Comic relief had its place in the current Libyan struggle on Monday when a local college professor was a guest on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
Chairman of political science and geography at UTSA, Dr. Mansour El-Kikhia, sat face-to-face with Stewart and discussed the subject El-Kikhia knows best, Libya. The men discussed the U.S. decision to arm Libyan Rebels in the first place and the weariness of the rebels forces themselves. El-Kikhia praised President Obama for ordering the air-strike in Benghazi because, in his opinion, it saved 25 to 50 thousand Libyan lives. He referred to the U.S. as having an interest in “global nature” whenever we aid other countries regimes. Despite the severity of the current situation, Stewart managed to make El-Kikhia laugh hysterically throughout the interview.
El-Kikhia wasn’t chosen to be guest out of the blue: he has quite the political experience. He’s had work published on Libyan politics and human rights in the Middle East, and has testified on these topics in front of the U.S. Congress, European Parliament, and specialized United Nation committees. All these services and accomplishments came from a professor at a smaller American university.
Sophomore Andrew Schweninger appreciates the large scale factor contributed by El-Kikhia.
“It’s not where you go to school that’s important, but that you understand that regardless of where you are, you have still a voice that wants to be heard,” Schweniger said.
Jon Stewart always has intelligent and entertaining guests on his show, it’s just uplifting to see a local figure on your T.V. Considering all the stress involved in the Libyan war, the break from this comedic duo was welcomed.
