By Sadeen Fayad | Staff Writer
PSPA 235, or “Human Rights and International Law”, is a Political Science major course that examines the development and relevance of institutions and instruments concerned with human rights, and then considers problems of human rights issues in selected countries and their impact on regional and global actors. Each semester, students are required to choose a Human right they see is absent from their community and try to make a difference in that regard.
This course is taught by Professor Zeina Mohanna who is a lecturer at AUB as well as a Humanitarian that works with large scale NGO’s and INGO’s like “Amel” as well as the United Nations. When asked for the reason that she chooses to use project based learning in this course, she stated that Political Science students should be pushed to make a real change before graduating and going to the field. Adding on, she explained that when she was a student at AUB, she felt like the major lacked the field work necessary for students to make decisions. She also stated that when she decided to come back and become a professor, she wanted to create this shift in how human rights courses are taught in AUB.
Maria Hamarni, a PSPA student who took this course, previously worked on a project with Naya Kouas and Tala Youseff. They created an initiative called “Kalami” with the aim to give students access to school material during the economic crisis.They reached out to two schools in Bourj Hammoud and then collected donations in AUB through a stand. From the proceeds, they were able to purchase the material for the students. Their project positively impacted around 250 students, which is why they decided to keep their on-going as they are currently in the process of re-collecting aid. Maria also expressed how important projects are in Political Science majors, and stated that more courses should be addressing the field work PSPA students need to learn.
This semester projects regarding period poverty, aiding a local mini market, filling a public school library with books and more are being worked on, all of which are much needed due to the crisis occurring in Lebanon. Will these projects grow after the semester is over?