LAT: In Baghdad, University Students and Professors Feel the Heat

[DeepModem Mom]

In Baghdad, University Students and Professors Feel the Heat
With frequent power outages and unrest on campus, it has been difficult to stay focused on preparing for the big year-end exam.

By Louise Roug and Zainab Hussein, Times Staff Writers


BAGHDAD — A swarm of security guards stormed the classroom where Mais Khalid and her classmates were taking a drama test last week. Waving their guns around, they ordered everyone to leave. It wasn't safe for students to remain at their desks, they shouted.

Outside, people had gathered to protest the recent slaying of a popular Shiite Muslim student activist, killed after he threw a party to celebrate the new government....

***

The power routinely falters, turning classrooms into caldrons — without fans, warm heads grow drowsy, the hours long.

The drive to campus can be dangerous and slow. Students miss lectures, held back by roadblocks and gridlock. Even in front of the university gates, cars idle as guards check for weapons and bombs.

At times, professors don't show up either. Some have taken early retirement or left the country. Amid the unrest that followed the shooting of Masar Sarhan, the Shiite student, a number of Sunni professors fled, fearing retribution....


http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-university22may22,0,7366876.story?coll=la-home-world

[LibDemAlways]

1. The BFEE took the "cradle of civilization"

and turned it into the "gates of hell." The only way to begin to fix this mess is to get out and let the Iraqis determine their future.