CAIRO: Students at the Modern Sciences and Arts University (MSA) who have been protesting since Monday, say that on Thursday they were locked in on campus and forced to sleep outdoors with no access to toilets and no electricity. One student, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal and the threat of expulsion, told Daily News Egypt that the university gates were sealed and protesting students were not allowed to leave after working hours on Thursday. “When girls wanted to go home, security personnel spent more than an hour looking for the keys to the extent that one girl's parent came and was not allowed to enter,” the student said. The MSA students on strike have 10 main demands, all of which are related to the quality of education, campus facilities, student activities and rights. MSA is the latest to be swept by a wave of protests in public and private universities, where students have been protesting for better education and also removal of deans affiliated with the former regime. Protests in the Mansoura University and the Akhbar Al-Youm Academy have been met with violence. Up to 2,000 students have been protesting under the slogan “One hand for better MSA”. One student said that in the first three days of protests, they were allowed to enter and exit freely through campus gates. They were also allowed to sleep in the corridors of the admission building, which was left open, and use its toilets. “We have been trying to convey our demands to any of the university's top management for seven months but to no avail,” another student said, also on condition of anonymity. “They left us with no choice but to protest to express our legitimate demands which will ultimately lead to an increase in the university's revenues and better quality of education.” Their top demand is drafting a by-law that defines students' rights and duties towards the administration and faculty and to hold a referendum to approve the suggested regulations. “Having rules that govern the relationship between students and administration and staff is a natural student right,” said one of the students. “According to university rules, students are allowed to hold protests as long as they are outside the campus buildings and do not disrupt classes, a condition we have not violated,” one of the students explained. On Wednesday morning three students and the head of the student union met with Amin Sorour, Head of Career Placement Unit, and Ahmed Zedan, Dean of School of Dentistry. “During the meeting, Sorour and Zedan promised us that our demands will be attended to the next day, a promise that was never kept.” “We will continue our protests until everyone knows how MSA students are treated,” the student said.
