Sumarian,
Babylonian and Assyrian
clay tablets.
Believers in the evil eye
consider that the eye is a
source of envy. It is therefore
enough to stare at something
jealously to inflict harm.
It is believed that some peo-
ple, including newborns,
breast feeders, the beautiful
and the rich, are more at risk
of getting the evil eye than
others.
“My uncle died because of
an evil eye,” Layla Anka, a
20-year-old student, said.
“After he was complete-
ly cured from cancer, people
wondered how he was able to
heal and said it was a mira-
cle. The second day, we found
him dead.”
Anka herself is familiar with
this issue. People told her
that the reason behind the
terrible headache she once
had was the evil eye. “I went
to a sheikh to do a ruqya,
and, when he recited vers-
es from the Quran, I cried
Tribune
and yawned,” she said. “This
means that I was affected by
an evil eye.”
Ruqya is a process, renowned
in Islam, where a sheikh or
other religious individual re-
cites specific verses from the
Quran to cure patients from
the evil eye, magic, jinn and
related problems.
“Islam confirmed the exis-
tence of the evil eye,” Sheikh
Khaled Ayoubi said. He re-
ferred to a hadith on the is-
sue. “Whoever among you
sees someone’s possessions
that he likes, let him offer a
duaa to bless it, because the
evil eye is real,” the hadith
says.
“Allah commands us to seek
protection from the eye when
He says ‘and from the evil of
the envier when he envies [Al
Falaq 113:5],’” Sheikh Ayou-
bi added. He explained that,
when you know the person
who gave you the evil eye, you
can ask him or her to perform
a ritualistic wash and later
wash yourself with water he
or she used. If one does not
know who the source of the
evil stare is, then one would
have to resort to a ruqya.
Sarine B., a 30-year-old
housewife, asserted that she
frequently got affected by the
12
evil eye in churches. “A long
Photo by: Yasmine Dabbous
time ago, people used to be-
lieve in the evil eye and they
themselves asked for these
prayers,” he explained.
Western Science has long
rejected the emission of en-
ergy by the eye but psychi-
atrist Colin A. Ross proved
through the Electomagnet-
ic Beam Detection System
that eyes emit an energy that
can be captured and mea-
sured. There is no scientific
proof, however, that this en-
ergy has the strength to alter
things or inflict bad luck.
But regardless of the debate,
some people make a living
out of curing victims of evil
stares. Among them is Layla.
She claims she has the pow-
er to expel the evil eye, wed a
lonely girl and release black
magic from a patient’s body.
Before setting up an appoint-
evil eye of a person close to ment with Layla, her secre-
her. Sarine said that when- tary sits with you and asks
ever she crossed this friend, some key questions for the di-
something bad happened to agnosis. These include your
her. “Once, she saw me in name, your mother’s name
my new car and, five minutes and your date of birth.
later, a small rock fell on the Layla sometimes uses
glass and broke it into the Quran verses but explains
shape of an eye,” she said. that there are also a “mil-
In order to protect herself lion types of other methods”
from the evil eye, Sarine fol- she may use upon request.
lows several rituals includ- You have to pay 50 dollars to
ing going to St. Charbel and know whether you were a vic-
praying or asking someone to tim of an evil eye and an ad-
perform a ruqya on her with ditional 50 dollars and to get
the Bible. rid of it. The price “depends
Although many Christians on the power of the evil eye,”
resort to rituals that cure the according to Layla.
evil eye, Priest Antoine As- Hajj Bashir also cures peo-
saf said that such techniques ple of the evil eye. He has a
are rejected by Christianity. “clinic” in Beirut, where he
“Some Christians took this receives clients and promises
habit from Islam and it is not to purify them from the evil
related to Christianity in any eye. You are not allowed to
way,” he explained. ask him about the techniques
Assaf said that, although he uses, as they are “secrets
envy is stated in the Bible, of the trade,” as he puts it.
there is no evidence of the ex- Besides spinsterhood, ill-
istence of a power called the nesses and death, the evil eye
evil eye. has been also blamed for po-
“God asked us not to envy, litical revolutions and crises.
but there is no such thing Libyan President Muammar
as an external power that Qaddafi indeed asserted that
causes damage because of the recent revolts against his
envy,” he explained. regime were caused by an
Assaf conceded that it was evil stare. “The village is a
possible to find old prayers victim of an evil eye,” he said
to expel the effects of the solemnly.