New trip sends students to study ancient Egypt

By Tracey Robertson

Saramae Cutts first saw the Egyptian pyramids on a Duck Tales cartoon when she was a little girl.

Thanks to an exciting new program from the Africana and American Indian Studies Department, the Fresno State senior will soon get an up-close look at the ancient monuments.

While other students are taking a break from books and classes this winter, Cutts and about 20 other students and community members will join professor Yaw Oheneba-Sakyi on a 12-day study tour of Egypt’s Nile Valley, museums and wonders of the world.

“ Ever since I saw the golden pyramids on television when I was small, I’ve wanted to see them in person,” said Cutts, a liberal studies major. “When I heard about this opportunity, it seemed like it was meant to be.”

The tour, which will depart the day after Christmas, is designed to offer students two units of credit, but more importantly, Oheneba-Sakyi said, the chance to witness African culture beyond what they see on television or read in books.

“ Students will be able to experience the wonder of the continent and Egypt first hand,” Oheneba-Sakyi said. “They can smell the air, touch the soil and meet the people. They will discover that ordinary people are living ordinary lives there just like they are here.”

In addition to a glimpse at ordinary Egyptian life, participants will be treated to some extraordinary sights including: the temples of Luxor, Karnak and Abu Simbel; the Valley of the Kings; the historical cities of Aswan and Cairo; the ancient pyramids of Giza; and the Sphinx.

The study tour was only one of the changes instituted by Oheneba-Sakyi upon his arrival from State University of New York, Potsdam in the summer of 2002. He changed the name of the program from Ethnic Studies to Africana and American Indian Studies, revitalized the program’s advisory council and introduced the study tour.

“ When I was teaching in New York, I received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to facilitate study tours as part of the curriculum,” Oheneba-Sakyi said. “The trip to Egypt was so well-received by my students there that I knew it had to be a part of the Fresno State program.”

Oheneba-Sakyi added that incorporating study tours into the Africana and American Indian Studies program serves to create a vital link between African-American history and culture and African history and culture.

“ The African-American experience cannot be looked at in isolation,” Oheneba-Sakyi said. “To understand African-American history and culture, you have to start in Africa. People have been disconnected from Africa. This is the chance to reconnect with their ancestral home—the mother continent.”

The trip costs $3,030 and includes roundtrip airfare, four domestic flights within Egypt, entrance fees to all the major attractions, a four-night cruise and meals aboard the Nile Citadelle and double occupancy hotel rooms.

There are a limited number of scholarships available to qualified students to help offset the cost of the trip. Successful applicants could receive up to $1,000 and be eligible to apply for additional aid from the International Programs Office. The deadline for scholarship applications is Friday.