Money Can’t Buy Manners

 

By: Roqaya Zamzam

 

People have always quoted “money can’t buy  happiness” but recently I have begun to argue that “money can’t buy manners.”

 

Life experiences proved me wrong showing me how labels can affect our perception and treatment of people.  I was judgmental and my stereotypes allowed me to believe that education was enough to develop a prosperous country.

 

Thinking that literacy was the key to happiness, I had forgone those who had little to offer but composed a huge indispensable part in our society. I realized that even in highly accredited universities with their freedoms and high education systems, like AUC, people are sometimes ruthless.

 

It all started three weeks ago when I was assigned to write about security on campus after the events of June 30.

 

Students have been complaining that security teams aren’t equipped enough to protect the campus and that security guards aren’t enough to ensure the community’s safety.

 

They also noticed that many times they could enter the university without showing their identification cards (ID), which of course raises fears on outsiders’ accessibility to campus.

 

I was talking to many students and had bottled anger against the university and its security measures. I was ready to wage a war trying to protect our campus and its inhabitants against those who cared less.

 

As I approached four security members standing at the bus gate I thought of all the arguments I had against them. After explaining that they have the right to defend themselves against any accusations they feared expulsion or punishment and refrained from talking.

 

I failed to convince them but the looks I saw on their faces urged me to take action.

They seemed weaker than any of the accusations they had received. They were frightened; I could see it.

 

But, they had so much to say so their silence puzzled me. Then, I understoodl they were not permitted to speak without their manager’s consent.

 

I headed to their manager’s office who directed me to General Mokhtar Ragab, the assistant security manager at AUCI got his permission and ran back to them ready to ridicule and scorn. I realized though that it wasn’t them that needed training on how to secure the campus but it was me that undermined their existence and capabilities.

 

After reluctantly agreeing to talk, one of the security guards told me that anyone who is treated the way they were would quit on the first day.

 

I looked at him suspiciously in disbelief as he thought I would never understand where he was coming from. Eventually, he grabbed a chair and asked me to sit and judge for myself.

 

Later on, I regretted doing so, because witnessing such treatment from students, who ironically are considered “la creme de la creme” of society, was a more demeaning scene than anyone could bear.

 

I sat down gulping on the biscuits they offered me as a student walked closer to the gate.

 

The guard waved his hands at me, grabbing my attention, and whispered that what I was about to witness was his only reply to my accusations.

 

He approached the student and asked for her ID ending his sentence with a very polite “pretty please.”

 

It wasn’t until then that I felt I was sitting with a street-girl who just got molested by a teenager.

 

Without all the complex buildings, scenery and designer handbags, a passerby witnessing the situation, or scandal in this case, would have mistaken it for one in the slum areas of Cairo.

 

The girl was shouting at the top of her lungs complaining on how disrespectful his request was.

 

She was a senior who “wouldn’t allow anyone to inappropriately talk to her and disrespect the family’s name in such manner.”

 

How dare he ask for her ID when entering the campus? Isn’t it such a discomfort having to go to campus everyday let alone present the ID to the same man every morning? She grabbed her ID, protruded it to his face and walked off, cursing not only him, but also the day the university was founded.

 

When I stood up, getting ready to walk away yet too ashamed to look up at the security man’s face.

 

I was pretty sure this was not the first case he meets or the last he’ll meet. I was lost for words; my mindset had actually turned upside down, from writing an article to describe questionable security on campus, to how the security guards were themselves victimized.