The recent problem that emerged between Nathan Clayton of the Office of Student Affairs, and Outlook unfolds many questions that we thought had been answered a short while ago.  The first question is: who protects whom on campus?  The second question is: who on earth is AUB hiring?
   On the first question, let us cut the story short.  AUB hired a consultant, Nathan Clayton, on a six month basis.  AUB provided no information about the background and the credentials of the newly appointed officer.  In a short period of time, the officer appeared to be running the student elections, directing student activities, and handling the Student Work Scholarship program.  Both the Faculty Senate and the University Student Faculty Committee questioned the administration about Clayton's situation as an officer with no identified position.
   Then, after a small disagreement with the Palestinian Cultural Club, Clayton attacked Outlook.  Before Outlook even published a letter which the PCC had addressed to President Waterbury on March 1, Clayton replied to the PCC on March 2 and attacked Outlook by describing it as an "ill-advised, potentially corrupt student publication."  After Outlook published the PCC letter on March 13, Clayton burst out and e-mailed many members of the AUB community, describing Outlook as an irresponsible newspaper.
   We at Outlook were waiting for the University administration to protect us, at least to summon us to a hearing to learn about our point of view after Clayton's accusations.  Instead, Clayton sent out e-mail after e-mail, unchecked, to other members of the community, thus propagating more insults against Outlook.  
   With the help of some faculty members, Outlook went to an attorney-at-law.  The attorney, an AUB alumnus, assured Outlook that it had not committed any legal mistakes and volunteered to protect it under Lebanese law.
   Lack of protection seems to be prevalent on campus.  The administration has a record of not protecting its students and faculty (not in terms of physical security).  The story of the former dean of students chasing a female student to her dorms has become famous.  We assume no action was taken, at the time, except perhaps for an oral reprimand. 
    Stories of student mistreatment--shouting, impoliteness--are everywhere in AUB offices especially in the Financial Aid Office.  Students and faculty members have a feeling that they are second class citizens of AUB as opposed to the first class ruling administration.
   On the question of whom AUB is hiring, the administration might have an answer, a lame one though.  The administration made it clear that it is not unusual for an institution to hire someone who turns out to be not the one it thought it hired.  Fine, we will not hold the administration responsible for a single mistake in hiring employees.  Yet, the way we see the problem of hiring people, is far beyond a single mistake.
   One proof is enough to sustain our whole argument: the disappearance of the Office of Student Affairs.  This Office disappeared long before the disappearance of former Dean Kevlin.  Anyone who remembers the Student Affairs team, which was doing a fairly good job two years ago, would understand what we mean by disappearance.  Remember Fawzi, Salma, Janan, Raghida, Ghada, Ahmad, Samir, Tarek, Halim, Gladys, and others?  They are all gone.  Only Therese is still holding  her position, reinforced by Talal, whose job description has not been defined yet.  To top it all, West Hall itself will be absent for the next four or five years (and I'm ready to bet on a longer duration of the renovation).
   The AUB administration could not have been more systematic in dismantlinging the most vital student office.  Of course the dissolution was not intentional, but the employment policy has not so smart. either.  They replaced all the people mentioned above either with incompetent officers or with ones who came to work at AUB as part of their sabbatical vacation, planning to leave after one year only. 
   Consequently, hiring the wrong person is much different from dispersing a whole working group without replacing it.  Hiring Kevlin was a minor mistake on the part of the administration, but instability exists not only in the Office of Student Affairs.  Look at the head of the Registrar's Office: three different names in two years.  Look at the Office of Financial Aid and the Comptroller's Office.  Do you feel continuity? Of course, not.
   We want the administration for once, only for once, to admit to some kind of failure.  We keep debating issues about financial affairs, faculty, research and the administration is always on the defensive and is always denying our claims and its own inadequacies in many respects.  This time, allow us to safely assume that they have failed in their employment policies, and they have failed big time.