I 14 V43

Outlook The American University of Beirut

USFC yet to meet once this semester

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Vol. XLIII, No. 14

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uesday,

Jan 11, 2011

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he

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ith the end of the festive Christmas season and the start of the new year comes along AUB’s well known final exam period. Throughout the month of January, students of all majors are subject to academic pressure as a result of their procrastina-

tion as they realize the need to begin some serious studying. Not only students, but also most of, if not all campus library staff are pressured as well; especially the staff of AUB’s main library, Jafet.

After years of complaining about how the library should operate for a longer time during this period, the Jafet administration finally decided to give it a shot and is soon to open for 24 hours a day dur-

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Independent Student Publication Since 1949

Jafet to open 24/7 during final exam period Anis Kadado Staff Writer

Red Cross visit children at hospital

ing the exam period.

Students welcomed this initiative with open arms, glad that they could pull their “over-nighters” at the place they spend most of their day at and not waste any time going home. Many were surprised to hear the news, not thinking that this was something likely to happen. Biology student Jana Ghulmiyyah continued on page 3

(Photo by Rami Diab)

Cashier understaffed and customers dissatisfied Fouad Badaoui Senior Staff Writer

D

espite the electronic number system, going to the cashier can still be a long and frustrating experience for many members of staff, faculty and student body at AUB. Between 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm on any average week day, there can be up to forty people waiting in line in a room possessing only nine seats. The waiting time can easily surpass 70 minutes and the room has a TV monitor, but no clock. Senior citizens do not have a separate system and must wait like everyone else, regardless

of whether or not they manage to find a seat. Of the four cashier windows available, at least one is empty most of the time and the employees seem to endure day-long shifts. In other words, when an employee leaves his/her booth for a bathroom or lunch break, that booth is effectively closed without any announcement or replacement, until the employee returns.

“We can’t wait this long,” said an elderly couple as they left the room, distraught and disappointed. Although the staff is stringent about following the rules, they ofcontinued on page 4

Lebanon for everyone Silje Owrenn Special to Outlook

W

INSIDE

hen Alicia Noriega, 21, first set foot on the vibrant campus of the American University of Beirut, she didn’t know what to expect. Now coming to the end of the semester, she doesn’t want to leave, and she is not the only one.

Each semester new international students arrive at AUB’s main gate with hopes and expectations concerning their semester as students abroad. These adventurous spirits come seeking new academic and cultural challenges. Some are also planning on Campus News Sports Arabic Entertainment Arabic Opinion

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completing a whole degree at the university. According to an informal poll, conducted December 14, 2010, on the AUB campus, 30 out of 30 international students asked responded that studying at AUB has been an enriching experience.

“Being a student at AUB has been an undeniably enriching experience. The classes I have taken here, although similar to classes available in the states, are composed of students from various nationalities that bring an entirely new dynamic to class discussion.” , says Noriega.

The Ambassadors Program of the International Student Services (ISS) is an initiative Arabic News Entertainment Editorial & Op. Out of the Box

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where Lebanese students function as guides for international students. “They are basically peer mentors, and they want to present their country in the best way possible,” explains Coordinator of International Programs Rania Murr.

19 year old Lebanese mechanical engineering student Ayman Jaber thinks that being an ambassador is interesting because he gets to know all kinds of different cultures and people, without having to travel. “I make sure that they get the best impression about the culture and therefore I try to eliminate

International students at the Green Oval

(Photo courtesy of Silje Owrenn)

continued on page 4

Sports AUB martial arts champion

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Outlook

Campus News

Jan 11, 2011

USFC are yet to meet once this Fall A demand for real politics

Mohamad Al Medawar Staff Writer & Webmaster

T

he situation is as follows; the USFC haven’t met once since being elected. The problem is basically the same every year.

When an SRC member wins the VP position, and is from a certain political group, the opposing political group automatically stops working because they know they won’t be taking credit for their achievements. For example, Students at Work, who were the political majority in last year’s SRC and USFC, took credit for last year’s boycott, the cafeteria sit in and speakers corner and used them as a platform to get more votes this year. Alternative Front on the other hand didn’t lay claims to any credit as they didn’t have the majority back then. So this year students are counting on the majority to get results.

Usually it is the VP’s decision to hold a meeting uniting USFC cabinet members, however, no meetings have been called for yet, because,

as some say, the USFC are waiting for President Dorman to return from his vacation before doing so. Still, the President of the Students Rights Club at AUB, Fouad Badaoui, explained in an interview that any SRC member can email all SRC members to propose a meeting and the president of the SRC’s faculty can’t refuse. Thus, Badaoui alerted some FAS SRC, who have also failed to meet once compared to FHS SRC for example who have met 4 or 5 times already, about their right to call for a meeting. The reason they haven’t met, as Badaoui explained, is that “they didn’t get an order from above; everything is hierarchical!” What’s also noteworthy is that “the USFC VP and Secretary are both from FAS SRC, so it’s the same trend of apathy in FAS SRC and USFC that we’re looking at, knowing that FAS is the biggest faculty, and the one with most of the issues” clarified Badaoui.

The message we are sending to the USFC is “get to work”

as Badaoui stated, he continued that “they were elected to generate results.” However, if you look at it from a “practical side” in Badaoui’s words, “they were elected on the basis of sectarianism, and belonging to a certain political party.” But as a matter of fact, they need to actually achieve something to get more votes next year.

That’s what the old VP Elias Ghanem did last year, according to Badaoui, “Although” explains Badaoui, “he did belong to a political group and his agenda was based on political decisions that superseded him, but at the end of the day, he did do his best at some times to actually represent students in general. Whereas the New VP, Ali Sheet, seems to be motivated to do the same thing based on his platform, but he’s just not getting started; he’s procrastinating.”

As the President of Student’s Rights Club, Badaoui aims to fix pending issues on campus, such as questioning CNS on what kind of logs they keep on students’ in-

ternet browsing and for how long, the results of that topic were published in Outlook’s fourth issue of this current year (volume 43), available online.

Other projects on the club’s agenda include the green campaign on campus to be achieved by reducing AUB’s Carbon footprint, lobbying to install solar heaters and starting a recycling campaign in association with Ibsar. But most importantly, the club aims at tackling SRC elections and achieving two goals. First, to “separate the political factor from SRC elections, not completely because it’s impossible, but just enough for people to realize that they want to see results as students,” stated Badaoui.

Second, to bring back “real politics” to campus which means “actual discussion as in university level politics” because at the end of the day, according to Badaoui, the university holds the new generation that should discuss the mistakes of the older generation and try to fix them.

“The situation we have

now is a joke, it’s paralyzing the campus life” continued Badaoui. The result is that everybody starts to think that politics is a taboo and we don’t get a true representation as students.

Thus, year after year, the administration starts stripping away SRC capabilities until the SRC can’t really do anything, except submitting proposals, which was not so clear to students as shown by a survey that was filled by 700 students and its results published in Outlook’s 10th issue, also available online. The goal is to get the administration to stop this fear of politics and to start trusting the students gradually to make their own decisions.

The solution according to Badaoui is to redirect that political energy many students have into discussions and constructive dialogue. “We have to give it a shot! And if anybody would do that, it would be students from the best university in the country!”

The BlackBerry Catastrophe Tania Koujou Special to Outlook

O

ne year ago, no one had heard of it. Now, many students cannot part with it. The BlackBerry has become students’ latest drug of choice and has been dubbed the “CrackBerry,” in reference to cracking cocaine. Even though it has barely completed its first year in the Lebanese market, it has already managed to leave its mark on more than 50 percent of AUB students, according to an informal poll conducted on Dec ember 13 and 15 on 100 students.

They wake up with it, go to school with it, and sleep with it. Even in class, four out of five students do not set it

down, showed the poll. Naturally instructors are worried.

“Students are wasting an investment,” says Haitham Khoury, an industrial and organizational psychologist, noting that students are missing out on valuable learning opportunities that cost lots of money.

Not only did the use of BlackBerry shorten students’ attention span, it also distracted teachers.

Spaced-out students engrossed in conversations on their BlackBerries were enough to interrupt Khoury’s train of thought, the professor remarked.

“I prefer they do not come to class [in these cases], because chatting on the BlackBerry is exactly like students

who continuously talk with their classmates during the session,” he said.

Some students go to extremes. They even confuse reality with virtual reality. It is common to see CrackBerries more involved in a virtual chat conversation than in a face to face conversation they would be participating in, said Charlotte Karam, an organizational psychologist.

Halabi said she would nod and mumble to her mother, “Hmmm, mama,” if she was chatting on her BlackBerry.

“My mother said she is planning to buy a BlackBerry so that she could talk to me!” she added.

CrackBerries develop different signs of addiction: a compulsive reaction to the beep

and the red light of the BlackBerry, the continuous tip-tip tapping, and “the BlackBerry prayer”--the downward glance toward the gadget.

Such “addicted” types of users would not think of setting it down during class.

“They always talk to me. I cannot put it aside and let it beep in the bag. I need to see the messages as soon as they arrive,” said Sanay Hamieh, 19, a psychology sophomore.

It seems some classes inspire greater BlackBerry use than others. These would be known as the “boring” classes.

“I bought it for class,” says Yara Mously, laughing.

The BackBerry is also a great way to organize an outing almost as fast as its red

blinking light.

Serge Abdel Hak ,18, a business sophomore said he would ask all his friends via message if they would like to go out and within a few minutes he would have a complete plan with time, date, and place.

But psychologists worry that staying glued to the smartphone would cause students to miss out on real life.

