An Unexpected Turn of Events

A few weeks before the January 25th Revolution, the magazine was set to carry entirely different stories. However, as the revolution broke out and gained momentum –– even before the toppling of the Mubarak regime –– we knew that the magazine content had to be overhauled to reflect current events.

Redoing a magazine after it was almost ready to go to print is normally frustrating, but in this case, it was an enjoyable experience–– an unexpected yet welcome turn of events. Working on different stories under the theme of New Egypt, New Era was exceptionally pleasing because we were given the chance to not only write about the revolution and the dawn of a new beginning for Egypt, but also the contributions of AUC community members to the uprising that changed Egyptian history. From AUC's Board of Trustees to students and alumni to faculty and staff to security guards, all were –– and still are –– involved in shaping this country's future.

In this issue, you will read faculty insights about the revolution and the way forward for Egypt (pages 10 - 15), alumni in the heart of events (pages 18 - 21, 26 - 27), alumni in the media (pages 30 - 34), students and their involvement in post-revolutionary clean-ups in Tahrir and elsewhere (pages 28 - 29), a mother's diary to her son during the revolution (pages 38 - 39), the experiences of international students who stayed in Egypt during the uprising (page 22), new courses that have been introduced at AUC to reflect the change in Egypt (page 23), the bravery of security guards at AUC Tahrir Square (page 36), the dreams of a Tunisian alum for the Arab world (page 48) and lots more.

The revolution and the profound change it has brought onto Egypt has undoubtedly made us all proud. What adds to this sense of pride is that it is the youth who instigated such change –– youth who were commonly accused of being passive and politically inactive. Tragically, many have lost their lives, and numerous others were severely injured –– all for the sake of Egypt seeing the light. And it did

Tahya Masr (Long live Egypt)!