Since the political situation in Egypt reached its tipping point these past couple of weeks, we have been impressed with the University's response. Last Monday's panel discussion at the Watson Institute for International Studies on the protests in the Middle East was put together extremely quickly to immediately update the Brown community and was very well attended. Melani Cammett, associate professor of political science and director of the Middle East studies program, and Rebecca Weitz-Shapiro, assistant professor of political science, provided great historical background, as well as interviews and anecdotes from protestors in Egypt, where Internet and phone access has been extremely limited. Additionally, Cammett has been vital in aiding The Herald's continuing coverage of the Egypt situation.
Brown's student body has been anxiously following the evacuation of two undergraduate students — Michael Dawkins '12 and Amanda Labora '12 — who were beginning their semesters abroad in Egypt on a Middlebury College program. We are thrilled that they have returned safely to the United States and are impressed and inspired by their bravery and grace under such intense circumstances.
The administration and the Office of International Programs have been working closely with the students and their families to "make the best of a difficult situation," wrote Kendall Brostuen, director of international programs and associate dean of the College, in an e-mail to the editorial page board. Possible options include re-enrollment at Brown for the current semester, spending a semester abroad at another location or taking a semester at Middlebury, which sponsors the Egypt program and starts classes much later than Brown.
In an interview with the editorial page board, Labora said how helpful the Brown community has been in her re-entry. She noted that the OIP has been "very supportive," professors have proactively e-mailed her to offer her spots in classes to ease her academic transition and Brown in general "has really worked" with her to make things easier.
That said, Labora did admit that this has been an "overwhelming" time, and we feel that the University should use a more standardized policy to deal with these problems in the future. Though the crisis in Egypt was unexpected, political situations do arise, and we hope that the University will work to develop a coordinated plan to deal with situations like this in the future. Re-enrollment and readjustment are extremely difficult tasks — they involve coordination from the OIP, the Office of Residential Life, financial aid and individual professors and departments. Perhaps most importantly, they may involve mental health services to work with students readjusting to America and Brown after an emotionally distressing endeavor.
This is also crucial to encourage students to continue studying abroad all over the world, including in potentially politically unstable places. The OIP makes a concerted effort to promote active learning to understand diverse cultures. If students know that Brown will provide a coordinated institutional structure to deal with the aftermath of derailed study abroad experiences, they might be more willing to study in more volatile parts of the world.
Even with the interest that the Brown community has shown in Egypt, we still have much to learn. In the media, Labora notes that "nobody is talking about the human cost of revolution," nor "what it's like to lose everything." It is vital that we continue to study and learn about the situation in Egypt to show its citizens the support and respect they deserve.
Editorials are written by The Herald's editorial page board. Send comments to editorials(at)browndailyherald.com.
