UA-R-GC-1914-01-01-1940-11-15_Page-075

13`l Report of the Property Committee to The Board of Trustees of The American University at Cairo For the year 1939-40. The Property Committee held three meetings, all of them in New York City; the first on December 8, 1939; the second on March 4, 1940; and the last on November 15, 1940. The reasons for moving the College from the city to the suburbs were re-viewed as follows: (1) From the very first, the College was conceived of as requiring a suburban site in order to give it space for athletic fields, residential dormitories, the isolation which ministers to the development of college life and delivers from city distractions and temptations. Because of this, for fourteen years, the process of buying land has been carried forward with a view to rounding out a shapely and adequately large site. (2) More specifically, removal to the suburbs is essentially the basic aim of the American University at Cairo, not merely to impart information and to train the intellect, but also to influence life and mould character. This aim makes it necessary to have the student body, in whole or in part, under the Christian influences of the College for something beyond the classroom periods. The ideal, of course, is a residential school .7here students are wholly detached from their homes during the school year and spend their entire time on the campus under the influences of the College. Since this cannot be always secured, the next best plan is one where the student spends his maximum time, a full daylight day on the campus, including his class hours, study hours, noon mealtime, manual work hours and play time, returning home for supper and bed. Both plans call for space for varied manual activities and varied athletic programs, as well as for dormitories, rest room, social rooms, and eating accommodations. The city site at present has no football field, only a limited basket ball field, no worthy track, no eating accommodations save an old army tent, no rest or social rooms, dormitory provision for only twelve students although seventeen have been packed in this year, no space permitting segregation and separate controls of boys of different ages, while the use of classroom is at present so heavy as to create conflicts with the slightest changes in the curriculum. (3) A further reason is that the development of the city is progressively engulf-ing the present college location. Traffic on the adjoining streets is becoming increasingly heavier, bringing noise and dust and distraction far beyond what existed in earlier days. When students of Government schools parade or go on strike they demonstrate in full view through the iron fence surrounding our campus. At one time the demonstrators broke into our grounds, rushed into the building, intimidated and disbanded several classes. National, political and other parades also pass in front of our property, since the avenue is one of Cairo's most important thoroughfares. Kasr el Aini Street is magnificent for publicity, but correspondingly unsatisfactory for academic quiet and undisturbed study