Solidarity with Egyptians
Before marching across the campus on Feb. 1 to demonstrate solidarity for the Egyptian people’s nonviolent revolt against Egyptian President Hosni Mubaruk, a group of about 60 students—plus several members of the faculty and staff—gathered in Parrish Hall’s Shane Lounge to watch a few minutes of news on Al-Jazeera, the Arabic-language news network that broadcasts worldwide also in English.
“This is a revolt of the people against tyranny,” Nidal Al-Ayasa ’11, a member of the Middle Eastern Cultural Society and of Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine, told the Feb. 2 Daily Gazette. “Our group wanted to call attention to this struggle and demonstrate support for people dying on the streets for freedom.”
Three days after the demonstration, faculty members Tariq al-Jamil, assistant professor of religion; Shane Minkin, instructor of history; and Farha Ghannam, associate professor of anthropology led a well-attended discussion and answered questions on the events in Egypt.