“It is sad… the rich experience of life cannot be found in chats,” Khoury remarks.

This article was written for the course SOAN 205 titled “Basic news writing” and has been published with the approval of both the course administrator and its corresponding author respectively.

Jan 11, 2011

Outlook

3

campus news Jafet opens 24 hours a week!

continued from page 1

stated “it should be open during this period and it’s a good change, but I feel bad for the people that have to work here overnight.” AUB student Maher Abou Nasr for his part was delighted with the news, jokingly saying “I can come back to Jafet after I’m done clubbing.” Along with the prais came a little criticism

by AUB Biology student Amjad Kanj, who claimed that “this step should’ve been taken since Jafet first opened.”

Some students are not at all affected by this move since they rarely study at Jafet, such as Engineering student Jawad Merhy who also commented “I honestly don’t study here much, but in case of traffic I can stay here and study instead; regardless, it’s a great move.”

Dr. Lokman Meho, the university librarian, affirmed that the 24 hour opening time of Jafet library is to begin on

January 19 until the February 2, covering the whole of the final exam period. “There will be round the clock staff, with open areas such as the stacks, serials, reference and the reading-reserve departments open for access, alongside the computer-lab and all the photocopiers and printers in the library” affirmed Dr. Meho. He claimed “my experience from the United States showed me that students would like this initiative. And since the library is to close at 2 am, why not extend it a little further?” Dr. Meho’s experience at home also played a role in implementing this scheme, where he stated, “In my experience when I was a student here at AUB, I had many siblings at home and found it rather difficult to study there and would prefer a quieter atmosphere, as that in a library.”

Not only does this benefit the students academically, but also safety-wise, where Dr.

(Photo by Wael Salem)

Meho explained that “students would have to leave Jafet at 2 am (if it weren’t to open 24 hours), something definitely more dangerous than having to leave early morning. So the students may now study till daylight and then safely return to their homes.”

Being informed of the news, many students wondered who would be willing to sacrifice sleeping time and rather work all night having no

benefits; however, Dr. Lokman asserted that “nine out of the 65 Jafet staff members will be working throughout the nights, gaining a little bit of over-time benefits which would keep them in best relations with the administration.” As a final word over something that is to be happening for the first time in AUB’s history, Dr. Meho stated “the university as a whole expects a positive feedback

with this change and I would like to say that this will be implemented at the end of every semester from now on. Moreover, I would like to thank Provost Ahmad Dallal for accepting and encouraging this initiative, alongside Captain Saadallah Shalak who will be providing the necessary safety measures for student well-being.”

Red Cross brings holiday spirit to children at hospitals Amina Harb Special to Outlook

L

ooks like a Red Cross Santa did not forget the children at hospitals this year! Red Cross members along with Santa payed surprise visits to sick children at several hospitals on Tuesday December 28.

Roum, Rafic Hariri and Bahman were among the hospitals visited aside from the institution Marsaliyet ElMahabe. The Red Cross team distributed gifts to the children according to age groups or mental abilities and carried out a variety of activities with them. Such activities included playing different games, socializing with the kids, coloring meaningful pictures and motivating the children to find out which values were portrayed in each picture (helping others, respecting the elderly, being united despite different ethnicities, and many others).

One child the team visited was Rama, a girl of barely two who was nervously and optically impaired by an unfortunate accident. Yara Najem, Rola Abu Izzedin and Line Koleilat, the members who visited Rama, claim that her case was so severe that even though they were trying to play and interact with the girl, it was very hard for her to respond. Still, they tried to communicate with Rama during their whole two-hour stay, talking to her and singing her favorite songs. Miraculously, towards the end of their visit, Rama started to mutter a few intelligible sounds and as the girls left the room, little Rama even smiled and actually said “bye” to Yara, Rola and Line.

Rama’s mother, who had previously been crying, became ecstatic and reported that it was the first time her daughter smiled and talked since the accident. The Red Cross surely was happy to have

turned Rama’s mom sad tears into happy ones and to have given Rama and her mother a little bit of hope.

Furthermore, kids at Marsaliyet El-Mahabe were very interactive with the team. One of the children, Oncology Patient E, kept throwing crayons at the team members! His humorous and charismatic personality was a magnet to the Red Cross members. Patient E had a

lot of fun playing and fooling around with the members, and by the end of the visit, his parents were very grateful to the Red Cross for all the fun activities they had engaged in with their child. So many parents begged the Red Cross to stay and come back.

At the end of the activity, the exhausted but satisfied volunteers gathered in front of Jafet Library to evaluate their endeavour. Parent and

(Photo courtesy of Aline Atallah)

hospital staff attitude towards Red Cross members was discussed as well as appropriateness of gifts given.

Overall, the Red Cross was very satisfied and proud of the job they performed and special thanks were given to Hawraa Kanaan, Ihsan Ghazal and Vanessa Boustani for taking the time and effort to wrap, organize and distribute the gifts.

Outlook

4

campus news

Jan 11, 2011

Lebanon for everyone

continued from page 1

stereotypes about the country. I think that international students make the AUB campus a much richer environment and contribute to a lot of cultural exchange between students,” says Jaber.

In the US, AUB has collaborations with universities in Boston, Michigan and Berkeley among others, while in Europe they cooperate with universities in Sweden, Denmark, France, and Spain.

“We are mobilizing to Europe, and in many cases, the international students take the initiative by selling AUB to fellow students and their faculty back home,” says Murr.

There are a host of different reasons that draw students to the city of Beirut.

“Beirut seemed the most appealing place for me because I knew it was a stimulating,

exciting city where I would not only be able to hear Arabic, but also be exposed to a diverse culture and a very interesting political climate,” says 21 year old American Middle Eastern Studies Major Samantha Allen.

According to Murr, AUB probably has the most vibrant and multicultural environment in the region. “Both the international students and the local students have a lot to learn from one another. I think international students are important for every university, because university education is more than just what you learn in the classroom,” concurs Allen.

While the university ambassadors and ISS are ready to help international students with basically everything, cultural adaption and understanding isn’t always that simple. According to Norie-

ga, one of the greatest challenges was logistical when arranging for a place to live and paying the tuition fee.

Not having a Lebanese bank account, she had to wire the money from the US, and she experienced challenges in receiving details from the AUB cashier’s office on the process of wiring money from abroad.

“I really think this is a process AUB could improve for international students especially,” says Noriega. According to Allen, developing a clear insight regarding a new culture in a short amount of time can also be challenging. “As an international student, there are some aspects of the student environment at AUB that I will never really understand or fully be a part of. The idea that student body elections, on a university level, might be ‘politicized’ is totally foreign to me,

and because I don’t know the intricacies of this system and what it means to vote for one student versus another, all of this election campaigning is totally lost on me and seems to exclude the non-Lebanese students,” says Allen.

Nevertheless, AUB is growing thanks to word of mouth.

Lebanon is one of the few countries that sits on the bridge between the East and the West and offers a connection between these two worlds, according to Jaber.

“That’s exactly why Lebanon can be for everyone. Compared to the region, Lebanon is a liberal country but at the same time, it keeps a lot of its culture and tradition. Lebanon can be exactly what you want it to be” says Jaber.

As her semester at AUB is coming to an end, Noriega is more than happy to procrastinate in buying her ticket

International Programs Coordinator Rania Murr

back home. “I honestly learn something new every day, and I keep trying to think of ways to extend my stay for another semester,” says Noriega.

Cashier understaffed and customers dissatisfied continued from page 1

ten apologize to customers for the long wait, explaining that the delay really isn’t their fault. Yet outbursts of anger are frequent. Students sometimes have to decide, even after an hour, if they should keep waiting in line or go to class. Let down by the lack of efficiency, a woman was overheard “this isn’t normal, maybe I’ll put my son in a normal university.” Georges Hanna, an AUB employee since 1977, demanded to see the manager. According to him, the cashier clearly needs more staff. “You are going to lose all your rights, ask for your right,” exclaimed Hanna to students who were also waiting.

Right at the entrance of the Cashier’s Office is a touch screen with options like “Tuition Fees” and “Application and Admission Fees.” The goal is to divide tasks since the option picked is automatically allocated to the corre-

sponding window. A work Study Program employee explained that the numbering system was there to ensure that everyone gets their verified turn and that no one cuts in line. Nidal Nammour of the Comptroller’s Office was in charge of implementing this system and commented that many students were not cooperative. His colleague, Nadim Out, said that students often “abuse the system” by taking more than one number or by not going to the appropriate window when their number is called. Nammour added that one of the windows was dedicated mainly to issuing paychecks to AUB staff and faculty members.

An anonymous faculty member confirmed that line is now shorter but also revealed that cutting in line stills occurs.

“I am understaffed” admitted Nammour, saying that he had asked his superiors for more chairs and employees repetitively but to no avail.

He said his staff works in-

credibly long hours, handles huge workloads, leaves for home late and sacrifices social life, but that the answer he received from his superiors was: “the process to hire someone is slow.”

Photos by Rami Diab

Jan 11, 2011

Outlook

Sports

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Introducing AUB table tennis champion Avo Moumjoghlian Aziza Khalil Staff Writer

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UB Business major Avo Moumjoghlian won approximately 70% of all his table tennis games for 2010. Moreover, Moumjoghlian has won the Lebanese Single Junior, Double Junior and Double Men’s Championship in Table Tennis.

When did you discover an interest in table tennis?

My dad used to play table tennis and when I was about seven years old he started teaching me how to play.

Who is your sporting idol and why?

Timo Boll is my sporting idol

because he is a professional tennis table player who has won the world cup in 2002 and 2005. He has also won the European cup and is currently ranked 3rd best in the world.

