Every year, Antonine University (UA) welcomes hundreds of students holding many dreams and ambitions. These young men and women often have a clear vision about their future; they already know what they want. Their projects might still be in the draft stage, nevertheless UA has made it a point of honor to participate in their achievements by conveying advanced and specialized academic knowledge to them, but also, and as importantly, by helping them develop essential transversal skills, such as self-determination; in other words, the capacity to decide for oneself what is wanted. For sure, at Antonine University, one good place for students to voice their opinion is the Pool Étudiant de Concertation Universitaire Antonine (PECUA).

The PECUA is a listening space and a barometer of student opinion. In concrete terms, nineteen young "ambassadors" regularly communicate the suggestions and concerns of students as well as their aspirations and new ideas. They attend on behalf of their peers the faculty councils, but they are not allowed to participate in voting or meetings to evaluate students learning outcomes. Their role is to defend the students' interests in front of the University entities and find together suitable solutions for all students, or at least for the majority of them. Overall, it is a practical exercise of democracy! Lastly, PECUA members should, at all times, provide to their peers a listening time, which during the current sanitary circumstances will be done through e-mail or MS Teams.

Becoming a member of PECUA is an opportunity that is not granted to everyone. It is necessary to meet some strict criteria, such as being a full-minded person since only the valedictorians (by faculty, department, and campus) are eligible for the title. Therefore, delegates are chosen based on their grades. However, having the highest GPA in their faculty or department is unfortunately not enough, as PECUA delegates must also have validated a specified number of their required credits. It should be noticed that faculties with more than 500 students enrolled are allowed to have two representatives, such as the Faculty of Engineering, the Faculty of Business Administration, and the Faculty of Sport Sciences.

Once they are nominated, these bright students meet to elect one representative per campus to attend the UA Council and participate in academic decision-making affecting the student body. A total of three seats are reserved for the student delegates.

It’s a heavy task, full of responsibility, but significant too, since it keeps a strong link between the student community and the governance of the University. This personal and collective commitment on behalf of these delegates is fortunately recognized by Antonine University, which salutes their efforts, responsibility, and engagement throughout the academic year by reducing their tuition by three credits.

The elections of PECUA members for the academic year 2020–2021 took place in October 2020. Following is the list of the elected members:

HADAT-BAABDA CAMPUS
Faculty of Engineering
Afrah Hassan
Yara Chehade

Faculty of Business Administration
Jana Sarkis
Roberta Saber

Faculty of Sport Sciences
Joe Maroun
Marianne El Mdawar

Faculty of Public Health
Patrick Dagher

Faculty of Music and Musicology
Malak Hachem

Faculty of Information and Communication
Maroun Ferjallah

Faculty of Theological Sciences and Pastoral Studies
Wissam Wakim

MEJDLAYA-ZGHARTA CAMPUS
Faculty of Engineering
Rony Hattab

Faculty of Business Administration
Olivia Habak

Faculty of Sport Sciences
Aurore Fenianos

Faculty of Public Health
Paula Bou Antoun

Faculty of Music and Musicology
Rony Nicolas

NABI AYLA-ZAHLE CAMPUS
Faculty of Engineering
Marie-Thérèse Fakhry

Faculty of Business Administration
Mahmoud Al Ahmar

Faculty of Sport Sciences
André Tannoury

Faculty of Public Health
Elsa Chebib