Last June has passed, and most of this month, with Lebanon in a kind of mourning over the bloody strife and the painful disturbances that spread through all its regions, turning its mountains, its plains, and its coasts into fields of battle in which innocent lives were lost, and Lebanese families, tourists, and summer visitors alike were driven from their places.
The public and private occasions that Lebanon was accustomed to celebrate in this season were all suspended, and not a single voice rose in gladness and joy. Even the school ceremonies at which diplomas are distributed in the colleges and schools at the end of every June were confined to the simplest of forms; neither families nor friends were invited to them, and their traditional rites took place in the administration office or the president's house, according to circumstances.
At the American University of Beirut, each faculty was invited by itself to the president's house, where the diplomas were distributed to the successful graduates, men and women, among them a number of the friends and supporters of The Woman's Voice, of whom we mention three:
1 – Emily Abi Rashed Nasrallah, one of the permanent
editors of this magazine and absolutely the closest of its friends. Last year, as readers will recall, she was married to Philip Nasrallah, doctor of chemistry; and this past June brought her two happy surprises. The first was her firstborn — her heir apparent — whose birth took place at the American University hospital, and the joy of family and friends in him was great; and the second surprise was Mrs. Emily's winning a Bachelor of Science degree in education. She sat for the examinations by herself, a short time after giving birth, and passed... Our sincerest congratulations to dear Emily and to Mr. Philip; and were it not for these abnormal circumstances we should have printed here the picture of the precious "little one," whose name we still do not know!!
2 – Layla Abu Dahir And Layla, too, is a close friend of the magazine's family. She is twenty years old, and she won a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry, Arabic literature, and education, ranking first in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of the American University in combining these particular subjects. Layla Abu Dahir is intelligent and ambitious. She intends to teach for two years abroad, then to return to complete her studies and obtain a master's degree and a doctorate. To her, our deepest congratulations and best wishes.