If you weren’t a table tennis player what other sport would you have pursued and why?

I would like to go into Track & Field because it helps in every other sport.

Would you be willing to stop school so you can go into table tennis professionally?

No, education is important and I want to get my degree before I go into table tennis professionally, but I would

like to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London.

How do you train for a competition?

During the summer I train two times a day, in the morning and in the afternoon.

When I have classes I can only train once a day. Sometimes I train with AUB’s table tennis coach Fadi Kassis and at other times, I either run in the green field or go to the gym.

How many matches do you have a year?

I have an average of 10 matches a year.

When is your next competition?

My next competition is on

January 18-19. It is for the top 8 in Lebanon.

Do you have any pre match rituals?

I don’t have any pre match ritual. The only thing I do before a match is relax and get my head clear.

Is it hard balancing school work with table tennis?

Yes it’s hard but I have to do it.

How do you feel after you win a match?

After a match I feel very proud that I have won.

What advice do you offer to the young athletes reading this article?

My advice would be for

them to just keep at it. They shouldn’t stop even when it gets tough because in sports you have to be strong and persistent.

Moumjoghlian would also like to thank AUB and Ghaleb Halimi for persuading and encouraging AUB players and giving them ample opportunities to play and compete.

The Asian games in September will be held in Lebanon in AUB where Moumjoghlian will be participating, having started practicing from now, “I am proud to represent Lebanon and AUB in the Asian games,” he says.

AUB boasts martial arts champion Rami Panayoti Staff Writer

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UB Business major Andrea Paoli, is the bronze medal winner of the Taekwondo competition that took place during the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, on November 18, 2010.

How long have you trained, and what belt are you now?

I have trained since I was 7 years old; so 11 years. I have had my black belt in 2003 and currently am at my 3rd dan.

Why did you start?

I started very randomly. My brother had to do martial arts so I went with him. My mom told me that when we went out, my brother sais he would never step in this room again, and my eyes were shining.

Were you ever in a position where you had to use what you have learned in real life?

No actually. Taekwondo is

more than a martial art, we call it a way of life. It has taught me more than just fighting, I have much more self confidence now and have a greater control on myself, my reactions…

Which part in your body is your strongest, and that which you use the most during fights?

My legs.

How was your experience in China?

The Asian Games were amazing! This competition is considered to be one of the most important ones after the Olympic Games. I had been dreaming for very long of achieving something at this level. This medal represents all the hard work I have been through with my team, all the sacrifices I had to make…

However, what is even more important is that I was able to raise the Lebanese flag. I was the first to put Lebanon on the medal list, and this is what I really aim to while playing.

What are you preparing for now?

This year is going to be really tough! I have the world championships in Korea in May and the Olympic qualifications in July and November.

Just the idea of participating in these championships is extraordinary! My deepest wish is that I can qualify for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

On average, how much do you practice a week?

I practice every day, 2-3 hours usually, 4 hours in summer and when I have championships coming up. It gets sometimes very hard to keep up with university and social life…

What are your biggest achievements?

I’ve been the Lebanese Taekwondo Champion since 2007 Year 2010: Bronze medalist of the Asian Games - China Gold medalist of the Arab

Championship -Egypt Year 2009: Gold medalist of the Mediterranean Cup- Morocco Gold medalist and MVP of the West Asian Junior Championship- Jordan Silver medalist of the Arab Junior Championship- Egypt Bronze medalist of the Asian Martial Arts Games- Thailand Ranked 27th in world ranking in the end of the year

Taekwondo champion Andrea Paoli

Year 2008: Gold medalist of the Bahrain Open Bronze medalist Al Fajr Championship- Iran Attended the Olympic Youth Camp of the Beijing Olympic Games Year 2007: Bronze medalist of the Asian Junior Championship- Jordan

‫‪Outlook‬‬

‫‪Jan 11, 2011‬‬

‫‪arabic entertainment‬‬

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‫شخصية األسبوع ‪ :‬الدكتورة جهاد مخول‬

‫سارة أحمد الديراني‬ ‫كاتبة صحفية‬ ‫مخول هي من‬ ‫الدكتورة جودي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫أبناء بلدة « بطرام « في الكورة‪،‬‬ ‫ولكنّها ولدت في أوستراليا‪ ،‬وذلك‬ ‫بسبب هجرة والديها للعمل هناك‪.‬‬ ‫والدكتورة هي اإلبنة البكر لوالديها‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ولديها شقيقان توأمان‪ ،‬يعيش‬ ‫أحدهما في أميريكا واآلخر في لبنان‪.‬‬ ‫الدكتورة إلى لبنان وهي في‬ ‫عادت ّ‬ ‫التّاسعة من عمرها‪ ،‬عندما ق ّرر‬ ‫والديها العودة إلى مسقط رأسهم‬ ‫لبنان للعمل والسكن فيه‪ ،‬وسع ًيا‬ ‫منهم لعودة أبنائهم إلى لبنان لكي‬ ‫يتسنّى لهم تع ّلم اللغة العرب ّية‬ ‫والعيش فيه إلكتساب عاداته‬ ‫وتقاليده‪.‬‬ ‫عند عودتها إلى لبنان إلتحقت‬ ‫مبدرسة «بشمزين» وبقيت في‬ ‫هذه املدرسة حتى أنهت دراستها‬ ‫ثم تابعت‬ ‫الثانوية في العام ‪ّ .1978‬‬ ‫دراستها في اجلامعة األمريكية‬ ‫ونالت شهادة (‪ )BS‬في ال‬ ‫«‪Environmental Health‬‬ ‫« عام ‪ .1982‬وبعدها تابعت دراساتِها‬ ‫العليا في اجلامعة األمريكية‬ ‫ال»‪Heath‬‬ ‫إختصاص‬ ‫في‬ ‫‪ »Education‬ونالت شهادة‬ ‫‪ MPH‬فيه عام ‪.1984‬‬ ‫الدراسات العليا‬ ‫وبعد إنهائها ّ‬ ‫الدكتورة منذ العام ‪ 1985‬حتى‬ ‫عملت ّ‬ ‫العام ‪ 1992‬في «إحتاد غوث األوالد»‬ ‫وهي ّ‬ ‫منظمة إنسان ّية أجنبية‪ ،‬تعنى‬ ‫مبوضوع التنمية اجملتمعية ومساعدة‬ ‫واملهجرين من احلرب‪،‬‬ ‫النازحني‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫وخصوصا األوالد‪ .‬واجلدير ّ‬ ‫بالذكر أن‬ ‫ً‬ ‫الدكتورة جودي عاشت احلرب األهلية‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫(‪ ) 1990-1975‬ك ّلها في لبنان‪،‬‬

‫واستطاعت بال ّرغم من هذه احلرب أن‬ ‫تنهي دراستها املدرس ّية وأن تتخ ّرج‬ ‫من اجلامعة وتعمل في مجال اخلدمة‬ ‫البشرية‪.‬‬ ‫وبعدها عملت في جامعة البلمند‬ ‫في الكورة ملدة ثالث سنوات ‪1992‬‬ ‫حتى ‪ ،1995‬حيث إستلمت إدارة‬ ‫مكتب شؤون الطالب‪ ،‬وعملت مع‬ ‫زمالئها على تنظيم شؤون الطالب‬ ‫اإلدارية وطلبات املساعدات املال ّية‬ ‫وعمل الطالب‪ ،‬وبجانب هذا عملت‬ ‫كمحاضرة في اجلامعة‪ .‬كما‬ ‫وشاركت في تأسيس مشروع إعادة‬ ‫التصنيع وفرز النفايات في اجلامعة‪.‬‬ ‫وبعد عشر سنوات من العمل‬ ‫الدؤوب واجلاد قررت الدكتورة‬ ‫جودي متابعة تعليمها العالي‪.‬‬ ‫فسافرت إلى أستراليا في العام‬ ‫‪ 1996‬ودرست وعملت في جامعة‬ ‫« ‪ »Wollongong‬حتى حازت‬ ‫على دكتوراه في ال»‪Public‬‬ ‫‪ »Health‬في العام ‪ .1999‬وكما‬ ‫وكانت أطروحة بحثها عن لبنان‬ ‫وبالتحديد « نظرة الناس في لبنان‬ ‫إلى مشاريع التنمية التي تقام فيه»‪،‬‬ ‫وأجرت بحثها هذا في منطقتني‬ ‫في عكار‪ .‬وأما بالنّسبة لفكرة‬ ‫بحثها فبدأت بالتّبلور منذ عملها‬ ‫في «إحتاد غوث األوالد» حيث كانت‬ ‫تشعر أن هناك أمور خاطئة في‬ ‫مشاريع التّنمية (مشاريع التنمية‬ ‫البشرية والتنمية الريفية والتنمية‬ ‫اإلجتماعية) التي كانت جتري في‬ ‫البلد إال أن املشكلة احلقيقية كانت‬ ‫أنهم لم يستطيعوا كشف أسباب‬ ‫هذه األخطاء‪ .‬فشعرت أن الوقت قد‬ ‫حان لفهم ّ‬ ‫كل هذه األمور‪.‬‬ ‫وبعد حصولها على شهادة‬ ‫ُطلبت للعمل في‬ ‫الدكتوراه‬ ‫ّ‬

