HEWLETT-PACKARD
The Gibson Interview
JRMC 2202
Amr Zaghloul
21-Oct-14
This document consists of the thought process and procedures that the interviewer went through. Also,
the full interview transcript is provided.
The original plan was for me to interview a particular professor at the American
University in Cairo. Dr. Mohammed El-Komi, economics professor, came to interest a while
back. Komi, was cased by several students in his previous ECON class, last semester. This case
in particular is still an ongoing investigation by the Economics department, but as for some
students, they claim that the case is not going anywhere. As a journalism student, I thought Dr.
Komi would be the perfect person to interview, regarding this particular case. Trying to
understand his point of view on it and his opinion will allow me to hear the second side of the
story. Stopping by his office, several of times and trying to get a hold of him was almost
impossible. Komi was almost never present during his office hours nor did he reply to my
emails. I finally encountered him in the hallway and he recognized me by my email. “Ahmed
Zaghloul, I presume?” Is what he said. I corrected him with my name and he was rude about it.
He told explained to me how he was very busy and how I should never ask for an interview the
way I did. Komi told me to stop by next week and this of course passes the deadline.
Running out of time, I remembered a Rhetoric instructor adding me on Facebook, a few
weeks back. I never attended class and I have never had a conversation with this man. Mr.
Gibson, is what students call him. I have noticed how popular he is with many students and
how friendly he is. It defiantly grabbed my attention because of the relationship he has with
most students. I messaged him on Facebook and he replied right away. I liked that a lot and we
scheduled an interview time for Tuesday October 21, 2014, 12 hours prior to my message. He
was very flexible and understanding, which made my life a whole lot easier.
Transcript

The recording has been modified and shortened.

