Juggling Classes and the Ramadan Schedule

By: Omar El Nebei
@Omarelnebei

Since this is the first time since 2019 that Ramadan fully aligns with classes on campus, both faculty and students have told The Caravan that they are excited to be part of a new experience and are looking forward to see what the AUC community has in store this month.

Students are coming up with ways to cope with the balancing act of fasting and studying.

Some students like Graphic Design sophomore Roula Wael don’t find it challenging to come to campus since they live in New Cairo.

Wael said she is actually looking forward to attending classes during Ramadan because these will help her pass the time quickly until breaking the fast during iftar. She is also looking forward to spending time with friends on campus during Ramadan.

Meanwhile, Political Science and Psychology junior Mira Nasr sees Ramadan this year as a novel experience.

“This is the first time we have it on campus so I am still unsure of how things will go and what I will do. Will I wake up earlier? Because I have classes at 8:30 and then some later classes. So we will have to discover this Ramadan,” Nasr said.

On the other hand, some students who live far from AUC, like Graphic Design junior Ziad Osama, said that it will be challenging to return from campus in the afternoon given Cairo’s “notorious” traffic congestion, particularly in the hour before Ramadan.

Osama, who lives in Sheikh Zayed, said he will put his six allowed absences to good use if he is unable to find a suitable time-saving route to and from campus. But he added that he will do his best not to miss any classes during Ramadan.

According to the Ramadan schedule, the earliest class starts at 8:30am and the last pre-iftar class ends at 3:40pm.

For some undergraduate and graduate students with afternoon courses, their classes are scheduled well into the evening – starting at 9 and 10pm. Many say they do not mind as Spring Break begins on April 17 leaving only two weeks of Ramadan to deal with the modified schedule.

“During the mornings we won’t really be focused at 100 percent. I feel like our concentration levels will be like below zero. So it is nice that they shifted it at night after people would have eaten and stuff,” said Leila Tarek, an undeclared Freshman.