“What do we need to do to have a better Egypt?” |
Dear Student Union...that wasn’t appropriate!
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I’m not going to lie. What happened was quite frustrating. Someone needs to speak up and tell the rest of us that we’re doing something wrong.
Let me start from the beginning.
The American University in Cairo’s Student Union was invited to a conference called For a Better Egypt, hosted by the French University, where student leaders from several universities in Egypt met to discuss some of the serious problems in Egypt and worked on finding practical solutions for them
Crucial issues like education, bureaucracy, citizens’ behavior and the media were discussed in the conference. Uniting students from different backgrounds was more than effective, it gave each of the participants a chance to learn from each other and use that combined knowledge to change the country for the better. The findings of the conference will be drafted and then presented on an Egyptian talk show in order to reach a wider population and encourage people to take the initiative to develop their country.
So, what was the role of AUC’s SU in this conference? Non-existent, I’m sorry to say.
The president of For a Better Egypt, who is a student in the French university, had contacted our SU president and asked him to participate in the conference, knowing that the presence of AUC’ SU is important since it is one of the oldest and, supposedly, the most organized student union in Egypt.
But our SU president said he wouldn’t be able to participate because he’s busy working on other projects. He didn’t suggest anyone else for the conference either.
To be fair, the SU was indeed working on the talent show and the Sharm El Sheikh trip. However, the conference ran from April 17_20. The talent show that the SU was working on took place on April18. So, wasn’t there any way for the SU to send representatives to attend at least the first, third and fourth days of the conference?
The trip to Sharm El Sheikh, which was organized by the activities committee, ran from April 19_21. Again, wasn’t it possible that members of the other four committees of the SU attend the conference or even the first and second days of it?
We understand that the talent show and the Sharm El Sheik trip are matters of great importance. But isn’t a conference that gives students the chance to invest their top-notch education into improving their country and being effective members of their society also something that is worth participating in?
Twenty people were invited from each of the 10 universities involved in the conference. In addition to me and the reporter I took to cover the event, there was only one SU member who knew about the conference on his own and decided to participate.
I thought that the organizational and management skills are important criteria for being an SU member. Then, how come no one managed to organize a group from the 100-plus SU members to represent AUC in this conference and then come back and inform our student body about this event, its importance and how we AUCians can play a role in making a better Egypt?
The Caravan’s presence in the conference was effective because none of the other universities had a newspaper and they were delighted that we were covering the event. But this wasn’t enough. I was repeatedly asked, “how come your SU didn’t participate in the conference?” It was as if they wanted to say “doesn’t your SU care about having a better Egypt?”
The French University’s student union is only five years old, but they have already started planning actions that not only benefit their students but the country as a whole.
Neither one of the two presidential candidates commented on this incident in the presidential debate that took place on Wednesday, the 30th of April; nor did they have any plans to make AUC students more involved in the development of Egypt.
So I have a few messages to send here:
My dear SU president, I realize that you have done a great job all year, but such mistakes should get attention so that you can avoid them in your future.
Our two promising presidential candidates, you both have excellent ideas, but, still, the passion and eagerness to involve AUC and its students into being a significant part of this country’s prosperity is lacking from your plans.
Our student body, it will be more fulfilling for all of us to start realizing that, “knowledge is power” rather than, “ignorance is bliss.”
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