‫اجلامعة األمريكية في العام ‪1999‬‬ ‫في كلية ال»‪ .»FHS‬وفي العام‬ ‫‪ 2007‬مت ترفيعها إلى‪associate‬‬ ‫‪ professor‬إستنادا ً إلى أبحاثها‬ ‫املهمة‪.‬‬ ‫األكادميية‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫لها العديد من األبحاث العلمية‬ ‫املهمة‪:‬‬ ‫«‪War as a positive‬‬ ‫‪medical‬‬ ‫‪educational‬‬ ‫‪ « experience‬عام ‪،2008‬‬ ‫«‪Intercessory wasta and‬‬ ‫‪village development in‬‬ ‫‪ »Lebanon‬عام ‪ ،2004‬وآخر‬ ‫أبحاثها كان البحث الذي أجرته في‬ ‫‪ 2010‬بعنوان « ‪Developing‬‬ ‫‪a logic model for youth‬‬ ‫‪»mental health‬‬ ‫كما وشاركت في العديد من املؤمترات‬ ‫املهمة وكان آخرها في ت‪ 2‬عام ‪2010‬‬ ‫‪American‬‬ ‫‪Public‬‬ ‫«‬ ‫‪« Health Association‬‬ ‫كما وساهمت في كتابة جزء‬ ‫بعنوان‬ ‫من‪encyclopedia‬‬ ‫«‪Gender, health and‬‬ ‫‪poverty in the Arab‬‬ ‫‪ »world‬عام ‪.2005‬‬ ‫أسئلة عامة‪ :‬هل وصلتي إلى أهدافك‬ ‫في كل أبحاثك‪ ،‬وما هي أنواع األبحاث‬ ‫التي حت ّبني العمل فيها؟‬ ‫نعم‪ ،‬إستطعت أن أصل إلى كل‬ ‫أهدافي في األبحاث التي أجريتها‪.‬‬ ‫وأفضل العمل في األبحاث التي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تعالج واقع اجملموعات التي أ ّثرت‬ ‫(املهجرين والالجئني‬ ‫فيها احلرب‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الفلسطينني والعراقيني‪ .)..‬كما‬ ‫وأفضل إجراء ال‪ Interviews‬مع‬ ‫الناس مباشر ًة ألنها تعكس الواقع‬ ‫الذي يعيشونه مبصداقية أكثر من‬ ‫ال‪Surveys .‬‬

‫كتبها في منتصف التسعينات‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫وشكلت وفق ّ‬ ‫النقاد املنعطف‬ ‫األبرز في جتربته الشعر ّية‬ ‫الالحقة‪ .‬فهي متزج بني اخلاص‬ ‫والعام وتعالج احالم جيل‬ ‫محبط‪ .‬له مساهمات في‬ ‫الصحف واجملالت‪,‬‬ ‫العديد من ّ‬ ‫أبرزها‪ :‬اآلداب اللبنانية‪ ,‬وال ّراية‬ ‫القطر ّية‪ ,‬واالحتاد الظبيان ّية‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الشعرية ‪ :‬عناوين‬ ‫دواوينه‬ ‫سريعة لوطن مقتول ‪ 1978‬ـ‬ ‫ال ّرحيل إلى شمس يثرب ‪ 1981‬ـ‬ ‫حب على نهر الليطاني‬ ‫أغنيات ّ‬ ‫‪ 1985‬ـ وردة النّدم ‪1990‬مرث ّية‬ ‫الغبار ‪ - 1992‬كأني غريبك بني‬ ‫النساء ‪ - 1995‬قمصان يوسف‬ ‫‪ - 1996‬شهوات مبكرة ‪- 1998‬‬ ‫فراديس الوحشة ‪ -1999‬ال شيء‬ ‫من كل هذا‪ .‬يعتبر شوقي ان‬ ‫هناك عالقة رمز ّية بني األرض‬ ‫واملرأة فكالهما ا ّم ورحم يلد‬

‫باستمرار‪ ،‬فالهجرة أنثى ألنّنا‬ ‫نذهب الى مدن تناديننا بأصوات‬ ‫انثو ّية بينما االرض هي األم التي‬ ‫نحنو إليها دائ ًما‪ .‬ويتّفق بزيع مع‬ ‫إليوت حني يقول‪« :‬إن ّ‬ ‫الشاعر إذا‬ ‫بلغ ال ّثالثني ولم يصبح شاعرًا‬ ‫كبيرًا‪ ،‬فلن يصبح شاعرًا كبيرًا‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫فالشعر بالنّسبة‬ ‫في ما بعد»‬ ‫اليه ينبثق من املكان الذي ينبعث‬ ‫العاطفي ال‬ ‫منه اجلنس مبعناه‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫فالشعر ذو طبيعة‬ ‫امليكانيكي‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫انفجارية اي « يتّصل بالفت ّوة‬ ‫واحليو ّية اإلنسان ّية‪ ،‬بدورة الدم‪،‬‬ ‫بالهرمونات»‪ .‬ومع ذلك ما زال‬ ‫محافظا على قريحته ّ‬ ‫الشعرية‪،‬‬ ‫فال ّزمن اكسبه ضلو ًعا وخبرة‬ ‫في ال ّلغة العرب ّية ومفرداتها‬ ‫وطرق استعمالها‪ .‬لكنّه لم‬ ‫يكسبه مرونة احلديث فريفيته‬ ‫أوقعته في فجوة كبيرة مع‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫املثقفني‪ .‬فاملسافة التي خلقها‬

‫الدكتورة جهاد مخول‬ ‫ماذا حتبني أن تضيفي؟‬ ‫أريد أن أقول أنه من الضروري جدا ً أن‬ ‫نع ّلم طالبنا كيف يستخدمون النّقد‬ ‫في كل األمور « ليش هدا الشي هيك‬ ‫؟ مني بقرر هيك؟ ومني املستفيد ؟»‬ ‫وغيرها من األسئلة املشابهة‪ .‬واملهم‬ ‫في هذه األسئلة ليس أن جند لها‬

‫أجوبة بل املهم حقيق ًة هو أن نبدأ ولو‬ ‫بالسؤال لكي يتسنّى لنا فهم األمور‬ ‫وإحداث التغييرات‪.‬‬ ‫ما هي مبادؤك في هذه احلياة؟‬ ‫إنت بتحب‬ ‫« عامل الناس متل ما َ‬ ‫يعاملوك «‪.‬‬ ‫« يلي بتحطوا باحلياة بتآخدوا «‪.‬‬

‫كاتب من هذا الزمن‪ :‬شوقي بزيع ‪ ..‬طفل في داخلي‬

‫نهاد غازي عواد‬ ‫مساهمة صحفية‬

‫ّجدد‪ ،‬يحافظ على‬ ‫نه ٌر دائم الت ّ‬ ‫مائه فترتوي شجرة ال ّلغة ا ّلتي‬ ‫السبعينات لتخ ّلد‬ ‫زرعها في ّ‬ ‫املكان قبل ان ميحى بأقدام‬ ‫الغزاة‪ .‬شوقي بزيع كتب لألرض‬ ‫واحلب في شعر التّفعيلة وابتعد‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫العامودي منه‪ .‬هجر الوزن‬ ‫عن‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫والقافية واعتمد على اإليقاع‬ ‫الداخلي ا ّلذي يتماهى مع‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫حركة التجربة فتغدو القصيدة‬ ‫متعددة األصوات‬ ‫مسرح ّية‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بناني‬ ‫ل‬ ‫ال‬ ‫اعر‬ ‫الش‬ ‫فاز‬ ‫واملشاهد‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫«شوقي بزيع» بجائزة عكاظ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫العربي‪،‬فتم‬ ‫للشعر‬ ‫ال ّرئيس ّية‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫العربي ممثالً‬ ‫عر‬ ‫الش‬ ‫وسام‬ ‫منحه‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بلقب شاعر عكاظ عن قصيدته‬ ‫املعروفة «مرث ّية الغبار» ا ّلتي‬

‫شوقي بزيع‬

‫(صورة‪)Quarterlyconversation.com :‬‬

‫ليست تعال ًيا أو كاريزما بل‬ ‫خجل ذاك ّ‬ ‫ُ‬ ‫اجلنوبي‬ ‫الطفل‬ ‫هي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الش ّفاف ذو األجوبة القاسية‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫العدوانية‪ .‬لربمّ ا يتابع الشاعر‬

‫برنامج د‪ .‬فيل الذي ينهيه دائما‬ ‫مبقولة» في داخل كل منا طفل‪،‬‬ ‫حافظوا عليه»‪ .‬هذه ايضا‬ ‫نصيحتي لكم‪.‬‬

‫‪Outlook‬‬

‫‪7‬‬

‫‪arabic Opinion‬‬

‫‪Jan 11, 2011‬‬

‫“فالن من رايح عجه ّنم وفالن من جماعتنا عاجل ّنة !”‬

‫مصطفى فضل اهلل‬ ‫كاتب صحفي‬

‫ماري نخول‬ ‫كاتبة صحفية‬

‫يكثرون‪ ،‬وبثقة مزعجة في النّفس‪ ،‬من‬ ‫األخروي‪ ،‬فهذا في‬ ‫عمل ّية التقسيم‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫اجلنة وذاك في النار‪ .‬ثقافة التّكفير‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫مسماها‪ ،‬هوذلك‬ ‫احلقة‪ ،‬ولكن بغير‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الكالم ا ّلذي يطلق همسا ً واليسمعه‬ ‫بنت من أبناء ّ‬ ‫الطائفة‪ .‬ك ّلنا‬ ‫ابن أو ٌ‬ ‫إال ٌ‬ ‫كذلك‪ ،‬وإن إ ّدعينا الوحدة ومنطق‬ ‫نقسم دوما ً بني‬ ‫احمل ّبة والتّسامح‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫أهل اجلنة والنار‪ ،‬كأنّنا شركاء اهلل‬ ‫في القسمة أو كأنّنا ممسكون بـ‬ ‫‪ Catalogue‬اجلنة و النّار‪.‬‬ ‫نتحدث‬ ‫تنفعل العواطف دو ًما حني‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫يدعي‬ ‫عن أهل اجلنّة والنّار‪ .‬فقد ّ‬ ‫املسلم دخول أهل الكتاب جهنّم‬ ‫على أساس شكل ّية العبادات‬

