GVSU Students Stand in Solidarity with the Egyptian Freedom Struggle
Earlier today a small group of GVSU students braved the blistering cold outside at the Allendale campus to make a public showing of support for the people of Egypt.
Several students held signs, others gave out small Egyptian flags and everyone tried to engage the student body as they passed by about what is happening in Egypt. Their show of solidarity, while small in numbers, is a reflection of the kind of support that people are demonstrating worldwide as Egyptian civil society continues in their struggle against the repressive Mubarak regime.
We spoke with a few of the students on camera about their action, what this means for the US, the Obama administration’s response so far and what students can do to get involved in ongoing actions of solidarity.
Grand Rapids Institute for Information Democracy 
The thing about standing in solidarity is that that’s all it is. A bunch of people standing there, holding signs, and feeling good about themselves by calling it solidarity.
Solidarity means taking some kind of action that’s meant to help people. Whether it’s attacking an repressive foe, raising money, or doing prisoner support there’s some kind of support that makes a difference.
Miles, I agree that solidarity requires more than just consciousness raising. My understanding is that this is just the first action that the students will be taking to support the struggle in Egypt and we plan to report on any future actions. If you have suggestions for action that they might take then I would suggest you contact them. I’m not sure that your criticism is terribly constructive, especially since we don’t know what all they have planned.