Fall 2021 in a Nutshell

By: Maya Abouelnasr
@EmEn1125

The Fall 2021 semester ushered in a plethora of significant events at AUC, from the resumption of hybrid and later face-to-face instruction to the historic inauguration of AUC’s 13th President.

Print issues of The Caravan also made a comeback, allowing the reporters and editors to engage with the community on campus.

As the end of this semester draws near, looking back on some of these events reveals how the AUC community persevered and AUC’s growth over the past 22 months. 

Return to Campus Amid The New Normal

Yielding mixed emotions among members of the community, the return has certainly been a cautious one, with the university continuously monitoring the COVID-19 situation both among the AUC community and nationwide. 

Internal management efforts have included PCR and antigen testing at various stations around campus, WiFi contact tracing, and facilitating vaccinations on campus.

The first week was a transitional period for students, faculty and staff as they adjusted to the stricter protocols and new safety measures. While many welcomed being on campus, COVID-19 concerns overshadowed some of their excitement.

Graduating seniors were particularly glad that they could experience campus life again before graduation.

In the meantime, graduates from the classes of spring 2020, fall 2020 and spring 2021 had their long-delayed commencement ceremonies held in one event late in September.

As the semester wore on, the 7-day rolling average on the AUC COVID-19 Dashboard hit highs of over 16 and 18 for several weeks. This led many to worry about the well-being of the community and wonder whether a return to online instruction could occur. 

Many in the community had a stop-start sense of apprehension, particularly for those who tested positive and had to go into isolation without an online option being offered by all instructors outside of dual delivery courses.

As the numbers rose, AUCians have been receiving emails from the clinic, notifying them that they were in contact with either a confirmed or suspected positive case, and telling them to get an antigen test done within a certain time frame. 

If anyone feels any symptoms, they are expected to report them on the self-check form, but students especially have been reluctant for fear of falling behind, as indicated in reporter Malak Kamel’s article that was published in The Caravan’s second print issue. 

In another article published in the second print issue by reporter Omar Ramadan, Associate Professor of Marketing and Chair of the Management Department Ahmed Tolba, who is also the head of one of the COVID-19 response task forces, firmly established that the ultimate objective was to remain on campus, but noted that a contingency plan was in the works. 

As numbers have decreased in recent weeks, there has not been a need to implement the contingency plan so far. As concerns regarding the new variant Omicron grow, only time will tell.  

Historic Inauguration of AUC’s 13th President Ahmad Dallal

On a more positive note, October 25 marked the inauguration of AUC’s 13th President Ahmad Dallal, the university’s first ever Arab-American president in its 102-year history. Colorful banners and signs were placed all over campus to add to the positive vibes of the day.

Dallal’s appointment was announced in June following an extensive search that began in Fall 2020 to find a suitable replacement for former AUC President Francis Ricciardone, who had been in the position since 2016.

The day was filled with festivities, with the inauguration ceremony at Bassily Auditorium being at the heart of it.

Both audio coverage by RADUC Host Vereena Bishoy and written coverage by reporter Malak Kamel spotlighted Dallal’s expressed commitment to the pursuit of elevating the standards of education.

A parade followed the ceremony in which the community was welcomed to participate in the wider festivities. This included student volunteers distributing snacks and AUC paraphernalia at booths. 

An interview with the President published in the fourth issue of The Caravan further illuminated Dallal’s hopes for the university’s future. The interview can also be found as an audio piece for RADUC.

Dallal attributed the longevity of the university to the resilience of its community, as well as shedding light on the importance of collaboration and recognition to push the university forward.

“The primary tool is to mobilize our community … We have some real gems in this university, I mean, sometimes they’re not appropriately recognized, [but] we really have some amazing talent in our faculty and our students,” Dallal told The Caravan.

Long-Awaited Return to Live Theater

AUC’s thespians have always been a crucial part of the community, as evidenced by the enduring legacy of alumni such as the much-loved Egyptian stage director, actor, playwright and Professor of Drama and Theatre Mahmoud El Lozy, who sadly passed away on November 15. 

For the past year, AUC’s budding actors had to adapt to performing for virtual audiences. The university’s first-ever Zoom play The Imaginary Invalid was performed during the Fall 2020 semester, followed by a number of other online plays such as Tragedy: A Tragedy and Al-Mishwar al-‘Akhir (The Last Walk). 

Adaptations of American play The Skin of Our Teeth and Egyptian play Shababik Attiya (Attiya’s Windows) both graced the stages of AUC’s Downtown campus’ Falaki Theater and New Cairo campus’ Malak Gabr Theater to live audiences.

Performances of Shababik Attiya (Attiya’s Windows) took place in mid to late October, while The Skin of Our Teeth performances took place in mid to late November.