‫وإشكاليات العقيدة‪ .‬ال يصلي‬ ‫الصلوات اخلمس وال يؤمن بوحدة‬ ‫يدعي‬ ‫اهلل‪ ،‬فهو من أهل جهنّم! وقد ّ‬ ‫املسيحي أن املسلم من أهل النار‬ ‫فهو رافض أللوه ّية الس ّيد املسيح‪،‬‬ ‫وتتشعب التفصيالت في صناديق‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫املذاهب والطوائف‪ .‬تبسيط للمنطق‬ ‫وتسخيف للواقع وأخذ لألمور‬ ‫مبسمياتها اجلامدة‪ .‬فأبن العقل هنا؟‬ ‫ولنهتم‬ ‫فلندع عمل اهلل إلى اهلل‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بأنفسنا وحياتنا على هذاا الكوكب‪.‬‬ ‫فلنصنع جنّتنا هنا قبل ارحتالنا‪.‬‬ ‫جدي‪ ،‬فاجلنّة جميلة‪،‬‬ ‫هكذا أوصاني ّ‬ ‫ولكنّها حتتاج إلى جهد‪ .‬فلنترك‬ ‫سذاجة التقسيمات وبساطتها‪،‬‬

‫ولنتح ّرك في أرجاء الكون ليكون‬ ‫اإلنعكاس لدينا من خالل احلب‬ ‫ا ّلذي نختزنه لبعضنا واملشاعر‬ ‫ا ّلتي تستطيع أن تنطلق بالعمل‬ ‫واملبادرات في الواقع اإلجتماعي‬ ‫لتصنع مستقبالً يشرق من حيث‬ ‫تغرب ّ‬ ‫الشمس‪ .‬لنكن الواعني حني‬ ‫نطلق أحكامنا‪ ،‬فليست العدالة‬ ‫عند اهلل مسألة ترتبط بشكل ّيات‬ ‫الدين‪ .‬إن اهلل ينظر إلى النوايا قبل‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫األفعال‪ ،‬وينظر إلى مستوى الوعي‬ ‫لدى ّ‬ ‫كل إنسان ومستوى التّجربة‬ ‫ا ّلتي خاضها واجملتمع ا ّلذي عاش فيه‬ ‫حتملها هذا اإلنسان‬ ‫واملسؤول ّية ا ّلتي ّ‬ ‫الدقيقة‪ .‬وهذا‬ ‫وغيرها من التفاصيل ّ‬

‫ّ‬ ‫السير في أيامنا هذه‬ ‫تشكل حوادث ّ‬ ‫سب ًبا أساس ًيا للوفاة‪ ،‬إذ أضحت‬ ‫ينقض‬ ‫شبحا مخي ًفا‪،‬‬ ‫تلك احلوادث‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ً‬ ‫على شبابنا يو ًما بعد يوم‪،‬رام ًيا‬ ‫رداءه األسود على الطرقات ليمتزج‬ ‫األمهات‬ ‫الضحايا‪ ،‬وويالت‬ ‫مع دماء ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ودموعهن‪ .‬نعم‪ ،‬هذه هي حوادث‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫السير تترأّس الئحة أسباب الوفي ّات‪،‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫كل أ ّم‪ّ ،‬‬ ‫لتصبح الهم األكبر لدى ّ‬ ‫كل‬ ‫شاب‪ّ ،‬‬ ‫وكل مواطن‪...‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫السير‪ ،‬في‬ ‫أما أسباب حوادث ّ‬ ‫متعددة‪ ،‬منها يعود‬ ‫لبنان‪ ،‬فهي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الطرقات املتدهورة واخلطرة‬ ‫إلى‬ ‫والضيع‬ ‫في بعض املناطق النّائية‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫خاصة‪ ،‬ومنها يعود إلى عدم إلتزام‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫السير‪ -‬طبعاً‪ ،‬ومتى‬ ‫املواطن بقوانني ّ‬ ‫بغض النّظر‬ ‫إلتزم اللبناني بقانون؟‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫عن أهم ّيته‪ ،‬فاخملالفة عالمة مت ّيز لدى‬ ‫كل مواطن لبناني؛ فحزام األمان‬ ‫السير‬ ‫لم يعد “ عاملوضة”‪ ،‬وإشارات ّ‬

‫أضحت للزّينة فقط‪...‬و لو عرف‬ ‫بعض شبابنا معنى تلك القوانني‪،‬‬ ‫النقذت حياة العديدين منهم! ومن‬ ‫أيضا‪ ،‬الكحول‪،‬‬ ‫السير ً‬ ‫أسباب حوادث ّ‬ ‫حيث يفقد السائق سيطرته على‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ويشكل خطرًا على حياته‪،‬‬ ‫الس ّيارة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫كما حياة غيره من ضحايا وقعوا‬ ‫حتت فريسة طيش ّ‬ ‫الشباب‪ .‬ولسوء‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫احلظ ال منتلك في لبنان وسائل حديثة‬ ‫لكشف نسبة الكحول في جسم‬ ‫السائق‪ ...‬ليصبح ضميره احمل ّرك‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫السلب ّية‪،‬‬ ‫األوحد ‪ ،‬فتنعكس النّتائج ّ‬ ‫طب ًعا‪ ،‬على املواطن ال ّلبناني!‬ ‫ومما ال ّ‬ ‫السبب األ ّول‬ ‫شك فيه‪ ،‬أن ّ‬ ‫السرعة! نعم‪،‬‬ ‫السير‪ ،‬هي ّ‬ ‫حلوادث ّ‬ ‫يقولون أنّنا ننتمي في أيامنا هذه‬ ‫السرعة‪ ،‬ولكن أي سرعة؟‬ ‫إلى عصر ّ‬ ‫هي سرعة املوت التي سرقت شبابًا‬ ‫وح ّرقت قلوب أهلهم ومن أح ّبهم!‬ ‫السرعة هي ّ‬ ‫احلل‬ ‫وكم ّ‬ ‫السائق أ ّن ّ‬ ‫ظن ّ‬

‫الوحيد للوصول باكرا ً! وكم أراد أن‬ ‫يو ّفر من الوقت بأن يكون سري ًعا‪...‬‬ ‫وكم كان شبح املوت أسرع! صحيح‬ ‫السرعة في بعض األمور قد تكون‬ ‫أن ّ‬ ‫حالً‪ ،‬وإنمّ ا في حالة القيادة يصح‬ ‫السالمة‪،‬‬ ‫القول الشهير ‪“ :‬في التّأنّي ّ‬ ‫وفي العجلة النّدامة”‪ .‬وقد حاولت‬ ‫الدولة ال ّلبنانية وضع قانون للحد من‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫السرعة‪ ،‬وقد القى حتّى األن نتائج‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫إيجاب ّية! وانمّ ا هذا حتما ً ال يكفي‪،‬‬ ‫فما زال هذا القانون ال يشمل جميع‬ ‫املناطق اللبنانية‪ ،‬وبالتّالي تقتصر‬ ‫نتائجه على ّ‬ ‫العامة!‬ ‫الطرقات‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫وجتدر اإلشارة هنا‪ ،‬إلى تعدد اجلمع ّيات‬ ‫التي تهدف لتوعية املواطنني ‪ ،‬ونشر‬ ‫العامة‪ ،‬كجمعية‬ ‫السالمة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫قوانني ّ‬ ‫“يازا” و‪”-‬كن هادي” على سبيل املثال‬ ‫الداخل ّية‬ ‫ال احلصر‪ .‬و تتعاون وزارة ّ‬ ‫ال ّلبنان ّية في هذا اجملال أيضا ً‬ ‫للحد‬ ‫ّ‬

‫إنساني للعدالة‪،‬فكيف‬ ‫مج ّرد حتليل‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بعدالة اهلل الرحمن ال ّرحيم ؟‬ ‫فلتكن اهتماماتنا منطلقة من خالل‬ ‫العبادات‪ ،‬بأن نفهم معناها وهدفها‪.‬‬ ‫هي جميلة‪ ،‬واجلمال يرتفع بالروح‬ ‫وينفتح باحمل ّبة فكيف نستطيع أن‬ ‫نؤمن بجمال يحمل الكره في ط ّياته؟‬ ‫إ ّن احلياة عمل وإن لإلنسان قلبا ً‬ ‫يخفق باحلياة إذا عمل‪ ،‬ويخفق موت ًا‬ ‫حني يغرق في الكسل‪ .‬فلنكن أحيا ًء‬ ‫نصنع الواقع ونرفض التخ ّلف ونصنع‬ ‫من خالل احلقيقة اإلنسانية جنّتنا‬ ‫على األرض لنفتح من خاللها أبواب‬ ‫السماء ‪ ..‬واهلل أعلم‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬

