AUB celebrates free intellectual discourse on its 141st anniversary

"It [is] indeed a source of pride that despite the past few years of war, political stalemate and economic stagnation, the university has been able to carry on its mission and to honor the great responsibilities the founders passed on to us," said AUB President John Waterbury in his opening remarks. "I am sure that the struggles going on outside our walls are reflected inside our walls-in the ranks of our faculty, staff, and students. But so far, all members of the AUB family have demonstrated remarkable maturity and not allowed their feelings to interfere with their duties and their work. Daniel Bliss would be proud."

Inaugurated with a formal procession of faculty members, the ceremony also included the announcement of the student essay contest winner, senior economics student Randa Adra. The annual student essay contest is open to all AUB students who were invited this year to write an essay that addressed the topic: "Do AUB's politically active students share the institution's values or do they share the values of their political mentors off campus? Is there a difference?"

The winner received a $500 cash prize, in addition to having her name carved on a plaque posted in Assembly Hall.

Winner Randa Adra argued in her essay that the fact that AUB promotes diversity, freedom of expression and tolerance, it has succeeded in teaching politically active students to respect each other, despite their diametrically opposed views. As a result, AUB students have not resorted to violence or fist fights to prove their political arguments, in spite of the politically charged atmosphere of the country that, more often than not, is reflected in students' discussions.

"As a university that has embraced diversity and boasts students holding flags of every color, it has also succeeded in implementing a system of mutual respect and understanding," said Adra, reading her winning essay. "Whether it is through strict disciplinary measures, unyielding security, or simply building reverence for the integrity of the institution, even the most politically charged students remain composed."

Keynote speaker Professor Samir Makdisi, a former economy and trade minister, overviewed AUB's strengths and weaknesses, as an institution.

As a member of a through-and-through AUB family, Samir Makdisi was introduced by Waterbury as belonging to one of those families who are "guardians of the flame." Indeed, Makdisi's father, Anis, was a dominant figure at the university and its Arabic studies program, and has lent his name to the Anis Makdisi Program in Literature, an interdisciplinary program that was established in 2002. Now, Samir Makdisi's son, Karim, is an active member of the Political Studies department, teaching international relations.

Samir Makdisi was also deputy president of AUB from 1993 to 1998, welcoming Waterbury to his post.

In his speech, Makdisi lauded AUB's liberal arts education, noting that it is exposure to the humanities and the ideas of great thinkers across the ages that can teach students the various notions of justice, freedom, morality and social responsibility. "Being truly educated means being familiar with these and other arguments having to do with human values," he said, emphasizing the importance of human freedom as a value. "For developing technical expertise in isolation of the wider knowledge imparted by liberal education is not, on its own, a recipe for human development."

However, Makdisi added that human freedom as manifested in democracy is not an end in itself but a requirement for human development. "Democracy [as a manifestation of human freedom] is not only an end in itself, but gives people a voice and a constructive role in shaping values and norms," he said.

Makdisi also commended AUB's espousal of freedom of expression and free intellectual discourse while conceding that on a few occasions, the university had to curb some of this freedom to protect itself from the chaotic and violent political environment it found itself in. He added that AUB has a role to play in promoting such free intellectual discourse.

"In our region of the world, where democratic practices and governance are, to say the least, wanting, and where a major regional conflict continues, universities such as AUB have a crucial role to play in fostering the intellectual discourse that helps bring about desired change," he said. "Maintaining a free intellectual environment clearly would strengthen AUB' role as a center for discourse on public policy issues as well as encourage students to develop their own minds on matters of great import to the development of their societies."

Then Makdisi prodded AUB to ensure that all forms of discrimination on campus be abolished. He also asked administrators to work hard on keeping AUB education competitive in the region, by recruiting and maintaining highly qualified faculty.

Finally, Makdisi encouraged AUB to expand its role as a cultural bridge between East and West, by forging "more systematic links with select Western academic institutions, especially those with their own Arab or Middle East programs."

He also noted that AUB owes part of its success to its location in Lebanon, which acts as an enabling environment. "Were this country an autocracy, it is doubtful that liberal education could have flourished in it," he said.

The ceremony ended with the AUB Choir led by Professor Paul Meers singing the Alma Mater. The choir had also performed Claude Debussy's "Dieu qu'il la fait bon regarder," during the ceremony.