Interviewee has accepted the Oral History Agreement

The recording may be unclear due to poor sound quality
In this recording:
Amr Zaghloul (Interviewer)
Michael Gibson (Interviewee)
Tuesday October 21, 2014
1:40 PM
Amr Zaghloul: Alright, may you please state your name.
Michael Gibson: Michael Gibson.
Zaghloul: Michael Gibson, and you are a RHET professor?
Gibson: Instructor.
Zaghloul: Instructor okay, and how many years have you been in Egypt for?
Gibson: Nine, nine and a half.
Zaghloul: Nine and a half years, wow that’s a lot.
Gibson: Yeah.
Zaghloul: Why is it you choose to stay?
Gibson: Cause I like it.
Zaghloul: You like it okay. Okay so what do you like about Egypt? No, I’m curious. I’m serious!
Gibson: I like the culture the people, ummm I like the mmm, I like the… That’s the main thing.
Zaghloul: The people and the culture?
Gibson: Yeah.
Zaghloul: And, uh wh, where were you before Egypt?
Gibson: I was in America and just before I came here, I was in Florida and just before that
California and before that Idaho.
Zaghloul: Florida.
Gibson: Yeah.
Zaghloul: That’s nice.
Gibson: Mmmm.
Zaghloul: Alright, and I’ve realized, I’ve noticed that on Facebook you have, I have noticed that
you have a lot of students on campus and not most professors do that, most instructors do
that. They like to keep a distance between, a relationship between the student and the
instructor so why is it that you choose to have a good relationship with a lot of student?
Gibson: First, I wanna know why, why you think most instructors like to keep that distance?
Zaghloul: That’s a good question.
Gibson: Why respect has to mean like distance? You know? I think, ahh, it could be on friendly
terms with students. It could be still a mutual respect I guess. How to define respect or what
you think of respect, what does that mean? There’s different types of respect, there’s the kind
of formal respect for someone older and are different position and then there’s respect. Just
like you know, treating each other well and being kind, that’s respectful too, in a way.
Zaghloul: Okay.
Gibson: So you earn a kind of respect and that’s a real respect from the heart and then there’s
the obligatory respect. It’s because I have to show the respect because he’s older. So, I don’t
like that. I don’t like that someone if they like me other than for who I am and for, yaani (Arabic
saying), my traits and for my relationship, then it’s real.
Zaghloul: Has there been any, like, problems or yeah, problems mainly from students, that are
friends with you, because of the relationship you have with them. Like do they cross the line
sometimes or have you faced anything?
Gibson: I think, I think there’s a risk and I think it’s probably like some students they, they think
maybe we are on friendly terms. So, they think , you know, that I should let this deadlines slide
and only miss a bit and not penalize them for it. Or maybe just bump up the grade a little bit,
we’re friends after all, aren’t we? So, can’t you just move that eighty-nine to a ninety and I
detected that, yaani, I try to like politely tell them, you know look, there’s our friendship on one
hand and at that point I don’t know if that friendship is real or not. It’s like what I mentioned
before, about what’s real and what’s fake, then I start questioning like all was is real from the
beginning or if this was all about trying to get something, you know? So, but I politely without,
you know, I don’t like to embarrass people, so I just I don’t know, look I can’t fo this, it’s
unethical and they usually act like it was a joke, “nah, I’m just joking man, I’m joking.” It’s all
cool.
Zaghloul: Yeah.
Gibson: So, I tell them like, you know, grading is one thing and like our relationship is another
thing and all my relationships, I want to be like, ummmmm, I don’t wanna cross the line
ethically with anyone that I love. I don’t believe in this, you know, for my own family or anyone.
I mean ethics are ethics.
Zaghloul: Mmmhm so…
Gibson: And if someone is like this, then I even question like, ummm, even in this friendship,
there’s this person on this level, ethics aren’t here. Then I really see, I, I, there’s something
wrong. Ahhh, there probably have been times were there may beeee something was happening
that I wasn’t even aware of it, bas I think there have been a couple of times where people have
been trying to take advantage of that and I, I address it the best I can tell, you know, fairness to
me is very important, I’m fair to everyone and by the way, this is a violation of the academic
integrity and is reportable, it called unfair advantage, you know, advantages unfairly over
others. So, I point that out and yes, it scares me. I do mention this to the whole class before,
that don’t try to bribe your professors, don’t come in and try to like kiss ass or whatever. This is
actually a violation of academic integrity that is reportable. So, you’re taking a risk, it’s not just
plagiarizing papers, it’s not just about cheating in exams. It is kinda shit that I know happens
and it’s just everywhere.
Zaghloul: Everywhere.
Gibson: It’s a reportable violations, so be careful.
Zaghloul: And at the same time it’s upsetting that you opened yourself up to these people and
at the end of the day they’re trying to find a way to take advantage.
Gibson: Yeahh.
Zaghloul: Mmmhm
Gibson: It’s always depressing.
Zaghloul: Depressing. Yeah, it’s depressing.
Zaghloul: I see!
Gibson: Whenever you recognize someone as phony. You realize, yaani, you do lose your faith
in humanity.
Zaghloul: But on the bright side, you gain a lot of benefits from it.
Gibson: Yeah, because you still have, have enough people to prove themselves sincere and
overtime and some that you never have in class and they’re upper class and you’ll never even
have in class but you meet them through other things like clubs and sports and whatever. Or
you meet them outside in the club or whatever and you realize, yeah, they are real because
there is no other. It seems they are not trying gain, there is nothing they are trying to get. It’s
just normal, you know, and connections and we have good relationship from the beginning and
even after the fact that today we still have a good relationship, hahaha. I have one that you
failed me and he repeated and failed again and he repeated the third time and when he was in
the third time he is coming to me and joking, “man, I’m in this class for the third time and after I
failed with you I failed with somebody else.” So, yaani, there are those too, yaani, some that
work really hard and they earn grades and we have good relationship, you know. You know, it
runs the gamut of all different kinds. We have a variety but yeah, it gives the whole back to
humanity, faith in humanity there’s enough people that are…
Zaghloul: So, you don’t judge a good student by their grades but by how they treat you and how
they treat others, basically?
Gibson: Ahh taban (Yes, of course), I tell them that by the way.
Zaghloul: That’s great.
Gibson: I say look, you know you might be the average student you might have really
impeccable character, very honest, very trustworthy, I’m telling your right now, that this is what
employers look for more that high GPAs. I know from experience, my dad has hired and fired
many many people over the decades. I have been in positions to hire and fire and what we care
about more is character than your grades, so personality and character are of course a fair
amount.
Zaghloul: We’re gonna have to cut it short but uhhh, I honestly interviewed you to day because
of from the rest of the professors and faculty members is because of what I said earlier, the
relationship you have with students and I believe that most the the professors should try to
have to same ideology in this.
Gibson: Hmmm.
Zaghoul: So, I thank you once again for the short notice.
Gibson: You’re welcome.
Zaghloul: Thank you so much, alright.
Gibson: What’s your major?
Zaghloul: I’m a journalism student
Gibson: You are a journalism student?
Zaghloul: Yeah.