‫“ السرعة حلوه‪ ...‬بس احلياة أحلى”‬

‫الضحايا! فإذا بال ّرعب‬ ‫من أعداد‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫يتج ّول على ّ‬ ‫الطرقات واض ًعا جميع‬ ‫السائقني حتت دوامة اخلطر وال بد‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الضحايا‬ ‫من حلول جذر ّية‪ ،‬فعدد ّ‬ ‫يزداد عا ًما بعد عام‪ ،‬ويرتفع ليصبح‬ ‫لبنان من أكثر البالد التي يتع ّرض‬ ‫السير املميتة‪ ،‬ليبق‬ ‫شبابها حلوادث ّ‬ ‫السؤال‪ ،‬من املسؤول؟ ا على الدولة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫حتمل جميع املسؤول ّية على عاتقها؟‬ ‫أم هي ق ّلة الوعي لدى األهل وعدم‬ ‫حتذير اوالدهم من مخاطر القيادة‪،‬‬ ‫سن مبكر؟‬ ‫وتسليمهم السيارات في ّ‬ ‫وبني املساءلة واحملاسبة‪ ،‬تستم ّر‬ ‫ويضحي املواطن وحياته‬ ‫احلوادث‪،‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫مع ّرضة للخطر مع كل نهار يشرق‪.‬‬ ‫الدعاء‪ ،‬أن يبعد اهلل‬ ‫وال يبق لنا‪ ،‬سوى ّ‬ ‫السائق إال‬ ‫احلوادث عنا‪ ،‬وال يبق على ّ‬ ‫التر ّيث في القيادة فـ”صحيح إنو‬ ‫السرعة حلوه‪ ...‬بس احلياة أحلى”‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬

‫‪Outlook‬‬

‫‪Jan 11, 2011‬‬

‫‪8‬‬

‫‪arabic News‬‬ ‫إنفصال السودان‬

‫شمال السودان وجنوبه ‪ ..‬سودانان‬ ‫مصطفى فضل اهلل‬ ‫كاتب صحفي‬

‫نتر ّقب هذه األيام حدثًا إستثنائيًّا‬ ‫فسيتم‬ ‫في املنطقة العربية‪،‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫إنفصال أ ّول دولة عربية منذ‬ ‫نهاية احلكم العثماني‪ .‬شمال‬ ‫السودان وجنوبه سودانان‪ .‬املزاج‬ ‫الفعلي كما يُظهر أهل اجلنوب‬ ‫هي ال ّرغبة في في اإلنفصال بعد‬ ‫سنوات احلرب األهل ّية املضن ّية‬ ‫والبشعة بني أهل اجلنوب‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫والشمال‪ .‬كما أظهرت الطبقة‬ ‫احلاكمة نفس هذه ال ّرغبة‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الشعب ّية وسعت إلى حتقيقها‬ ‫وترسيخها منذ سنوات‪.‬‬ ‫نظرة إلى واقع اجلنوب ال‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تبشر مبستقبل باهر قال ّرغم‬

‫من اإلستعدادات الشكل ّية‬ ‫الدولة من خالل تشييد‬ ‫لبناء ّ‬ ‫القصر ال ّرئاسي وإختيار‬ ‫النّشيد الوطني وتلحينه‪ .‬أما‬ ‫اقتصاد اجلنوب فهو معتمد‬ ‫الصادرات‬ ‫بشكل‬ ‫أساسي على ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫النّفط ّية ا ّلتي مت ّثل معظم‬ ‫السودان إلاّ أ ّن العديد من‬ ‫نفط ّ‬ ‫التّقديرات تشير إلى إحتمال ّية‬ ‫نضوب النّفط اجلنوبي خالل‬ ‫السنوات العشرين املقبلة كح ٍد‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫أقصى‪ ،‬وهو ما يهدد مستقبل‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تستغل‬ ‫أهل اجلنوب في حال لم‬ ‫هذه املوارد الطبيع ّية املوجودة‬ ‫هناك‪.‬‬ ‫وداني‬ ‫الس‬ ‫اجلنوب‬ ‫ّع‬ ‫ت‬ ‫يتم‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بكم ّية كبيرة من األراضي‬ ‫ال ّزراع ّية غير املستغ ّلة‪ ،‬فبال ّرغم‬

‫من أن نسبة األراضي ال ّزراع ّية‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫تتخطى الثالثني باملئة من‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫املستغل‬ ‫مساحة اجلنوب إلاّ أن‬ ‫منها هي نسبة واحد في املئة‬ ‫فقط ! وتشير بعض اإلحصاءات‬ ‫إلى أن استغالل هذه املناطق‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫يحل أزمة إعتماد‬ ‫قادر على أن‬ ‫إقتصاد اجلنوب على عائدات‬ ‫النفط فقط‪.‬‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫وتشكل مساحة األخشاب‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الشاسعة أيضا ً ثالثني باملئة‬ ‫من مساحة اإلقليم مما قد‬ ‫يسمح بتحويل الدولة اجلديدة‬ ‫أساسي للخشب‬ ‫إلى ُمص ِّدر‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫في املنطقة وحتديدا ً املهوفي‬ ‫والتيك املصنّفني من أجود‬ ‫أنواع اخلشب عامل ّيا ً‪ .‬ولكن هذا‬ ‫الواقع ال ّ‬ ‫يبشر باخلير‪ ،‬فهناك‬

‫تخ ّلف مستشر في القطاعات‬ ‫اإلقتصاد ّية‪ .‬فعدد املصانع ال‬ ‫اليد وتغلب‬ ‫يتعدى عدد أصابع ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫الصغيرة وحتّى‬ ‫الصناعات‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫اليدو ّية على الصناعة احملل ّية‪.‬‬ ‫وبالنّسبة إلى البنى التّحت ّية‬ ‫الغائبة فليس هناك سوى ‪60‬‬ ‫كيلومترًا فقط من ّ‬ ‫الطرقات‬ ‫املع ّبدة باألسفلت‪ ،‬كما أن‬ ‫هناك افتقارًا إلى الكهرباء‬ ‫واملواصالت واملستشفيات‪ .‬كما‬ ‫أن الفقر املستشري لن يسمح‬ ‫الفعلي للبلد‬ ‫بالنمو اإلقتصادي‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بأكمله‪ ،‬وال ننسى نسبة األم ّية‬ ‫حد ال‬ ‫املرعبة التي تصل إلى ّ‬ ‫‪ 90‬باملئة من سكان اجلنوب‪.‬‬ ‫قد يكون القطاع األكثر تط ّورًا‬ ‫السياحي وذلك‬ ‫هو القطاع‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫بسبب اإلستثمارات األجنب ّية‬

‫وبخاصة «اإلسرائيل ّية»‪.‬ولكن‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫برغم أن الكثافة السكانية في‬ ‫اجلنوب ليست كبيرة مقارن ًة‬ ‫باملساحة‪ ،‬فإن تركيبة السكان‬ ‫غير املتجانسة والتي تسودها‬ ‫قبليات‪ ،‬تق ّوي احتمال نشوء‬ ‫نزاعات في ما بينها‪ ،‬لتم ّثل‬ ‫تهديدا ً للدولة من جهة‪ ،‬وسببا ً‬ ‫في هروب املستثمرين من جهة‬ ‫ثانية‪.‬‬ ‫وبذلك فحتّى القطاع‬ ‫مهدد بفعل إحتماالت‬ ‫السياحي ّ‬ ‫خاصة في‬ ‫ة‬ ‫ي‬ ‫قبل‬ ‫نشوء نزاعات‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫ظل الفقر و اجلهل املستشريني‪.‬‬ ‫الدول‬ ‫ويشار إلى أن أصوات ّ‬ ‫العرب ّية مختفية في ظل‬ ‫هذا الوضع الصادم‪ .‬ويبدو أننا‬ ‫املقسم‬ ‫سنبارك قري ًبا بتقسيم‬ ‫ّ‬ ‫وتفتيت املفتّت‪.‬‬

‫دراسة في األميركية لترسبات املبيدات في‬ ‫خضار الطعام في بيروت و كسروان تطمئن‬ ‫النسبة أقل بكثير من املستويات الدولية املقبولة‬

‫أخذ هذا املقال من أرشيف‬ ‫مكتب اإلعالم في اجلامعة‬ ‫األميركية في بيروت‬ ‫أجرى باحثون في اجلامعة‬ ‫األميركية في بيروت أول دراسة‬ ‫شاملة تغطي ترسبات املبيدات‬ ‫املوجودة في اخلضار التي‬ ‫تباع لالستهالك الغذائي في‬ ‫األسواق احمل ّلية ‪ .‬وهذا البحث‬ ‫هو األول من نوعه في لبنان إذ‬ ‫يجمع بني معطيات استهالك‬ ‫الطعام ومعطيات التلوث وقد‬ ‫قادته أُستاذتا علوم التغذية في‬ ‫كلية العلوم الزراعية والغذائية‬ ‫الدكتورة الرا نصرالدين‬ ‫والدكتورة زينة قصيفي‪ .‬وقد‬ ‫أُجري البحث بتمويل مشترك‬ ‫من اجلامعة األميركية في بيروت‬ ‫ومنظمة الصحة العاملية‪.‬‬ ‫وبلغت قيمة التمويل حوالي‬ ‫عشرون ألف دوالر أميركي‪.‬‬ ‫وقد استند فريق البحث في‬ ‫دراسته على ع ّينة متثيلية لفئة‬ ‫الراشدين في بيروت ومناطق‬ ‫كسروان شبه الريفية بداي ًة‬ ‫عبر إجراء مسح لألطعمة التي‬ ‫يستهلكها الراشدون في‬ ‫املنطقتني وذلك من أجل ايجاد‬ ‫مواصفات الئحة طعامهم في‬ ‫كل منطقة ‪ .‬وقام الباحثون‬

