The Revolution of Spring Semester 2011 at The American University in Cairo
SARA El Kady
27.05.2011
LEAD-IN:
Along with the changes that have taken place after the January 25th revolution, the
American University in Cairo also witnessed change. A- U-C's Sara El Kady reports.
(Start w/ music: “Nassini El Donia” by Khaled El Bakry, minutes: 00:00-00:19 – FADE
IN, then under)
The American University in Cairo, known to many as (A-U-C), witnessed a major
change in the spring semester of 2011. It all started in Cairo on January 25th when Egyptians
gathered as a start of an exceptional uprising. It was a start of a revolution; the first Egyptian
revolution with no leader. Every Egyptian who participated in the revolution was standing for a
cause; a cause that united millions of Egyptians into one Square; Tahrir Square, and then
expanded to the whole Egyptian land, soon to become a fuss like no other.
(Music: “Final Fantasy – To Zanarkand”, minutes: 00:00-01:11 – FADE under)
A-U-C was also involved with that change. A lot of A-U-C students and professors were
in Tahrir Square; creating history and documenting it. A-U-C theater Professor Mahmoud El
Lozy:
ELLOZY: “I think AUC probably was one of the biggest stars in this operation.” (:05)
It is better for students to study in a semester with such dynamic issues taking place. Journalism
and Mass Communication Professor, Mohamed Selim emphasizes this point:
SELIM: “ Lively actions will add to your own perceptions, will add to your own
experiences, right?!... you will get information in the classroom in a very peaceful mode;
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but when you go and watch the news, when you go and participate in a protest, when you
go and – securely of course, safely of course- but when you go and get experiences that
you can get back to the classroom and share it with your peers, you are affecting more
than one person, you’re not only affecting yourself; affecting many people who did not
partake in that protest or in that for instance, political Uh… party, political
demonstration or even political movement, so you can always affect them positively…
hopefully.” (:41)
(Music: “Sout El Horreyya” by Hani Adel and Amir Eid, minutes: 00:00-01:11 – FADE
under)
The A-U-C community managed to become politically aware people. Selim, is very optimistic
about the effect of the January 25th Revolution on the academic semester and the enrolled
students:
SELIM: “students are happy, students are eager to learn, are eager to participate not
like the previous semester and..uh.. and they are politically aware and that’s a very
important aspect especially for my Propaganda Public Opinion class. Plus,in the past
five years that I taught that class we were always reticent whenever we discuss politics.
We’re not always eager to express and many of them even didn’t know what exactly is
happening in the political scene; but right know they know the constitutions, they know
the amendments, they went and voted for the first time…uh… in the constitutional
amendments referendum… uh… which is very positive and they are feeling that there is a
new air and they are part of it; and that’s very important. A new air and they are
contributing to that air.” (:43)
In that specific angle, Arwa Damon Reports for CNN:
CNN NEWS: “For Egypt’s technology generation the talk these days for the most part
not longer centers around the newest app or hottest model nor although quite visible, the
latest fashion trends. On the campus of A-U-C it’s about government and for many, for
the first time, their role and their country’s future… A revolution that not only changed
Egypt, but transformed many of these young minds…” (:26)
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(Music: “Final Fantasy – To Zanarkand”, minutes: 00:00-01:11 – FADE under)
(Music: “Final Fantasy – To Zanarkand”, minutes: 00:00-01:11 – FADE under)
A-U-C students have gained a lot of political knowledge and so they became more aware
of their role and contribution towards the society. As a result of the Egyptian revolution, they’ve
started to move this activism along with them on campus.
(Nat sound: AUC Prayer (00:00:00- 00:00:06)
(Music: “Final Fantasy – To Zanarkand”, minutes: 00:00-01:11 – FADE under)
Students have organized prayers for martyrs and created Facebook groups, such as “A-UC-ians for Egypt” which promotes for the country’s improvement. Creator of this Facebook
page, Ahmed Saafan, a Construction Engineering student at A-U-C:
SAAFAN: “Everyone needs to do something, but people doesn’t know what to do.
Everyone has the will and has the power but they just need directions.” (:06)
Not only that, but they also utilizing their activism in rejecting on campus issues.
While influenced by the uprising, students started demanding the removal of A-U-C staff who
are “old regime”-related; General Ashraf Kamal, head of the university’s security office and
Former State Security Official, and Mohamed Dabbour, the Director of the Office of Student
Development (O-S-D) and National Democratic Party Member. In one hostile protest that took
place on April 11th, 2011, they were both asked to leave those positions at A-U-C.
(Nat sound: AUC Protest (00:00:25- 00:00:37) FADE IN).
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This protest actually resulted in concrete results. Although General Ashraf Kamal has
joined A-U-C in 1999 and over the past 12 years has been working with the A-U-C community,
he finally decided to resign.
(Music: “Ya Blady” by El Shafei and Ramy Gamal, minutes (00:00:00- 00:00:32) FADE
in, then under)
Not only were students’ attitudes altered, but also the existing students on campus are not
as diverse as they used to be in the previous years. Due to the instability of the country, many
universities around the world have canceled their study abroad programs in Egypt and required
to either take their students back to their homeland or transfer them to programs in other
countries.
(Music: “Batman – Ankham’s Asylum”, minutes: 00:00-02:05 – FADE under)
According to AlMasry AlYoum newspaper, Associate Provost of International Programs
at A-U-C said that of about 340 international study abroad students enrolled this Spring
Semester, only 24 remain. The others were able to go home in time to enroll in their home
universities. Travel advisories, the US State Department and other governments led to a number
of universities requesting students that leave, as many parents also did.
