Augie Flutist Not In Egypt Relieved For Friends

SIOUX FALLS, SD - One Augustana band member who did not make the trip to Egypt is breathing a little easier. Senior Jenny Lockhart says communication with her friends overseas has been difficult the past couple of days. But now, she's relieved to hear they're all right.

At the beginning of the school year, Lockhart chose to take an English class trip to India, rather than go with her fellow bandmates to Egypt. The senior flutist says she wasn't aware of the situation overseas until she returned home three days ago.

"I was really concerned about everybody I knew who was there," Lockhart said. "That was just my first thought is are they going to get home?"

Over the past 72 hours, Lockhart tried everything to contact her friends. Egypt shut down phone lines and the internet to prevent protestors from organizing. But this morning, she finally saw some good news.

"We texted a lot of our friends and we got on Facebook and sent e-mails, but we hadn't heard back from anybody until today," Lockhart said. "We got Facebook status updates saying people were okay."

Now that her friends are leaving the country, Lockhart hopes they can appreciate the significance of their time in Cairo.

"I wouldn't ever wish that they were there, but the fact they are there is amazing," Lockhart said. "It's kind of cool to be part of a huge event and witness news firsthand."

"We've been sending a lot of texts, but we haven't heard anything back yet, but I know they'll have really amazing stories to tell when they get home."

Lockhart says, from the limited contact she's had with students still in Egypt, they're relaxing and trying to enjoy the warmer weather.