‫بجمع خمس عينات مختلفة‬ ‫من كل نوع من األطعمة من‬ ‫األسواق احمللية في منطقتي‬ ‫بيروت وكسروان بفواصل زمنية‬ ‫متساوية خالل العامني ‪ 2008‬و‬ ‫‪ 2009‬وذلك لتقليص الفروقات‬ ‫الناجمة عن اختالف مصادر‬ ‫األطعمة ‪ .‬وتقول نصرالدين ‪:‬‬ ‫« كنّا نق ّلد سلوك املستهلك‬ ‫الذي يشتري املواد الغذائية‬ ‫من دون أن يعرف مصدرها «‪.‬‬ ‫وقد خضعت العينات اجملموعة‬ ‫للغسيل وفي بعض األحيان‬ ‫للتقشير والطهو ومن ثم متّ‬ ‫حتضيرها كما يستهلكها‬ ‫السكان عاد ًة‪ ،‬للحصول على‬ ‫مناذج طبق األصل ألطعمة‬ ‫السكان البالغني وما فيها من‬ ‫ترسبات للمبيدات احلشرية‪.‬‬ ‫و تضيف ‪ « :‬إذا ما أجريت‬ ‫إحصا ًء الستهالك اخلس‬ ‫والكوسى لوحدهما‪ ،‬لن يظهر‬ ‫ذلك شيئا ً ألن ما أريد معرفته‬ ‫هو مقدار ما نستهلكه من كل‬ ‫اخلضار املستهلكة مجتمعة‬ ‫‪ ».‬وأظهرت النتائج‪ ،‬والتي لم‬ ‫تُعلن من قبل‪ ،‬أن اجلرعة اليومية‬ ‫من ترسبات املبيدات داخل املواد‬ ‫الغذائية التي يستهلكها‬

‫السكان هي بشكل عام أقل‬ ‫بكثير من املستوى املقبول دوليا ً‬ ‫والذي وضعته منظمة األغذية‬ ‫والزراعة‬ ‫ومنظمة الصحة العاملية‪ ،‬أي‬ ‫أنه ميكن استيعابها على مدى‬ ‫احلياة من دون أي تأثير سلبي‬ ‫على الصحة ‪ .‬فمن بني ترسبات‬ ‫املبيدات الثالثة واألربعني‬ ‫املعروفة التي مت االستقصاء‬ ‫عنها ‪ ،‬تبني وجود‪ 12‬منها فقط‬ ‫بعد حتليل عينات الطعام‪ ،‬كما‬ ‫تبينّ خل ّو الكثير من العينات من‬ ‫نسبة ترسبات مبيدات ميكن‬ ‫كشف وجودها‪ ،‬وذلك بسبب‬ ‫ضآلته ‪ .‬وميكن عزو ذلك إلى أن‬ ‫الغسيل والتقشير وحدهما‬ ‫ميكن أن ّ‬ ‫يخفضا من نسبة وجود‬ ‫ترسبات املبيدات في املنتجات‬ ‫الغذائية بشكل ملحوظ ‪ ،‬على‬ ‫حد قول الدكتورة نصرالدين ‪.‬‬ ‫وتقول الباحثتان إن اإلحاطة‬ ‫بحجم التعرض الغذائي‬ ‫لترسبات املبيدات على الصعيد‬ ‫الوطني ستتطلب إجراء دراسات‬ ‫مماثلة أكثر من م ّرة ‪ .‬كما أنه‬ ‫يجب دمج فئات غذائية أخرى‬ ‫كاملنتجات احليوانية ألنه ميكن‬ ‫أيضا ً ايجاد ترسبات مبيدات‬

‫(صورة‪ :‬رامي دياب)‬

‫معينة في دهون احليوانات ‪.‬‬ ‫ويجب إجراء دراسات على‬ ‫فئات سكان ّية أخرى كاألطفال‬ ‫الذين قد يكونون أكثر عرض ًة‬ ‫خملاطر‬ ‫ترسبات املبيدات ‪ .‬ون ّبهت‬ ‫نصرالدين ‪ « :‬يجب أن نتوخى‬ ‫احلذر ألن هذه الدراسات ودراسات‬ ‫أخرى من هذا النوع هي مبثابة‬

‫لقطة فوتوغرافية ظرفية‪ ،‬لذلك‬ ‫إذا تغيرت مستويات التلوث‬ ‫وكمية توزيع املبيدات‪ ،‬ستتغير‬ ‫اجلرعة املستهلكة والتع ّرض‬ ‫اليومي لها أيضا ً‪ .‬يجب اجراء‬ ‫هذه الدراسات بشكل منتظم‬ ‫وهذا األمر ال يحصل حتى اآلّ‬ ‫ن‪».‬‬

Jan 11, 2011

Outlook

entertainment

Movie Review

D

irected by Greg Berlanti, “Life as We Know It” opens up on a blind date between Holly and Eric (Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel) who quickly realize they cannot stand each other. She’s an uptight lady and a promising caterer, while he’s a television sports director and a player. The only thing they have in common is their incommensurable love for their goddaughter, Sophie (played by the Clagett triplets). After Sophie’s parents tragically die in a car accident, Holly and Eric discover they have been appointed as co-guardians and are now legally responsible of raising the orphaned child. Forced to live under the same roof, they try to find some common grounds and put their differences aside. From then on, the action unfolds in a very predictable fashion, with the unavoidable scene of a parent bringing his disruptive

W

9

Christine Saliba

“The only thing they have in common is their incommensurable love for their goddaughter...” kid to work and that of a lover desperately rushing to the airport, both at the apotheosis of dullness and banality.

The movie in general has a sense of has-been, resting on the way-too-used theme of parents trying to juggle career ambitions and social calendars with their responsibilities toward their child. In lieu of true humor and wittiness, the audience is subjected to a parade of tired baby jokes and the age-old odd couple scenario. In addition, Life as We Know It is overloaded with suburban and bourgeois stereotypes and presents a poor and flat script.

Despite its shallowness and predictability, this movie manages to maintain a sentimental dimension, conveyed mainly by the obvious screen

Book Review

inner of the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for his book De Niro’s Game (2006) in 2008, Lebanese-Canadian author Rawi Hage returns with an equally commendable masterpiece, Cockroach.

In Hage’s most recent novel, the narrator, a Lebanese exile, recounts the details of his life as a poor and marginalized immigrant in Canada.

The nameless narrator confesses some of the particulars of his exilic existence to his psychiatrist Genevieve, and throws the remaining details at his reader. Just like the protagonist remains anonymous in Hage’s book, Canada and Lebanon are indirectly alluded to in the novel. Even the Lebanese Civil War, with all its horrendousness and senselessness is at the background of the novel.

Hage’s naturalism and cru-

Life as We Know It

chemistry between the two protagonists. In movies generally and in rom-coms particularly, chemistry always matters. Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel definitely form an explosive match.

Moreover, their handsome and appealing presence manages to maintain a facade of entertainment.

Unfortunately, the performances of the two actors don’t hide the fact that this overlong, forgettable picture never deviates from the romantic comedy guidebook. It delivers exactly what it expected and nothing further: tears, laughter, romance, and cute baby moments, awkwardly mixed in a tragic situation.

Life as We Know It is Hollywood romance as we know it.

Photo from Facebook.com

Cockroach

Maya Sfeir

“In Hage’s most recent novel, the narrator, a Lebanese exile, recounts the details of his life as a poor and marginalized immigrant in Canada.” dity are more than appropriate to realistically capture--for Hage himself is a photographer-- the harshness of exile. As the novel unfolds and the disturbed psychology of its protagonist is further revealed, readers sense themselves slowly stepping into Genevieve’s shoes and becoming part of the analyst-analysand relationship.

Nonetheless, the complex nature of the narrator, like the novel itself, does not readily yield itself to interpretation. The protagonist futilely searches for love, breaks into others’ homes, assumes he is half-cockroach and leads the life of an insect.

In one of the pessimistic passages of the novel, the narra-

tor confesses: “Yes, I am poor, I am vermin, a bug, I am at the bottom of the scale. But I still exist. I look society in the face and say: I am here, I exist. There is existence and there is the void; you are either a one or a zero. Once I was curious about the void. . . . The void cannot be experienced. The void should mean perishing absolutely without any consciousness of it.”

Despite its Kafkaesque gloom and cynicism, Cockroach remains an extremely rich book that blends reality and fantasy, truth and lies, thus constantly challenging and surprising its readers. As such, it proves to be indeed a great addition, not only to the list of Anglophone

postwar Lebanese literature, but perhaps to world literature itself.

Photo from Amazon.com

Outlook

10

Jan 11, 2011

editorial & opinion Op-ed

Editorial

The studying dilemma

Rami Diab Editor-in-Chief

T

ick tock, tick tock.. the clock is ticking and your patience is running thin. Why on earth can’t you bring yourself to study? Your mind is at one place and yet your heart is at another.

You glance around the library and to your amazement, find books and academic journals of all varieties – a lifetime’s worth of curiosity quenchers just waiting to be explored! Dumbstruck at all your appealing choices, you reach out for the first book in front of you and instantly, yet almost unconsciously, find yourself immersed it. Before you know it, the clock has struck midnight, Jafet Library is closing and you are being issued outside. Looking back, you realize just how graceful it all was. “If only all learning could be this fluid,” you think to yourself. Yes, if only your coursework could be just as smooth and enjoyable, but who says it can’t?

Maybe what your coursework could use is some activism? Isn’t that the general idea behind academic research; individuals actively seeking out topics that interest them and researching them out of their own free will and vocation?

