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Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Campus News
Geology/Petroleum Studies football match in honor of Munib Masri Ahmed Kamali Special-to-Outlook On May 15, 2011 a petroleum studies student Munib Masri was protesting on the LebaneseIsraeli border when he was shot by an Israeli soldier in the back. After weeks of surgery and treatment to his broken spine along with other injuries Munib, the grandson of an AUB board of trustee member Mr. Munib Masri, left to the United States to continue treatment. One year later, his former classmates honored him through the first annual “Munib Masri Geology/Petroleum Studies Football Match.” When asked about it, friend of Munib’s and fellow Petroleum Studies student Bilal Dirani said: “We don’t have many people in our department, so we are all very close. So when something happens like that it affects us all. It’s like family.” The game took place on May 9 with approximately 30 students, graduates, professors, and even the Chairman of the Geology Department participating. The teams were divided by colors, with one team choosing to wear black and the other, white. The game ended 4-3 for the black team and incorporated hilariousness and your
typical sports controversy. At one point a goal for the white team was called off for having too many players on the field. In the end everyone obviously had fun and enjoyed the beautiful afternoon on Charles Hostler Green Field. The main reason for the event was kept in mind by all and hopefully through this newly annual event Munib’s boldness and bravery will be remembered for years to come.
Dinner in the Dark article Rana El Jarrah Staff Writer As part of their quest to support visually impaired people the AUB Red Cross organized a “Dinner in the Dark” at La Piazza restaurant. The dinner was unique because the participants had to eat while blindfolded, in effect empathizing with the visually impaired. On each table the participants were joined by visually challenged people, where they conversed and received tips on how to eat in the dark. The evening was lovely and people easily conversed together, with good food to match. The experience of having to eat while being blindfolded is unique and enriching. For about an hour, the participants had to give up their eyesight and know how to deal with their environment. At first the task sounds easy but once one is blindfolded one find himself/herself in another world. The person enters a world in which he/she has to rely on his/her other senses to construct an image of their environment. This is difficult to do and some people were peeking or removing the blindfolds in order to see their food. The experience was fun yet challenging. Mariam Osman described her experience by
saying: “It is challenging and difficult to live what the visually challenged go through every day, even it is just for a few minutes.” What the participants went through describes a minor part of the everyday life that the visually challenged go through. However, despite the fact that they are unable to see, they go on living their lives just like everyone else. One of the visually challenged people who attended the dinner was a student named Rawan. She is not completely blind, though she has lost most of her vision. She is a second year student in the Lebanese University, studying journalism, and is doing well in her studies and has an internship. She keeps a positive attitude about everything around her. Rawan does not allow her weak vision to stop her from reaching her goals and trying new things in life. A disability does not make a person any different from another. This dinner reminded everyone that people are the same despite their weaknesses. As fun and unique as this experience can be, it makes one appreciate having good eyesight. It reminds everyone that they take so many things
for granted. Something as simple as eyesight is a blessing that people do not appreciate as much as they should until they feel what it is like to lose it. Zouher, a participant at the dinner advised that “people should try this even at home so that they start appreciating what they have more.”