Skyping with Phil

       There’s something about being told that you shouldn’t go to class because you have an important Skype meeting that’s quite amusing.

       On Tuesday, while I was rushing to my Topics in Current Affairs class, or as I’d like to call it Social Media 101: how to use it without looking like an idiot, we had an important conference with a man named Phil. On Skype nonetheless.

       When I asked to be briefed, I was told that apparently journalism majors were being granted the opportunity to pitch their stories to Phil, who is a highly distinguished journalist with some 50 documentaries to his name. I was fascinated. Especially when his face appeared on a large screen.

        One by one the students pitched their stories and I must say I was impressed with some of them. They revolved around playgrounds, polluted water, sexist lyrics, and Lebanese tourism. I found it highly successful, and Phil's words were quite reassuring and enthusiastic. But all that came to startling halt when his face froze for an amount of time that seemed to elongate with every passing second. Safe to say we were able to rectify this sorry state of bad internet connection that Lebanon has unfortunately been cursed with but it left me with the feeling of absolute cynicism.