Religion on Employment Applications By Rana Siblini ---             The majority of AUB students log on to the University web site to check their mail, get the latest sports news or activities, verify their transcripts or search the on-line library service. But only a few of them are interested in verifying the "LB Registry," for example, or other similar sections.  Unfortunately, on one particular day I decided to back away from the majority and see what AUB offers to the world on its web site. Therefore, I clicked on Employment on the main page, and I was not surprised to read the following:     "It is the policy of AUB to provide an equal employment opportunity to all employees and all applicants for employment regardless of their race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, citizenship or Vietnam Era Veteran's status. This policy applies to all of AUB's activities, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, assignment, training, promotion, or any other term or condition of employment."  I say "not surprised," for this is a well-known American type of policy--to provide an equal opportunity for all people, regardless of any kind of difference among them.  Actually, this statement is something encouraging, especially for the Lebanese people who are characterized by "mixture."      A few days later, I determined to get an application for a part time job vacancy at the University, because the last statement of fees was somehow hard for my parents to overcome, but financing is a large issue apart. Accidentally, I headed to the wrong place to get the application form, and instead of going to the Office of Student Affairs, I found myself in the Personnel Office in College Hall, where I was given an application with many blanks to fill in and that I had to return at a specific date and time. And so, later that day, sitting at my desk, staring at the employment application, I read the following: "Position desired," "Name," "Salary expected,"..."Date of birth," and so on. All these seemed relatively normal information questions.  Then I saw "Nationality," "Previous Nationality,"  and then even "Religion & Sect"! Recalling the employment policy on the AUB web site, the one dedicated to the world public, I was confused to find this mismatch.      Is it all about giving a good image?  Pretending to be someone else or to do something when actually we are doing something else,  is a form of hypocrisy. The application forms available in the Personnel Office are different from those in the Office of Student Affairs.  Naturally, those forms in the Student Affairs Office do not include such discriminatory questions, so the students can feel the equality among them, long promoted by the AUB mission. But today's students may be tomorrow's applicants for employment, and then again the hypocrisy would still be unsolved. It is true that some of these former students, or any Lebanese or foreign applicant, would notice and realize what I just discovered, but they might also neglect the whole matter and go on filling in the rest of the form, pretending that nothing was wrong...as long as they might get a job at the American University of Beirut.     A final question remains unanswered: who knows where else we are being offered false images, false beliefs and false trusts?  Once lost, confidence is hard to regain. Thank you, AUB.