1) What steps do you think that the U.S. government should take in dealing with the Egyptian crisis? Do you believe that we should act more, less or stay out of the situation?

During the crisis in Egypt, the U.S. government took a stance of neutrality and did not openly support the Egyptian government or the protestors. However, President Obama did advise President Mubarak to treat his people with respect, nonviolence and honor. Which, surprisingly, he did. I believe that this was the right decision. Egypt is too strong of an ally for the U.S. to oppose their government; however, our stance on democracy and support of human rights put us in a position where we were unable to defy the people of Egypt and their call for freedom.

2) Egypt has been an ally of the U.S. for decades. How do you think the crisis will shape the future relationship with Egypt?

I believe that this transition will make our foreign relationship with Egypt stronger. The major strain on our relationship up to this point was the unfair treatment of the Egyptian people by their government and the dictatorship of Mubarak. Despite the fact that Egypt was technically a democracy, Mubarak was elected time and time again by simply eliminating any competition, which resulted in an indirect dictatorship. With this aspect of the nation of Egypt gone, with a true democracy in place, our relationship can only grow stronger, and therefore, become another strong ally for the United States.

3) The media and social media have played an unimaginable part in the crisis. The government had the Internet and phone lines shut down. What significance does the media play and how has social media affected the protest?

The world has never seen a protest of this standard fueled by the media and social media. It is hard to imagine the protestors of Egypt having the effect that they did without the use of Twitter and Facebook. The world media flocked to Egypt and was constantly reporting on the conditions, riots and violence that were erupting across the country. The Egyptian government tried to place a stranglehold on foreign media, which was fueling the protest and giving the world a firsthand view of the people and their anger. Without the use of media, the protest would eventually have subsided, but the media gave the people something to rely on, and sees that others had the same feeling of betrayal that they felt.

4) For the first time in many of our lifetimes a government was overthrown, not by force, not by fighting, but by peaceful protest by the people of a country. What does this say about democracy across the world and how will it affect the United States?

This is a huge step for democracy and freedom across the world. This shows the world that political action can be taken without violence, without bloodshed, without wars, but rather by peaceful protest, educated rhetoric and unity of people. So often protests in the world turn violent and even start wars. The Egyptian people came together for a single cause: to get a dictator out of power. They did so peacefully, and this so very often is not the case. Hopefully, other countries can look at this crisis and learn-learn that violence does not have to be the answer and peace can be. Hopefully, American people can eventually understand this as well.