Scuffles after Student Protesters Try to 'Storm' AUB

Scuffles erupted Tuesday between student protesters and security forces outside the American University of Beirut on Bliss Street.

The National News Agency said security forces “pushed the protesters away from the university’s buildings after they tried to storm it.”

The protesters later moved to the university’s seaside entrances.

Earlier this month, riot police also scuffled with students protesting a decision by top universities to adopt a new dollar exchange rate to price tuition -- equivalent to a major fee hike. Security forces fired tear gas near AUB during that protest to disperse protesters who were trying to approach the main gate.

Students responded by throwing water bottles and other objects at riot police blocking their path.

The protest came in response to a decision by AUB and the Lebanese American University (LAU), another top private institution, to price tuition based on an exchange rate of 3,900 Lebanese pounds to the dollar.

The nosediving currency is still officially pegged at around 1,500 pounds to the greenback.

The move has prompted fears that other universities could follow suit, potentially leading to an exodus of students from private institutions while public universities remain underfunded and overstretched.

Over the past year, the Lebanese pound has lost up to 80 percent of its value on the black market. Universities have struggled to adapt to the de facto devaluation as prices nationwide have soared.

Commercial banks have halted dollar transactions and restricted withdrawals of Lebanese pounds, in moves that have starved many of their savings. 

According to the United Nations, more than half of Lebanon's population is now living in poverty.