Date: Fri, 4 May 2012 10:45:55 -0400

Subject: Re: Important - Please read immediately
To: outlook@aub.edu.lb


Dear all,

Since there are a lot of new email adresses here, which means that there
are a lot of new faces around (not necessarily a good thing always), most
of you might not know who I am, especially the people who joined Outlook
this year. I was on Outlook for my last 2 years and proofread the newspaper
in my last semester in addition to writing for it occasionally.

I'm not going to do like what other Outlook alumni did and take it to the
Facebook world, it's bad enough that this article is already going viral
and everyone who can read and think they can write is taking a shot at this
paper. The last thing we need is more humiliation, especially from our own
people. And since there's this email here, I figured the best way would be
to criticize constructively here:

First of all, no words can describe the level of disappointment I feel for
this newspaper. Honestly, on behalf of everyone who I worked with, we are
all disappointed. All the hard work we put in, all the hours that we worked
to restore and maintain Outlook's credibility; if you guys didn't flush it
down the drain throughout the year, you DEFINITELY did now. It's all very
funny considering how high the hopes of the former staff were considering
the very successful previous year.

I'm not going to address the guy who wrote the article, other than saying
that he probably shouldn't be writing for this newspaper, and if he plans
on picking this up as a hobby or write somewhere else, just make sure to
get your facts straight, and seriously work on your grammar. For God's
sake, you're a student at an American university. How hard is that?

I just want to know who allowed him to join the newspaper. Don't we have a
standard for writers here? Who were the "editors" that checked this article
to see if it's worth publishing or not? For crying out loud, did you
actually READ the article? Did you actually see the HORRIBLE grammar
mistakes in that article? Do you guys just publish articles for the sake of
filling space? A solution to that would be an ad or a cartoon.

We had a similar incident with a homophobic article a few years ago, and
you know how it was handled? An apology was run and the staff member who
wrote that article was fired. It's called taking responsibility for your
actions.
Yes, Outlook has not been without its problems but it is the staff's
dedication and constant efforts that helped us respond to these issue and
rise beyond them. Anyone who has been following the newspaper this year can
see that the final product is a reflection of half-hearted work and very
few instances of dedication. Look, if you aren't willing to give this your
100%, including providing the needed arguments to support your work- as you
may have learned in ENGL 203 and 204, don't do it!
Seriously, it spares the editors (who were clearly overwhelmed with exams
and end of the year activities that they couldn't exercise their proper
judgment) a lot of work, and prevents things like this backlash from
happening.

I can only wish you good luck and hope that you see this incident as a
learning experience- after all none of us were or are experienced
journalists, though we can still tell right from wrong and hatred from a
well supported, clearly written opinion.


*Regards,*
**
*Concerned Outlookers*


On Fri, May 4, 2012 at 3:45 AM, AUB Outlook <outlook@aub.edu.lb> wrote:

> Dear all,
>
> We've recently received a lot of backlash for publishing a homophobic
> article in our latest issue. We will be issuing a formal apology on behal
f
> of Outlook to the public, so I would just like to let you all know
> beforehand. If anyone asks, please re-direct them to me or to the
> readoutlook email account, and any AUB student is within their right to
> write a rebuttal to this piece. We will be reserving a spread in the next
> issue dedicated to the replies of this article.
>
> I would also like to apologize personally to any of you who were targeted
> because you are a part of article. The best we can do at this point is
> apologize, though the viewpoint remains the authors own. This next week
> will be hectic and please talk to me if you have any concerns.
>
> Last note, and terrible timing, but we're still on for international star
> wars day , and will be screening the event tonight at 7pm at CHSC rooftop
.
> Those of you on the stand today, keep in mind what I have said above, and
> don't let it discourage any of you from attending tonight.
>
> Happy international Star Wars day, and, officially, May the Fourth be with
> you.
>
> -Lojy
>