CAIRO: On Tuesday, American University in Cairo protests continued on campus as students and workers united in front of the administration building. With students upset with the tuition increases and workers feeling cheated by negotiations, the forces combined, chanted and rallied on campus for more cooperation from the administration. With protests carrying on at one end of campus, trash began to clutter the grounds; a sign from the workers they were serious about their complaints. McDonald's cups, pizza boxes, cigarette ends, and miscellaneous pieces of rubbish filtered the open campus. Response emails from the protest have been sent to all AUC community members from both the Student Union Representative, Ahmed Ezzat, and AUC's President Lisa Anderson. The emails included friendly reminders about the school's policies: “students have freedom of speech but not to the point of being disruptive.” A counter email was sent from Ezzat reminding the workers and students to stay strong but also to have respect for the other students and faculty as well. After two days of nonstop gathering, Anderson has agreed to meet and address the issues proposed by students and workers. An email was sent out discussing issues such as the 200 Egyptian pound food allowance, contracts and changes in uniforms. The email also included various meeting times with different representatives to speak at the first University Forum of the year to discuss the issues and possible resolutions. The meeting will take place from 1pm-3pm on Wednesday, September 14 with representatives from students, including Vice President of the Student Union Ezzat, the Desert Development Center, security, custodians, and the administration. Students congregated outside buses and on-campus eateries to rally support for the meeting handing out signs, holding posters and talking with everyone in sight. BM
