MGLEB01: POLITICAL ORGANIZING ON CAMPUS: A MIRROR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIRUT 000922 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/ELA; INFO R, NEA/PPD, NEA/PI - KIRBY, DRL - BIRKLE, ECA/PE/V, ECA/A/E E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV KPAO KDEM KMPI SOCI SCUL LE SUBJECT: MGLEB01: POLITICAL ORGANIZING ON CAMPUS: A MIRROR AND PREDICTOR OF NATIONAL POLITICS Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Student politics in Lebanon mirror the country's national political scene in intensity, organization and confessional breakdown. Highly structured partisan organizations with motivated and dedicated student members compete in time-consuming university elections to demonstrate the strength of their party and dominate political allegiances on campus. This process both confirms and reinforces confessional political affiliations of young Lebanese at an early age, making the goal of a cross- confessional Lebanon even more difficult. END SUMMARY. All Parties on All Campuses -------------- ¶2. (SBU) According to youth activists from Free Patriotic Movement (led by Michel Aoun),Future Movement (aka Future Current, led by Sa'ad al-Hariri),Lebanese Forces (led by Samir Ja'Ja') and Amal Movement (led by Nabih Berri),all of Lebanon's major political parties are well-organized and active on the country's university campuses. Typically, an executive leader and deputy -- usually 20-something volunteers with university political experience under their belt -- work with a student cabinet on regional and functional issues. Regional leaders coordinate activities with campuses in their home district or alma matter. Functional leaders direct contact between the party and students. The Amal Movement replicates the structure of the Lebanese government, appointing student "ministers" to follow specific issues and regions. In both cases, direct lines lead to the regional, and even party, leader. ¶3. (SBU) Student party leader positions are unsalaried but greatly sought after nonetheless for ambitious young politicos. Although none of the regional, functional or campus leaders are female, young women have more representation in on campus political activity than in national politics. Young women are represented in all parties, on all campuses; they play an especially dynamic role, albeit still at a secondary level compared with their male colleagues, in the Free Patriotic and Future Movements. Campaigning on Campus -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Some universities, including USG-supported American 
University Beirut (AUB) and Lebanese American University (LAU),ban political parties on campus. But, innocuously named clubs often become virtual parties with known allegiances. AUB students in their most recent elections, for example, knew that candidates for the 93 seats on the elected Student Representative Committee (SRC) belonged to two lists mirroring those of the parliamentary elections -- regardless of the use of pseudonyms and student club names: "You vote either pro- or anti-March 14," explained a senior business student, referring to the alliance of Hariri- Jumblatt-Samir Ja'ja'-Qornet Shehwan that took its name from the mass cross-confessional demonstration of that day in ¶2005. "The elections this year are all about proving a point," said another student, carrying an orange banner (the color adopted as a trademark by Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement). ¶5. (SBU) At AUB, for example, elections for the SRC are held in early November. Even the AUB's official publication "AUBulletin Today" acknowledges that AUB student elections "have never been separate from the country's political sentiments. Not unlike in the May-June Lebanese parliamentary elections, this year's candidates were divided into two large groups, with some independents trying their luck against the big fish." ¶6. (SBU) Campaigning on campus isn't, however, about improving campus life but rather an opportunity to demonstrate a party's strength on campus as an indicator of its national importance. Party activists know that their ability to win on campus boosts their standing-and future prospects-in their party. A Lebanese Forces activist in his late twenties boasted that his success on both on Christian- majority Fanar campus of national, public Lebanese University and Jesuit, French-language St. Joseph campus, earned him public praise from his party's leadership. Other Amal Movement organizers spoke proudly about their success BEIRUT 00000922 002 OF 003 in increasing their position on the AUB campus. Winning elections also gives authority to organize on-campus events in line with a political ideology. ¶7. (SBU) Many students bemoan the time elections demand while boasting that their grades often suffered because of their intense involvement. One senior Free Patriotic Movement activist bragged he'd taken seven years to complete his three-year undergraduate degree because his involvement in student politics had caused him to fail so many classes. Similarly, a Lebanese Forces Engineering student claimed he stayed a sophomore for four years in order to keep his position with his party and the popularity he believed accrued from it. Early Recruitment For Lifetime Loyalty -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Political parties start recruiting adherents as early as high school. Although some university activists criticized this effort to solidify party allegiances so soon, they also acknowledged the race to capture political market share by signing up younger and younger voters. After all, one late-20s Future Movement activist told us, "Everyone is doing it." Almost universally, representatives from all parties told us that their aim was to "get to them early to mold them." Said one, "We want to encourage them to think like us. to teach them through a certain lens." ¶8. (SBU) At public Lebanese University, for example, where appointments for deans and department heads are determined with political/confessional considerations in mind, student party activist are not infrequently given student lists to facilitate recruitment to political parties. At other universities (all private),obtaining access to student databases, appeared remarkably easy for party activists. A former Lebanese Forces student representative claimed that party loyalists in the office of the registrar or working in the IT department were ready to help. "By regulation, universities distribute the lists to all candidates two weeks before the elections, but having them two months earlier makes the whole difference." Information Flow and Funding -------------- ¶9. (SBU) A primary goal of campus political organization is to create and maintain channels for information to flow from party leaders to their supports. A recent meeting of 150 university-aged Aoun supporters recently north of Beirut was part pep rally, part information dissemination. The subject of this particular meeting was outlining reasons behind Aoun's recent agreement with Hizballah. As many of the young party faithful read neither newspapers nor have regular access to the internet, meetings such as this are important to strengthen party cohesion. ¶10. (SBU) Parties fund campus activities in different ways. The Future Movement provides the most generous financial support to its campus Hariri Future Youth groups. Other campus groups, with less financial support from their parties, raise funds through social events or by soliciting donations from supporters. The funds cover election costs and maintain enhance name recognition and reputation: "You should always remind the students of your presence and let them feel your support," a young partisan explained, adding his party passed out stress balls with the party's logo during exam time. He asserted party funds were also used for providing air-conditioners to classrooms and photocopiers to departments. ¶11. (SBU) Student political organizers all volunteers are often motivated more by ideological than professional goals. Although students may remain active in party politics after university, no established way exists for moving from student political leadership into the actual bureaucracy of the party. Nevertheless, for some, party involvement holds out the hope of political connections that may eventually promote professional success. ¶12. (SBU) COMMENT: The unique nature of Lebanese political organizing, particularly with youth, presents both challenges and opportunities for advancing USG democracy. The young age at which parties begin BEIRUT 00000922 003 OF 003 recruitment underscores the importance of our engagement with high school students, through USG- funded programs such as the ACCESS English language scholarship program and recruitment for exchange programs such as YES and MEPI leadership programs. Our FY 2005 Single Country International Visitor Leadership Project, "Young Lebanese Leaders and the U.S. Political System," not only introduced nine youth leaders of political parties to U.S. party politics, but also promoted cross-confessional, cross-party dialogue and relations that continues one year later. Embassy Officers will continue to seek out avenues to engage with student leaders, including young women, to promote better understanding of the democratic process and to discuss reform and democracy. FELTMAN