Administration Agrees to Five Key Student Union Demands

By: Joya El Aggar and Omar El Mor

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The Student Union (SU) announced through a post on their official Facebook page that negotiations with the administration have yielded a number of results regarding campus surveillance cameras, curfews and financial aid.

This marks a significant turning point between the SU and the administration since the devaluation of the Egyptian Pound last November, culminating in a series of protests over the past year.

The SU says that the administration agreed to five of sixteen demands voiced during the Student March on October 15.

“When students are the most vital part of this community, students must make a stand,” SU Associate Chair of Political Representation Omar Rezk told The Caravan.

One of the key demands agreed by administration was the elimination of the 10 pm curfew (highlighted in the Campus Accessibility Policy) in order to allow students who study or work late to freely use campus facilities.

“We in the administration are always open for discussion of the concerns raised by AUC students and seek to find solutions to these concerns on an ongoing basis,” said Executive Vice President for Administration and Financial Affairs Brian MacDougall.

The video surveillance policy was also amended so that the “[cameras] shall not be used to monitor students for political disobedience reasons and the administration shall not facilitate the use of cameras against student civil movements,” the SU’s Facebook statement read.

Any person who uses footage of the AUC community contrary to these guidelines, especially to threaten another community member, will be penalized according to University policy.

“I have to be completely fair and honest, security cameras played a huge role in several cases on campus,” Rezk acknowledged.

But the “excess” number of security cameras raised many questions.

“We have around 20 cameras on campus, and the number was set to increase before we entered negotiations,” Rezk said.

“That made us feel that something was not right.”

Executive Director for Safety and Security Mohamed Ebeid told The Caravan that they refer to the cameras when an incident gets reported, after which the security would review the footage before filing a case.

This helped security personnel solve several cases of theft, Ebeid added.

Ebeid confirmed that students have the right to freedom of expression and protest, so long as no policies are being violated, particularly vandalism.

The administration also agreed that “no camera shall operate, be temporarily or permanently planted inside an educational building,” the SU said.

“The cameras are not only related to students. They are more concerned about administrative issues. It also concerns the new workers on campus. It’s made mainly for general security of the AUC campus,” Rezk added.

Not ones to rest on their laurels, the SU will pursue further talks with MacDougall – as well as the newly appointed Associate Vice-President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Gordon Handke – to reach a solution regarding tuition fees and the cost of bus tickets.

The SU also plans on introducing two representatives to the Financial Aid Committee to oversee the process.

“Conversations on issues such as surveillance cameras and food services were already underway before the SU March and these conversations will continue so that there is better understanding of policies and also clarity regarding the steps that can be taken to resolve concerns,” MacDougall said.

“I think a general theme or underlying element to all of these demands relates to communication and as often the case the only way to make meaningful progress is to sit together and listen to all perspectives; this is something I expect we will all continue to do,” MacDougall added.