Maybe the reason you are performing rather averagely academically speaking is that you may sometimes feel pushed into learning. Just as you prefer to buy than to be sold, you also prefer to learn (autonomously) than

to be taught. But who’s to say you are taught? Are you not at this junction by a series of self-pursued choices?

You made your way through your middle-school years, graduated right out of highschool and now have enrolled yourself at AUB by your own sheer willpower. Let’s face it, it is you that have placed yourself at this crossroad, not your friends, not your family and most certainly, and above all not your guilty conscious for lack of a better reason. Your mission to unfold into a masterpiece creation is far too essential to be strapped down by guilt or coercion. And if you rob yourself of this privilege of free choice, then dare I say it, you strip yourself bare of all that is earnest and genuine in you; and fruitless you shall stand like a barren tree amidst a rainforest. You are free will, first and foremost, believe it. There’s really no telling just how far you will travel and nothing can ever hold you back.

Post holiday stress mode

Dalia Hosn Staff Writer

F

inals…I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not think about it.

That is to say, if my brain still retained the capacity to think, which I don’t think it has. In fact, I just woke up from a way-too-long coughmedicine-induced sleep to the sudden realization that I haven’t even begun studying for my exams or writing out my research papers. Why? Not because I’m lazy or am an insincere student, I just happen to have been on something called a ‘Holiday’– defined by Oxford University as

a 1) time away from work or school, 2) a legal day off. I see no amendment to that definition that entails or justifies my work and school stalking me on the holidays.

Maybe it was the cough syrup, but it definitely seemed to me that every time I looked around, my books were practically taunting me and filling me up with guilt at thoroughly ignoring them. Well, excuse me if I still believe in the inherent value of spending some good old-fashioned quality time with family.

Don’t you just love it when your teacher says something along the lines of: “But you had the whole break to work on it?” The key word in that sentence being: Break.

Angst and pointless whining aside, however, I really must say that there is something very wrong about the way this break is set up.

Even though we love to whine about how short it was, in fact, it was just long enough for our brains to revert back to Summer Vacation Mode.

Op-ed

You know that time right after the summer break, when you have to remind yourself that can’t go to sleep at 7 in the morning anymore, because that’s when you’re class starts? Yeah, this feels just like that. To make matters worse, we have semester break to look forward to.

Yes, I said worse, because I’m sure everyone also knows Summer-Vacation’s-AboutTo-Start Mode, wherein you drag your feet to every class and can’t wait for it to end. Add to that the fact that most of us have the flu and are sporting a crazy cough and runny nose, and the fact that the weather finally seems to have caught up to the fact that it’s winter….

What you’ll get is a bunch of really disgruntled students who are in no mood to study.

This isn’t just a mood thing, folks, this is a mental and physical problem. If only we lived in Europe or the States, where their Christmas break is their semester break, and they can actually get to relax.

Finals week from a MLSPian point of View!

Mohamad Al Medawar Webmaster

T

he week of finals is not so different from any other week when it comes to MLSPians, or Medical Lab Science Program Students! Yes, it is a major offered at AUB in case you’re wondering. Basically, our major is a mixture of biology, chemistry, and clinical pathology, in addition to a fourhour daily training in AUBMC labs. Exams, be they oral, written or practical, are part of our daily lives. Moreover, our exams are basically a direct implementation of what we’ve learned, although sometimes it seems that our professor has given us a Med III level exam just to tease us and watch our facial expres-

sions during the test. What’s more horrifying are our oral exams that are usually a test of our entire knowledge in clinical pathology and Medical laboratory techniques, and not just the subject we’re being tested for. The reason behind it is that our courses have so much in common.

In fact, they cover the same topics but from different aspects and multiple systems.

For example, we study about pathogens in Microbiology and Parasitology, but we perform techniques and implement methods of their detection in serology and blood bank. So in essence, every exam requires us to revisit a huge amount of information that we might had studied months earlier.

During our training in AUBMC labs, we pass through 10

labs including Bacteriology, Hematology, Parasitology, Clinical Chemistry, Serology, Blood bank, Pathology, Cytogenetics, and Molecular Biology. Now imagine that for every lab, or rotation as we call it, since we rotate from one lab to another, we have to do an oral, written and practical exam, not to mention presentations, experiments and lab reports. This training extends over three consecutive semesters, one of which is a summer semester. Apparently, it seems that this period isn’t enough to go through all labs extensively, so we are denied the official Christmas and New Year’s break, and the inter-semester break in order to fulfil our required hours in the labs. Yes you heard me right, no New Year’s break, and no inter-

semester break, except for a few days set by the government as official breaks. So in that sense, we are treated as AUBMC staff!

All this seems horrifying and gives the impression that we are imprisoned in our cage of extensive studying.

But believe me, once you get a hang of the routine, and the way things go around in our neighborhood, things seem much easier! And believe this, as Medical Lab Students, we enjoy life and social activism more than you could imagine. So I hope that by reading about how others are suffering in horrendous majors, you might look up to the sky and thank the Almighty that you’ve maybe chosen an easier way to go through college!

Jan 11, 2011

Outlook

out of the box

The Outlook team Chairperson

Talal Nizameddin

Faculty Advisor

Cleo Cacoulidis

Responsible Director

Antonios Francis

Editor-in-Chief

Rami Diab

Associate Editor

Timmy Malkoun

Editor at Large

Yahia Hamade

Arabic Editor

Mariam El Ali

Photography Editor

Salim Batlouni

Layout Director

John Hajjar

Members at Large

Samer Bu Jawdeh Giovanny Reaidi

News Executives

Heather Jaber Maya Sfeir Mostafa Fadlallah

Web Master

Mohamad Al Medawar

Business Managers

Sally Khalifeh Lara Traboulsi

Staff Writers Khodor Abu Daya Nader Al Ahmadieh Fouad Badaoui Caterina Belardi Amir Bitar Jackie Daoud Sarah Al Dirani Edrees Elrachidi Mark Francis Dalia Hosn Elie El Khoury Aziza Khalil Yasmin Fansa Yumna Ghandour Maryam Hoballah

Lynn Itani Anis Kadado Tala Kardas Wajiha Jurdhi Kheir Sherif Maktabi Marie Nakhoul Rita Obeid Rami Panayoti Yasmine Saab Joseph Saba Amer Sare Mohammad Yaghi Emile Fares Zankoul Rayane Zahreddine Lama Zakharia

Photographers Mohamad Alameh Tariq Buhilaigah Dima Hajj Nadi Nassar

Lotfi Al Salah Wael Salem Antoine Salloum

Cartoonist

Deedee El Jilani

Outlook is a weekly publication of the American University of Beirut (AUB) and represents the voice of the student body. It is an independent, non-affiliated publication that favors no ethnic, religious, or political group. All columns, articles, and reports are the property of Outlook and do not necessarily represent the views of Outlook or the AUB community. Outlook welcomes all contributions. Authors please include full name, major, ranking, and contact information for verification. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way, shape or form without the written consent of Outlook and/or higher authorities. Outlook reserves the right to edit all material. © Outlook 1949

11

Psyched Out

Rita Obeid Decreasing cravings for junk food

While browsing through the web, thinking of a new Psyched Out article that would be a little different from the regular introductions to a certain disorder, I came across an interesting study on cravings. It is indeed common that most of us have a certain urge to indulge in that hot brownie on the table, or the various kinds of chocolate bars at Abou Naji’s. If so, then read on. People tend to think that there is nothing to do but either resist the craving or just give in to it. It is mistakenly believed that such cravings are biological and only natural. However, one study begged to differ.

Researchers from the Health Psychology Unit at the University College of London demonstrated that such urgings for delicious treats are in fact an acquired habit which develops through learning and conditioning.

The author of the study used college students to find out whether people could actually be trained out of their cravings. The sample included both, students who love chocolate and those who are indifferent to it. As part of the procedures, students were required to eat half a bar of chocolate twice a day for two weeks. Half of the students ate the bar 15 minutes after a meal, while the others waited at least two hours after their meal before having the chocolate bar. Results showed that those who have been eating chocolate on an empty stomach tended to crave sweets more than those who had been eating the treat on a full stomach. When the students had chocolate on a full stomach, their cravings decreased and so did the pleasure of the taste. These results seemed true for both chocolate lovers and those who seemed indifferent. Thus, it seems that eating sweets when one is not hungry tends to train the person to like it less. Importantly, other researchers replicated the results with food that are rich in energy and low in calories, such as dried fruit bars, and the results were very different suggesting a different effect for such foods.

Therefore, it is possible to state that one can avoid cravings when one avoids such unhealthy foods when very hungry. Such a decision is not as easy as it seems, but could be perceived as evidence for the reason why people who eat small amounts of food throughout the day often seem slimmer and healthier.

Crossword Puzzle

This week’s crossword puzzle is centered on tv trivia. Scan your answers and send them in to readoutlook@gmail. com before the end of the week for a rare chance to win a complimetnary dinner for two at KOI Sushi bar, based in Gemmayzeh, Beirut, Lebanon!

ACROSS 1. What was Reverend Jim’s real last name on Taxi?

3. On Friends what was the name of Ross’s monkey?

5. What was Roscoe’s dogs name on the Dukes of Hazzard?

7. What is the longest running animated series on television?

8. On September 26, 1960, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy participated for the first time in what?

DOWN 1. On The Drew Carey Show what foreign country did Mimi send Drew to?

2. In Fresh Prince of Bel-Air what was the butler’s name?

4. Who was the first female to host Saturday Night Live?

6. Every episode of “Seinfeld” contains an image or reference to what superhero?

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