Regardless of the financial losses that are facing A-U-C due to the loss of that huge
number of foreign students, A-U-C Provost Medhat Haroun shares a positive view regarding the
effects of the revolution on the semester:
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HAROUN: “Actually it was in some sense it was positively affected because we
introduced new courses that covered the revolution and we modified other courses and
then we planned a lot of workshops.” (:14)
Professors were also influenced by the revolution although each has his own vision about it.
EL LOZY: “First of all it’s not a revolution… yet! For the moment it looks like it could
also be a counter revolution because we are seeing the Mubarak regime, the NDP, all of
the political forces that were present at that time being recycled to appear in a new
updated form,” (:24)
Explains El Lozy, who insists on calling it an uprising:
EL LOZY:” the effect of the uprising, that’s what I’m calling it, the uprising on the
semester was basically that it.. it.. it delayed the opening of the university two weeks, so
we had to make readjustments for the semester. In my own personal case in the case with
the students who are working with me on a play,
(Music: “The Chronicles of Narnia Soundtrack”, minutes: 00:00-02:46 – FADE in, then
under)
we started rehearsing in the 13th of January when we were scheduled to open on the 13rd
of march and then after the 25th we stopped rehearsals for over two weeks then we
started again then we.. we scheduled for.. Uh… I think the 31st of March and then there
were a few days when there were troubles on the streets because of the thugs of the NDP
and State Security also were sort of terrorizing people, we couldn’t get students to come
out here at night for rehearsals or whatever so we canceled rehearsals for like 4 days so
we had to postpone again until April the sixth.” (:56)
He also explains that his theater students, although interested in the play, they’re still altered by
the protests from earlier this year.
EL LOZY: “The students, not in the classroom as much as in the… in the rehearsals they
were… they wanted to be out there in Tahrir. They wanted to do other things, they felt…
Yeah they wanted to do the play, but to them suddenly things that were happening outside
may have been more exciting.” (:14)
Understandingly, El Lozy added:
EL LOZY: “Sometimes the drama in the streets is much more exciting than the drama
that’s on the stage. And..uh… and when you have millions of people going out, change is
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taking place rapidly and so on, no drama can compete with that … No drama can
compete with these particular moments in history when you have, you know, mass
movements of people who want to be free, who want change, who are breaking their
chains. You can’t beat that.” (:30)
Adding on El Lozy’s point, Denise Waszkowski, Rhetoric and Composition instructor, says:
WASZKOWSKI: “If you can adapt to the changes in Egypt, you have gained a skill that
you can use throughout life because the world as we know it is highly complex and
rapidly changing… It’s an essential skill to be able to adapt to change.” (:15)
The January 25th Revolution is NOT the only issue that hugely impacted A-U-C.
SELIM: “What I truly remember that when the swine flu started to outbreak in Egypt, it
was in the summer and I wasn’t teaching that summer; but when we got back in the fall
of 2009 I think every single aspect pertaining to the academic life, including students,
parent of the students, the classroom, was changed. It has to be hyginated, it has to be
sterilized, students were afraid. And I had a very eary incident at two of my classes that I
teach one per every class caught the swine flu and my class out of everybody else in the
department was canceled for a week, so… it was a disaster pertaining to the academic
shadowal; but it was human, everyone was caring for the other, everybody was looking
forward, “if you need anything I will get back to you,” and we conducted the classroom
online, virtually via Blackboard, and we kept the… the routine going.” (:57)
(Music: “Only Time” by Enya, minutes: 00:00-01:24 – FADE under)
Selim recalls two other incidents that has affected A-U-C when he was a student.
SELIM: “Back in 2001, 9/11.”
(CNN REPORT: This Justin, you are looking at obviously a very disturbing live shot
there. This is the World Trade Center and we have unconfirmed reports this morning that
a plane has crashed into one of the towers of the World Trade Center).
SELIM: “people were afraid, people were shocked and security personnel in downtown
campus were very vigilant, and determined to make sure that nothing happens to the
American University in Cairo. The second one was in 2003, The Iraqi War; The
American lead invasion on Iraq; Lots of protests, lots of upbeat protests in the streets of
Cairo, especially in Downtown which our school was there. We were afraid; people were
trying to get in AUC just because it was the “American” university in Cairo. I truly
remember that just like it happened yesterday.”
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(Music: “Nassini El Donia” by Khaled El Bakry, minutes: 00:00-00:19 – FADE IN, then
under)
Although each of these circumstances have had impacts on A-U-C, the revolution still
marks the most significant event, since it changed more than just one thing. It influenced the
ideologies and attitudes of the community. It is a sign of the “real” change at A-U-C as it created
a whole new enthusiastic spirit that will always remain in the hearts of A-U-Cians.
(Music: “Final Fantasy – To Zanarkand”, minutes: 00:00-01:11 – FADE under)
Thanks to to all of those who contributed to the documentary: interviewees: Professors
Madhat Haroun, Mahmoud El Lozy, Mohamed Selim and Denise Waszkowski; and student
Ahmed Saafan.
Special thanks to Mom who has been handling my preparations and facilitating the
atmosphere for me to work, My brother who kept critiquing my work, Lojain and Hesham who
pushed me to get the documentary done in May and professor Kim Fox who taught us such a
wonderful skill.
Sound bites from CNN News Reports are included in this documentary.
Music: Khaled El Bakry’s Nasseeni El Donia ; Final Fantasy To Zanarkand’s Soundtrack
; Enya’s - Only Time; Batman’s Arkhum Asylum Sountrack. The Chronicles of Narnia’s
Soundtrack. Aziz El Shafei and Ramy Gamal’s Ya Blady; Hani Adel and Amir Eid’s Sout El
Horreya.
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