Since its foundation in 1866, the American University of Beirut has been known and praised for many things: we always hear people envying the University for its academic excellence in the region, for its democratic model and practice expressed during the elections and the student bodies. Nevertheless, the most important attribute of AUB is its model of national unity and integration, where we claim and stress the role of AUB concerning social harmony with respect to sects and regions in Lebanon. Don’t we all brag about the example and lessons we are giving to the Lebanese in democracy and unity? However, did anyone try to questions those claims and attributes? Is AUB really a place for integration?

One of the many indicators of social integration and unity in the university is student organizations, and here I want to stress on student clubs. Two years ago, when I first came to AUB, I noticed the healthy plurality of student clubs in the university. However, I was intrigued by the presence of some regional Lebanese clubs, i.e. named after a region in Lebanon and committed to introduce AUB students to their cultures. Still, I didn’t imagine myself belonging to those clubs since, coming from a different region, I felt somehow excluded. One would understand the existence of clubs concerned with promoting the culture of foreign AUB students, since indeed there are cultural differentiations between the different countries in the Arab world, and foreigners need some comfort and feeling of being home through their compatriots. But why do we have Lebanese regional clubs?

During my two years in AUB, I haven’t witnessed any activity done by those clubs fulfilling their statement of purpose, which is promoting the culture of those regions. Maybe there have been a Dabké done by one club, a village night by another club, other than that we see activities of political nature. Those clubs are only contributing to social disintegration and partition amongst Lebanese students in the university. It is observed by the fact that each club contains member that come from a single region, differentiating themselves in a sharp way from the rest of the Lebanese community. That is dangerous in a time where the Lebanese society is being divided by politics, manifesting itself through regional division. Instead of digging small cultural differences between different regions in a small country we should stress on the cultural aspect and identity that overarches the Lebanese society.

Soon we will have not only clubs for the South, Bekaa, or the city of Baalbek, but we will have the club of the North, or Tripoli, the club of the Chouf, Club of Metn, and why not the club of Beirut. And this cultural and social detachment will be sharpened and may be damaging to the AUB community. The signals of social integration in AUB would be clubs aiming toward social harmony between Lebanese, trying to find common goals and aspiration to attain. Establishing a common culture for the Lebanese society while celebrating different subcultures, ought to be a mission statement of a Lebanese cultural club. Such a club would help to forge a common identity and culture amongst Lebanese. Instead of all those clubs, this Lebanese club will do activities that build bridges between regions, not the contrary. We are in a reconstruction period; let us use it to build bridges between us!