Several stories have been told about what happened on the evening of Monday August 21, 2000.  No matter which version is the most credible, there was a general feeling that everyone present at the Green Oval that evening was confused in one way or another.  The confused were Rafic Hariri and his band, the administration, and the anti-Hariri protesting groups.  That night every group committed, or had perhaps previously committed, at least one mistake.  Adding these mistakes together, the chaotic night was the normal outcome of these committed errors.
	To start with, Rafic Hariri was surprised.  It certainly was not the way he expected AUB to thank him.  Where did he go wrong? After all he had donated a huge amount of money to the AUB community.  Furthermore, he did nothing illegal.  No statement in the Lebanese constitution limits the amount of money that can be spent during any electoral campaign.  Plus, nothing in AUBÕs regulations prevents Hariri from donating any sum of money he pleases and at anytime he prefers.
	Hariri was then perhaps seeking electoral publicity for himself.  So what? Why did AUB accept his donation?  Why did not the Board of Trustees (and among them HaririÕs rival Dr. Salim Hoss) come together and refuse his donation? On the evening of August 21, I firmly believe that Hariri did nothing wrong.  Yet students had every right to demonstrate.
	Students were demonstrating, not against the $ 10 million donation, but against the New Lebanon that Hariri keeps promising them.  Lebanon should become an open market for foreign investments (and here you have to excuse my ignorance of economics and its terminology).  
	Hariri is holding a banner on which he has written: ÒWelcome multinational organizations.Ó  What happens if an American multinational organization launches its business in Lebanon? It might employ some Lebanese expertise.  But on the other hand, any profit that it gains will be withdrawn to its headquarters.  Therefore, give this organization enough time and it will drain Lebanese capital anytime it pleases (Remember, for instance, the economic crisis which occurred in the once-flourishing Far Eastern economy after which sectarian strife started in Indonesia?).  Capital will flow from Lebanon to foreign countries and the Lebanese youth will also flow out of their homeland to pursue their living somewhere abroad.  And since capital faces no borders while human beings do, the Lebanese will have two options: Either to live in debt and in poverty or to cease living.  Hariri committed his mistake long before he had stepped into AUB that evening.
	The second party present at the August 21 show was the AUB administration.  It had also committed many mistakes: Who decided whom to invite to that ceremony? Why was the student government (the University Student Faculty Committee - USFC) not informed beforehand? ShouldnÕt students be represented in such big University events?  What happened to the transparency policy?  No figures on the cost of the newly established Faculty of Business were presented? How did the administration come up with an estimate cost of $ 40 million if they didnÕt have any numbers?  Many students felt that AUB would rather use HaririÕs donation to eliminate its eight million dollar budget deficit.  
	Amidst the exploding demonstration, I headed towards AUBÕs Vice President for Financial Affairs John Bernson and asked him how the $ 40 million would be spent.  He answered that he had no numbers yet.  I asked him about the location of the new building for the Faculty of Business and he had no better answer.
	We all know that AUB is always desperately seeking funds.  Yet, the ceremony to announce HaririÕs donation was, to say the least, unplanned and disorderly.   It frankly deserved such a chaotic and embarrassing scenario.
	The third party was made up of the students.  They had every right to protest against Rafic Hariri, the politician.  But they had no right to throw AUB into the heart of political turmoil in the country.  And guess what? The anti-Hariri students were surprised to see their pro-Hariri colleagues suddenly organizing themselves and thus acquiring similar media coverage.  The pro-Hariri faction at AUB has been dormant for the past few years.  Yet, that evening they suddenly emerged.  The anti-Hariri factions, and especially the pro ex-MP Najah Wakim faction, intended to show Hariri and the media that Hariri was not welcome and was not popular among AUB students.  To their astonishment, the Lebanese public was given the impression that there are Hariri supporters --which is not actually the case -- at AUB.
	Claiming that AUB suppresses freedom of speech on the part of students was also a bluff.  We all know that AUB has become such a safe place for the expression of freedom of speech.  Remember when the US Ambassador to Lebanon David Satterfield escaped enraged students last March? The administration respected student opinion and did not issue any statement of apology to the American Embassy.
	Furthermore, students proclaimed the wrong slogans for the right cause.  Accusing Hariri of being a supporter of business majors is a fallacy for we all know that, due to the demand of coming students,  AUB is only trying to supply a good business school.  Majoring in business in the Middle East has become so popular that it is pushing all universities to direct their efforts towards developing their business schools and AUB is no exception.
	Even though we accept all kinds of demonstrations as means of free expression, on the occasion of the ceremony, students did not seem to be only protesting.  When you protest for a cause, you seek attention at first.  Once enough attention is granted to you and you have the floor, you must discuss your problem and hear what the party you are protesting against has to say.  At the Green Oval, Hariri was forced to put away his written speech and to improvise.  Yet, students never wanted to listen to what he had to say or to reply.  They simply enjoyed their noisy stimulation.  
	Another false argument was the one which said that all AUB students are rich while all Lebanese University (LU) students are poor.  Plus, if Hariri had donated his money to LU, the argument of buying off the LU students for electoral purposes would still stand.  Thus, there was no point for the demonstrators to call upon Hariri to give his $ 10 million donation to LU instead of AUB.  That night of August 21, students went wrong big time.  Opposing Lebanese parties have succeeded in turning AUB into an arena for their political battles and students were the tools.
	As I stood next to the platform trying to carry on with my duty of covering HaririÕs speech, deep down inside I was delighted to see how such an almighty billionaireÕs arm could be twisted in front of his band members, who could do nothing to save him the embarrassment.  I was also overwhelmed to see what happens to the Administration when it carries on with its least planned events.  I was also pleased with the way students took out their frustration.  Whether it was right or wrong does not matter.  Students were frustrated and no matter who visits AUB, they will give him/her a hell of a hard time.  They need to be heard and they seek the worldÕs attention even if they miscalculate the repercussions of their actions.  After all, everybody goes wrong but we, the students, still have time to remedy our mistakes while they, the elder generation, have committed so many errors that are surely unforgivable.