Approximately 50 University students gathered in Nau auditorium to hear Jacob Kohn, International Relations Organization member and third-year College student, reflect on Egypt's current state of political unrest. Kohn studied abroad in Egypt and returned to the U.S. in late December. .
"I felt sort of powerless to do anything just from [reading from] my computer," he said in an interview after his presentation. "I wanted to make sure that people really knew what was going on."
Kohn studied with friends who are spending another semester in Egypt. Although the dorms are safe to live in, Kohn said, they are located in the middle of today's protests.
Kohn said he was troubled by media distortions of people painting protestors as violent.
"They're mostly moderates who have some great ideas about how Egypt should be run," he said. "Things like [characterizing protestors as violent] kind of change the discourse a bit and make it harder for people to understand what's happening on the ground."
Kohn began his hour-long presentation with a discussion of the hieroglyphic "Jed," which is inscribed on walls inside pharaohs' tombs.
"It means the pharaoh is stable," he said. "He is going to be there for life and there's nothing you guys can do about it."
The symbol is relevant, Kohn explained, because the current target of Egyptian protests, President Hosni Mubarak, has been said to have ruled longer than Pharaoh Rameses the Great.
Kohn discussed everything from a brief overview of Egypt's geography, political history and society to a the news surrounding the nation's current tumultuous political climate.
"Just a disclaimer," Kohn said before moving on. "I'm not going to pretend I have all the answers, but I'm going to try to clear up confusion from my perspective."
Kohn contrasted pictures and videos he took of serene landmark scenes in the cities with current pictures that depict the same streets filled with a multitude of protesters, riot police and water cannons.
Kohn cited poverty, unemployment and rampant corruption as the main causes of the protests. He added he believes the Alexandria Coptic Church bombing was the catalyst for the current political turmoil in a state where uprisings used to be quickly squashed.
"You had people, Muslim and Christians, protesting outside of churches to keep terrorists from bombing the [Coptic] churches," he said. "And while they were doing this, they actually chanted slogans like 'down with Mubarak.' And that you hadn't really heard before."
Walid El-Nahal, a fourth-year Engineering student and Egyptian-American, did not hesitate to express his disdain with the current administration.
"Sixty years ago, Egypt finally gained its power from foreign oppression and here we are in 2011 experiencing the exact same thing, except instead of it being a foreign power, it's just someone who has happened to grow up in the country," he said. "[Mubarak] has completely lost touch with the Egyptian people."
A question and answer period followed Kohn's presentation and took the form of a discussion rather than a hashing out of definitive answers.
IRO President Andrew Koch said he believes Kohn's status as a student allowed for a more comfortable and open atmosphere for his peers.
"With this we could ask him whatever we wanted because he's a fellow student, and that's a lot harder with a professional or professor," Koch said.
Betsy Graves, event co-organizer and fourth-year College student, said even though the event was planned in a mere four days, interest grew rapidly through Grounds.\n"It's refreshing to be able to say, 'Timely things are going on and here's how we can respond to them'," she said. "I think it's so valuable in a place where people have these diverse experiences to really access that and learn from your peers. It's a really big part of U.Va"
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