AUC's Board of Trustees rejects student representation

Eight delegates from AUC's Board of Trustees met with student representatives on February 13. Five student representatives, three professors, and some workers attended the meeting.

This meeting comes after AUC students demanded representation within the board during the student led strike last September. Students scheduled the meeting during Sunday's civil disobedience sit-in on February 12, where five students were elected to act as representatives.

The Student Union's (SU) Chair of Development and Political Awareness committee Mohamed Alaa told The Caravan that the trustees rejected having students on the board, citing confidential information usually mentioned in meetings as the reason. The board is also responsible for evaluating the university's president, a job that, according to them, requires discretion.

The board offered a compromise in which an elected student entity would present their grievances to them via email. They also suggested holding three annual meetings in addition to those already scheduled, where they can meet with students, workers, and faculty members individually.

Alaa added that board members promised to share information, such as budget costs, requested by the student entity in the future.

On the other hand, student activist Taher El Moataz Bellah told The Caravan that he believed the board would not take action and would ignore concerns so long as students remain "polite and decent."

He added that the board's two annual visits were not sufficient since they do not give them enough time to comprehend and digest what really takes place on campus.

Alaa said that one of the students' concerns included AUC's legal stance on attacks it has been receiving from both the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) as well as former interior minister Habib El Adly's lawyer.

The board pointed out that AUC had contacted SCAF officials and that they denied any relation to the "Administrator of SCAF" Facebook page.

All suggestions made by the eight board members are still pending for the rest of the board's approval, which will be discussed in the next official meeting.

Once approval is granted, the SU will meet with AUC students to decide whether they will elect a reprehensive entity or if the responsibility will be added to the SU's job description.