AU students were involved in three protests against Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, culminating in a demonstration outside the White House on Dec. 2.
Morsi, who was elected to the Egyptian presidency in June, issued a declaration on Nov. 22 which granted himself legislative authority without judicial review.
“The protest was in solidarity with the Egyptians protesting in Tahrir Square against Morsi,” said Mariam Aziz, a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. Aziz helped organize the protest.
More than 30 protesters demonstrated outside the Egyptian embassy in Van Ness on Dec. 1, after Morsi did not reverse his declaration when he addressed the Egyptian people on Nov. 29, according to Aziz.
The Dec. 1 protest was a follow-up to an initial protest outside the embassy on Nov. 28, which drew 15 protesters, including three AU students.
The goal of the rallies was also to raise awareness in the U.S. of the events in Egypt, according to Hussien Salama, a junior in the School of International Service.
“It’s not only an Egyptian thing,” Salama said. “There's a necessity for Americans to decry a dictatorship supported by the U.S. government."
The events in Egypt had a greater following from AU students in 2011, with large student turnouts at protests in D.C., according to Aziz.
“I feel like there’s some hypocrisy in AU priding itself in being the most politically active campus in the United States,” Aziz said of the low turnout on Nov. 28.
jangle@theeagleonline.com