Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak shocked the world when he announced Thursday he would not step down after weeks of protests by the Egyptian people.
The announcement enraged protesters listening in Tahrir Square in the capital Cairo.
Ramy Tadros, a sophomore at the American University in Cairo, said Mubarak's decision was disheartening.
""What we want is never going to be met, at least in this situation,"" Tadros said. ""The guy is too powerful.""
Mubarak said he would transfer some power to Vice President Omar Suleiman but that he would not immediately step down. Mubarak said the issue is bigger than himself.
""The situation is not about Hosni Mubarak, but the reality is now about Egypt, its present, the future of its sons, all Egyptians are in the same trench,"" Mubarak said, according to a translation by the Canadian Broadcasting Company.
Tadros said he, like many analysts, expected Mubarak to announce his resignation today and did not understand why he decided to stay in power.
""I don't know why he's staying,"" Tadros said. ""If it's honor, you don't really have any now.""
The campaign against Mubarak took off on Jan. 25 after similar protests brought down the government in Tunisia.
After seven and a half hours of peaceful protesting on the first night, police responded with smoke bombs, water cannons and armored cars, according to Haytham Magdy, a 25-year-old pharmacist from Cairo.
""Most of the soldiers started to run to the protestors and started hitting them with their sticks and stuff,"" Magdy said. ""Most of us ran away in the same direction to keep the volume of the protest there, and they kept running behind us until 3 a.m. when we got all dispersed really wide.""
As protests grew larger in the ensuing days the demonstrations against Mubarak remained peaceful, according to Nehad Heliel, associate professor and director at the Middlebury School in Alexandria, which partners with UW-Madison in a study abroad program.
Although the millions of protesters have encountered resistance, and in some cases violence, Tadros said the protests have made young Egyptians more politically aware.
""I think it's crucial for us to have something like that,"" Tadros said. ""Even if Mubarak stays, it's still good, just giving him the wake up call and giving Egypt as a whole the wake up call.""
Heliel said now that the younger generation has gotten involved in politics, the protesting will not stop.
""Even if he doesn't step down, it's going to go on like this. It's going to be a lifetime,"" Heliel said. ""It's going to be people go to their work, they will join the protests, go back again, go to the protests. The younger ones will stay in, will sit in.""
Heliel said operations for the study abroad program will be on hold for four to five months, but that the changes in government may provide greater stability in the long run.
Magdy, Tadros and Heliel all stressed that above all else the protests are a struggle for democracy.
""This is a people's revolution, and we are one hand,"" Heliel said.
Mubarak's refusal to leave office will only provide more fuel for the protests and Tadros said the biggest protests are yet to come.
""There's been a lot of talk today that [Friday] is going to be crazy,"" Tadros said.
