The Social Sciences students’ graduation ceremony took place on the 19^th of July 2018 at the Campus of Science and Technology

Parents were moved, professors were proud of their students, and students were thoroughly savoring their final moments of university life. On July 19^th, 2018, emotions ran high as the 240 students of the Campus of Social Sciences graduated from the Faculty of Law and Political Science, the Institute of Political Science, the Faculty of Economics, and the Higher Institute of Insurance Sciences at the Campus of Science and Technology in Mar Roukoz.

Speaking first, Rev. Salim Daccache, s.j., Rector of USJ, expressed his pleasure in welcoming the guest of honor, H.E. Mr. Nawaf Salam, former Ambassador and Plenipotentiary Permanent Representative of Lebanon to the UN and judge elected to the International Court of Justice. He then applauded the graduates, saying, “Your professionalism, thoroughness, and dedication to your work will make you the leaders of your generation in your respective professional environments. A true leader is one who has a vision of the tasks incumbent upon him, but who is also led by values, simple, universal, verifiable values of three kinds: first, social values, such as sharing, fidelity, being true, solidarity, listening, protecting everyone’s dignity and growth, justice, and freedom. Second, the civic values of which your country is in dire need, both for the present and future: respect for others and for pluralism, tolerance, democracy and acceptance of the other’s opinion, and respect for the public good which belongs to everyone and not a specific few. Third, intellectual values, for our bodies are not solely guided by their needs but also by our spirits who have their own set of values, such as critical intelligence instead of prejudice and superstition, wisdom instead of extremism, science instead of quackery, art and creativity instead of fatalism, and caution instead of extravagance.”

Introduced by Mrs. Léna Gannage, Dean of the Faculty of Law and Political Science, H.E. Mr. Nawaf Salam first congratulated the new graduates and then, after having given a brief overview of the state of the world today, stopped at the situation of the Arab world, where “we find ourselves faced with an almost generalized governance crisis and a number of weakened States.”

“Dear graduates,” he continued, “your fate is not to remain inhibited citizens in an unfinished State. It is high time we were able to build in our country a State which, all while safeguarding the diversity of our society, also recognizes its members as truly free individuals who are equal in political, civil, and social rights.”

“Be innovative and entrepreneurial. Remain open to others, and let your imagination run free. It will be your best resource for success in your professions and activities. Values must be your compass,” he added, before closing with the words of Martin Luther King, Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

In addition, Abbas el-Halaby, President of the Alumni Association of the Faculty of Law and Political and Economic Sciences, congratulated the graduates and announced, “As a jurist and former judge I, like many other Lebanese people, am saddened by the situation of our country that has not changed in the past several decades: it has grown farther away from the rule of law – a state it has not been able to return to since the end of the war – and the majority of its existing laws is in dire need of modernization to keep up with new issues. As citizens and lawyers, you will also be faced with this situation, but I am deeply convinced that Lebanon will ultimately find the rule of law once more, for it is the only light at the end of this dark tunnel: the light of social peace and prosperity. As lawyers educated at USJ, you are called upon to participate in this march forward, regardless of your future career prospects, regardless of where you will live. It is all of our duty to try and give back to Lebanon and to our universities a part of what they so generously offered us. To those who are going to stay in Lebanon to face this challenge, I say good job, and to those who will opt for different horizons, I say: don’t be long, Lebanon needs you.”

For their part, Mr. Georgio Abboudy and Mr. Karim Zein, students of the Faculty of Law and Political Science (FDSP), delivered a speech on behalf of the students before the handing out of diplomas to the audience’s applause.