The Free Student Union is triggering trouble in some universities, reports Mohamed El-Sayed The ongoing struggle between the state and the Muslim Brotherhood does not show any sign of ending soon. Whether it's parliamentary, trade union or even student elections, the scenario remains the same: ruling out all the Muslim Brotherhood candidates from election lists. However, in an attempt to break free from state intervention, students affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, along with other opposition political forces like the Nasserists, the Egyptian Movement for Change (Kifaya) among others, decided to hold their own elections and form the Free Student Union. Most of the Free Student Union elections were held across universities on 12 and 13 November. According to Muslim Brotherhood sources, more than 700 students in Cairo University and more than 300 students in Ain Shams University -- the country's two major universities -- applied as candidates. Some of the teaching staff in universities took part in the elections as supervisors and observers to organise the process of elections starting from reviewing candidates' papers to counting the votes. According to Brotherhood sources, deans of faculties tried to hamper the process of the elections by warning students against running for elections, tearing down the posters of the candidates, preventing them from holding conferences and then harassing those who went to cast their votes. In Tanta University, dean of the Faculty of Commerce, decided to expel 12 students for three weeks because they formed a free student union. Also, in Kafr Al-Sheikh, dean of the Faculty of Commerce decided to prevent four students from attending classes for one month, accusing them of forming "a student union violating the regulations of the university". News reports also had it that the president of Beni Sweif University, Ahmed Rifaat, referred three of the teaching staff for questioning, as they took part in supervising and counting votes during the Free Student Union elections. Matters took a turn for the worse last week when a number of thugs, allegedly hired by members of the official student union at Ain Shams University, attacked student members of the new Free Student Union, preventing them from holding a celebration to announce the launching of their new union. Thugs used machetes, knives, Molotov bombs and acid in frightening other students away from the celebrations. More than 19 students were severely injured and were entered to the student hospital. Another 15 students fainted due to the clashes. The news of the clashes reached parliament as they were happening. Members of the Muslim Brotherhood demanded that the violence actions against its students be discussed in parliament. "The photos of violence that took place in Ain Shams University will be thoroughly debated after the government delivers its statement on Sunday," Hamdi Hassan, spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood bloc told Al-Ahram Weekly. "All the photos taken at the university prove that the security conspired against the students of the Free Student Union by allowing thugs to enter the university campus to attack them," he added. And although the minister of higher education denied that these violence actions took place, Hamdi continued, the administration of the university and the security "will be held responsible for the violent actions that happened on Wednesday."
