Raghed Al Hassan is an agriculture student.  However, his major doesn't explain at all his interest in drawing and art in general.  Last fall, this passionate and dynamic 22 year old undertook all the stages of forming a new club at AUB, with the paper work and bureaucratic conditions imposed by the administration. 
 After much perseverance, Raghed succeeded in reviving the former Art Club with the encouragement of his fellow students of CS 222, a drawing class taught by painter and former 1970s Art Club president David Kurani.  "This previous Art Club," Raghed explained, "was stopped shortly before the 1975 war due to the bad conditions in the country."
 The new Art Club, however, was able to launch its first drawing sessions last fall, with the dedicated help of its adviser, Political Science Professor Judith Harik.  Raghed recognized the lack of organization that overwhelmed the members during the first month. Thus, Raghed and the committee launched a new platform of activities at the beginning of the current semester.
"All that we needed," said Raghed to Outlook, "was some guidance, i.e. to be able to learn techniques with the help of professional artists.  Therefore, I knocked at the door of the Lebanese Association of Artists for Drawing and Sculpture.  Two meetings later, the people responsible agreed to provide us with some of their members willing to come and lecture to us on a voluntary basis on different art topics."
Since Raghed's initiative, the Art Club meetings with the professional artists have attracted new members.  The last two Wednesdays, at the regular meeting hours, Nicely 402 was crowded with newcomers, all interested in taking advantage of the voluntary teaching of the most popular art media techniques.  Indeed, where else could they learn for free, with all equipment graciously provided through the club's budget, pastel, water color, acrylic or even oil color techniques?
"This semester's program will end," added Raghed, "with a professional lecture on mixed media, where several art techniques are "melted" on the same support, were it on a canvas or by using other means of expression."  Every drawing technique is covered under three main topics: still life, portrait and landscaping.  Therefore, each member will be able to practice his method under different perspectives.
The first meeting this semester took place on Thursday, March 1. An Iraki painter, Salam Omar, explained to the students the use of charcoal for still life compositions. The artist provided his audience with different tips as well as new techniques and methods he himself developed to "look" in a sensitive manner, with real depth, at still lifes. 
Portrait painting was the subject of the second session led by two professors from the Lebanese University, also members of the Lebanese Association. This portrait session, for which two Art Club members agreed to pose as models, was animated by Bassam Kiryllos, a professional sculptor and painter, and Raouf Rifai, a painter who also has a PhD in interior design and lately has exposed his work at the 3-D Gallery.
"Our next meetings," said Raghed, "will also be treating different techniques. On Saturday, March 17, we will be going to the Aley Symposium to draw the sculptures exposed. In addition to that, an exhibition of our work is planned after the Easter vacation."