CAIRO: Students of the German University in Cairo (GUC) protested on Wednesday against the expulsion of 26 students who were involved in an on-campus strike demanding the formation of a student union.
According to Mostafa Sheshtawy, a computer science graduating senior at GUC, the expelled students staged an overnight sit-in demanding to form a student union and spent the night of March 20 on campus under tough conditions.
"The administration locked all buildings, which meant they could not use the bathrooms and did not allow any blankets in so they had to sleep in the cold weather," said Sheshtawy.
"Their only crime is that they spoke their mind. They wanted a strong student union that had a voice and at least one chair in the high board."
The university administration sent an email to the parents of the expelled students in which they deemed the protests as "a violation to the university’s rules which threatened the campus’ security and property."
The administration said that the students are suspended until their parents come to the university to discuss whether or not they wish their sons and daughters to continue studying at GUC.
Students described this email as "humiliating" asking for an immediate apology and the return of the expelled students, in addition to sacking the university’s president Mahmoud Hashem.
The expelled students issued a statement condemning the stance of the GUC administration which they accuse of being part of the old regime.
"The university’s administration responded to our first demand to form a student union by threatening and scaring us, especially when we met with President Hashem who insulted our representative and student activist during the meeting and kicked him out.
"When we insisted that our colleague come back we were all kicked out of the meeting and insulted by the administration," the statement read.
According to the statement, the university threatened to forcibly disperse the protest by force, as well as deny the protesting students access to food, water and blankets. The students however insisted on holding the sit-in until they were expelled by the administration the next day.