Both plays offered timely social commentaries. Shababik Attiya relates to the decline and struggles of the Egyptian middle class, which can be traced as far back as the 1980s and 1990s. Meanwhile, The Skin of Our Teeth spotlights the notion of human perseverance regardless of the circumstances, which spoke to the ongoing global situation under COVID-19.

Professor of Theater and Associate Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences Jillian Campana shared that the return to live theater with audiences in house had been long-awaited by artists and spectators alike.

“There is something magical about the shared experience – something that is missed when taking in a performance in the isolation of a home,” Campana told The Caravan.

Campana also noted that digital theater provided performers with invaluable skills that would be beneficial when working in other entertainment industries such as film, audio, television and social media.

The Tahrir Cultural Center Comes Alive

Another highlight of this semester was the return of live, on ground music performances, master classes and workshops.

During the online instruction period, the Music Program frequently uploaded performances to the AUC Center for the Arts’ YouTube channel. 

This included ten performances by AUC’s music professors in a series titled “This is Not a Concert” from May to July 2020, as well as various other performances such as the “Takht Music Ensemble” in May 2021. 

This has continued through livestreaming some events on the channel, but much like in the case of theater, the return to live music performances has been long-awaited, with one key event being the Cairo Jazz Festival.

The 13th edition of the Cairo Jazz Festival took place between October 28 and November 5 at the Tahrir Cultural Center, featuring a diverse line up of both international and local musical acts. 

Founded by composer, pianist and producer Amr Salah in 2009 to promote jazz music in Egypt, the Cairo Jazz Festival is considered one of the region’s biggest jazz events.

The jam-packed festival included performances, master classes, lectures and workshops by artists from over ten countries, as well as two film screenings. Some of the represented countries were the Netherlands, Egypt, Austria, Switzerland, the United States and Sudan. 

Another event that also took place at the Tahrir Cultural Center was the David Hales Memorial Concert on December 2. The Cairo Festival Orchestra and 14 soloists performed several pieces by legendary composers such as Mozart, Handel and Bach in memory of much-loved accompanist, répétiteur, pianist and vocal coach David Hales, who passed away in May 2020. 

It was particularly poignant how all of the performers had worked with Hales at one point over the past four decades. Following his arrival in Egypt in 1980, Hales would go on to teach classical music and inspire generations of Egyptian artists at AUC, as well as members of the Cairo Conservatory, Cairo Opera House, the AUC-managed ​​Cairo Choral Society and more.

The AUC Downtown Campus also served as a hub for the 43rd Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF), which ran from November 26 until December 5. This marked the university’s first-ever collaboration with the Middle East’s oldest film festival.

This year’s edition of CIFF theme was “Diversity and Inclusion”. According to Cineuropa, the festival featured 98 films from over 63 countries. Additionally, 80 films were screened over 10 days, of which five were Egyptian submissions.

Master classes and panel discussions within the Cairo Industry Days (CID) event also took place at the Cairo Opera House starting December 1 until the last day of the festival.

Some of these industry activities were hosted by Netflix. This included a panel discussion regarding the Jordanian Netflix series AlRawabi School for Girls, which made the Top 10 list in many countries worldwide at the time of its release.

Another CID activity Netflix hosted was the second edition of the “Because She Created” initiative, which seeks to amplify the voices of female filmmakers and talents. In this session, renowned Tunisian actress Hend Sabry discussed her experience in the industry and shared her journey as an executive producer of the upcoming Netflix series Finding Ola.

The Return of Sports at AUC 

Many athletes will have yearned for the return of sports life at AUC, which finally came when the Office of Athletics announced on October 16 that the sports complex was going to be reopened with safety measures in place. This included limiting operational spaces to outdoor facilities and the gym.

As a result, indoor activities at AUC such as handball, basketball and volleyball were turned into outdoor sports to accommodate the goal of revitalizing the university’s sports scene, and providing current and new athletes with the opportunity to play again.

Tryouts for the various sports on campus were announced shortly after, running from October 31 until November 5. A new addition to the list of sports was the modern pentathlon, which encompasses fencing, freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting and cross country running.

CrossFit tryouts were also held during this period after being added to the Egyptian Universities Sports Federation’s tournament sports list.

In special contributor Donya Abouelezz’s article on the return of AUC’s sports life Senior Director at the Athletics Office Sharif El Arian explained that their objective is to focus on skill tests, recruitment and training in order to possibly hold internal competitions. 

Additionally, local university competitions are set to begin next semester. 

One competition that took place this semester from November 15 until December 8 was the National Universities Tournament, in which AUC athletes competed against athletes from 50 Egyptian universities.

Among their achievements, AUC athletes received first place in table tennis, as well as ranking first for women and third for men in the CrossFit competition. Additionally, the women’s futsal team won second place and the men’s team won third place.