To the Editor,

I am writing in tears about my country, which I do not recognize anymore.

The Egyptian Arabic spring has been typically a North African season blown by desert-dry hot winds carrying tons of fogging sand and dust. As summer strikes after, Egyptians optimistically hoped democracy, human rights and law enforcement to be just around the corner.

When Islamists took power, people naively remained optimistic and trustful. Could we have been more mistaken? Where on earth has a religious democratic authority that considers human rights existed? It is an oxymoron like a cold fire or a cubic ball. Now that the Islamist president removed all masks after banning all challenges to unilaterally passing an Islamist constitution (those who vote “yes” on the Dec. 15 referendum will be granted an oil bottle, a rice packet plus a guaranteed spot in heaven), the White House is expressing “concern”!

In my perplexed emotions where love still outweighs fear, I am not sure whether to support the cessation of U.S. funds (1.5 billion per year from your and my taxes) to Egypt to be used for the harassment of my own Christian family under this constitution or to appeal for a continuous support for the sake of my people, even the ones with volatile boundaries between disagreement and hate. The one thing I am sure of is that you may express more than a concern … until we reach our summer one day down the road of history.

Samer Zaky

Center for Craniofacial Regeneration

To the Editor,

In her Nov. 30 letter, Lorraine Keeler wrote in support of an “emphasis on programs that will help me build a better resumé and reach the level where I can make an impact in my field.” I do not believe that programs devoted to or participated in with the intent of improving her resumé will grant her, or any other similarly driven individual, the greatest chance of progressing in any field. Research and innovation, the sources of progress, require perseverance and creativity, and, above all, must be motivated by some sort of curiosity or desire to learn more. I do not consider a desire to “build a better resumé” to be particularly good motivation or grounds for future success.

Ms. Keeler’s characterization of the “old” University Honors College’s reading groups, “niche groups that … were purely for fun,” is rather ignorant and insulting. She assumes that the participants gain nothing substantial. Reading groups are the embodiment of intellectual curiosity, as they allow interested and dedicated individuals to gather, discuss and understand topics that they perhaps would never meet in an undergraduate classroom.

Finally, Ms. Keeler will undoubtedly be pleased to learn that students began dialogue with the UHC long before their Facebook escapades began.

Regards,

Arvind Prasadan

Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences

Swanson School of Engineering