UniCouncil_1960_048

7 It is clear that the University cannot be allowed to operate if it flagrantly defies the society in which, and the government under which, it lives, either in its general character and mores or in its specific requirements of an educational institution, particularly a foreign one* In this latter respect, the University fully recognizes the right of the government to assure itself of the adequacy of the curriculum, the qualifications of teachers and the fitness of the physical plant. On all these counts the University, as has been stated before, is bound to offer no less than that offered at the national universities of the country* This need to meet the law of the country is nothing at which to cavil, and is, in fact, the established tradition in any sovereign state, which has the full right to expect that any institution which moulds the minds and characters of its young men and women shall not be antipathetic to the broad national spirit and aspirations of the country* If the American University at Cairo now finds itself both able and eager to continue its educational work in present-day United Arab Republic, this is only because it has a genuine and wholehearted desire to help the United Arab Republic in its aspirations for progress* Should the University ever find itself in serious and radical opposition to the government under which it lives, it would then deem it much more honorable to cease to function than to imbue its students with a spirit antagonistic to their sovereign government* 17 Responsibility to serve as a meeting ground of East and West If the University is sincere in its determination to shoulder all the above-mentioned responsibilities, then it must in full honesty admit that these responsibilities may at certain points conflict* The American cultural and educational tradition to which the University owes its basic character may have elements which are not fully sympathetic to some of the special and immediate environmental conditions of the University; consequently there may be need for some modification and adjustment* For ins tan oe, American teachers accustomed to full and unrestricted freedom of expression in their home universities must be able to exercise self-restraint when they come to address people of a different cultural background* The converse is also true* Arab teachers and students must be prepared to apply the modern methods of research to their traditional culture, a task which calls for adaptability and receptiveness and which results in much re-evaluation of conventional ideas and values* In all such instances, the University will do its best to reconcile these diverse concepts and traditions* This desire to reconcile, however, does not stem from a cheap wish for approbation or an insistance upon survival at an