A snapshot of 21 February 1946: hundreds of thousands of students crossing the Abbas Bridge, demonstrating against the British occupation in Egypt, and condemning the killing and arrest of thousands of their colleagues two weeks earlier on that very same bridge — et voila, the national Egyptian Student Day was declared. Twenty-eight people died during clashes with the British forces in Tahrir Square, 432 were wounded, and the spark spread like wildfire to other governorates. That very same day, Syria, Sudan, Jordan and Lebanon announced a general strike in solidarity with the Egyptian students. That was the highlight of Egypt's student movement history. In the past two years, the country has witnessed a revival of the student unions where the spirit of the 25 January Revolution was greatly represented and continued within private university grounds, whereas most student unions of government universities were not as active or “loud”. However, it's safe to say that students of public universities were more visible as individuals during marches to Tahrir Square and Al-Ittihadiya palace. The American University in Cairo (AUC), British University in Egypt (BUE), Nile University (NU), Misr International University (MIU) and German University in Cairo (GUC) all had their fair share of protests, sit-ins, demonstrations and petitions. Some demands were answered, while others were extinguished by punishment or legal action. The dispute which gained the most attention was the problem of Nile University. “Today, NU is a settlement,” Ahmed Nassar, head of the Student Union, exclaims. NU students and professors have been facing the dilemma of not being allowed to enter their campus for almost two years, as the entrances of the premises are surrounded by security guards, dogs, and policemen. The background is as follows: Even though a recent court order gave NU students and staff the right to return to the university's campus and proceed with their academic activities. Nobel Prize Laureate Ahmed Zewail was promised the university land by former prime minister Ahmed Nazif to establish the Zewail City of Science and Technology which will mainly deal with scientific research and development — just as Nile University is doing already. The students began a sit-in on 20 August 2012, resuming their classes in tents in front of the campus gates and actively trying to continue their academic processes. Some even pursued their graduate degrees under these circumstances. Although a court order clearly attributes the land to NU, President Mohamed Morsi issued a presidential decree a couple of weeks ago for Zewail to obtain the land. “We do not know what our future will look like since we are banned from the premise that allows us to do our research, study and earn a degree,” Nassar explains. “As students, we believe in the university and we have become more loyal to it through what has happened. We are up for the battle.” Another recent incident that caused an uproar in Egypt's universities was the death of a freshman in front of Misr International University. The campus is located on the Cairo-Ismailia Road. Antoine Sameh was waiting for a microbus to take him home when a truck ran him over. The vehicle was driven by a 14-year-old. “We've been demanding a pedestrian bridge and other safety measures in front of the university for two years, as many students and patients of the university's educational clinic use public transportation from and to university. Yet, nobody ever listened to us,” Halim Al-Shaarani, a student at MIU, explained. In protest, MIU students blocked the highway for five minutes after demonstrating on university grounds. As Abdallah Morsi, the son of the Egyptian president is enrolled at MIU, the marchers chanted ‘What would you do if Abdallah was the one who was hit?' When trying to do the same the next day, public relations officers and some other students tried to prevent the demonstrators from leaving the campus. The situation escalated and fights broke out, while security guards just stood watching. When students went to the nearest police station to give an account of what had happened, they found that the university had already filed reports against three of them. “I am proud of my colleagues and I hope that security measures will soon be taken on the road,” Al-Shaarani added. “The university also filed a report against me at the police station, but investigations had not taken place yet and I do not think they will.” On a parallel note, demonstrations and sit-ins at the German University in Cairo had a political flair. After Karim Khozam died in the devastating Port Said football match incident last February, his colleagues protested on university grounds against the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, holding it responsible for the death of the GUCian. This led to the investigation and expulsion of several students and a teaching assistant, all of which whom were members of the Student Union. Soon a media war began between the university and the protesters. The demands of the demonstrators were the immediate return of their expelled colleagues and the implementation of a referendum on a modified university policy and bylaws, which gives more rights to the students and the election of their student union. After calling for civil disobedience and staging an 18-day sit-in, the expelled students were allowed to return to their academic activities — after getting a court order that the expulsion was illegal. “Such a step with an aggressive impact was one of the least expected options,” Hassan Othman, one of the expelled and “military-tried” students explained. “I understood that there was a lot of tension between students, including myself and the administration but I didn't expect that it would reach a stage where I'd go to the state council to defend my case.” Yet, the battle was not over. Little did the students know that some of them would have to face military trial later on; luckily the court found them innocent. Unlike the GUC, the American University in Cairo faced student rage concerning financial issues. Last year, the university decided to increase tuition fees by 8.25 per cent, although it had announced a seven per cent annual increase. This led to demonstrations on campus. The students also launched the Matedfa3sh# (Don't Pay) campaign while the Student Union kept up the pressure by sending e-mails with their demands of completely annulling the seven per cent increase and the introduction of a tuition cap for all students to senior officials of AUC. As in other universities, some of the people participating in the demonstrations were suspended and investigated. According to Tarek Ezz, the contact person following up with the Student Union's official page: the next step of the escalation was to close the gates of the university and not let anyone enter the premises, thus cancelling all classes. Some days later, the administration removed the gates completely to prevent students from chaining them again. After some stressful days, a contract was signed by the Student Union and AUC President Lisa Anderson agreeing on a tuition CAP of no more than a 2.3 per cent annual increase along with all long-term demands regarding the quality of education and transparency at AUC. Another successful story is that of the British University in Egypt which mainly affected the major of petroleum engineering, gas technology and chemical engineering. The university catalogue promised students enrolled in that major a degree validated by the London South Bank University (LSBU). But when the students graduated, they realised that this was untrue. After protesting and voicing their anger, the BUE granted each student of that major compensation worth LE67,000 and a free Master's degree at AUC. After the incident, the BUE sought a genuine partnership with LSBU, hence, new students will enjoy the privilege of the validation, and further grounds of cooperation are being discussed. Countries move forward depending on the effort, activity and development of their youth. Since student movements and unions are becoming more mature within the Egyptian society, the future might be more promising than it seems. Long live the students of Egypt who are fighting for freedom and justice and have not lost hope in this country.
