The Syracuse University Abroad program is now allowing students to return to Cairo after briefly closing its study abroad program to protect students from dangerous uprisings during the Arab Spring in 2011.

The application to study at the American University of Cairo is open to students, and though there are no SU students studying there now, one student studied there last spring, said Kristine Clay, coordinator of World Partner and short-term programs for SU Abroad.

SU Abroad was forced to remove students from the AUC in January of 2011 when the Arab Spring began in Egypt. The four students participating in the program were relocated to Istanbul, Turkey, Clay said.

“Nobody saw the Arab Spring coming,” she said.

The rebellion escalated rapidly, forcing SU Abroad and the AUC to act quickly to protect the students’ safety, said Sue Shane, director of SU Abroad. The students were given the option of either studying abroad at a different university or returning to SU’s main campus.

Because of timing, students were still able to transfer to other locations without worrying about losing credit, Shane said.

“We wanted to preserve their experience to study abroad while protecting the students’ safety,” Clay said.

Every student has a set of goals while studying abroad, some of which are tied to a specific location. Students must see if factors such as credit, language immersion and the intercultural experience can be met at another location if an evacuation is necessary, Clay said.

Although the Cairo program is open, SU Abroad still urges students to be aware of the area’s current situation and what the Arab Spring has done to the relationship between Egypt and the U.S., Clay said.

“Egypt is no different than our other programs,” Clay said. “Students just have to be more aware.”

Shane said she still sees the program in Cairo as a viable option. The AUC’s ability to take initiative to arrange evacuations during the Arab Spring gave SU the confidence to continue sending students there now.

“Egypt has such a long history and so much to offer,” she said.

In addition to the program in Egypt, SU Abroad also allows students to study in other locations in the Middle East. Although students are typically not allowed to study in countries where the State Department has issued travel warnings, exceptions have been made for students who wish to study in Jerusalem, Israel or Beirut, Lebanon.

“The challenge of creating abroad options in the Middle East for students is tough,” Clay said.

The Middle East is a popular destination for students interested in studying Arabic. Cairo and Beirut are the preferred locations for students studying the language, as the dialect spoken there is most prominent in academia, Shane said.

Shane said she still feels comfortable sending students to those locations because SU Abroad works with universities that are capable of handling such issues.

SU Abroad also has a program in Nairobi, Kenya and is working on a proposal for a program in Tunisia. Both countries also have travel warnings, Shane said.

Students planning to study in countries with travel warnings are interviewed to ensure they understand the risks associated. Each student is required to read the State Department warning and stay up to date with the International SOS’s daily monitoring. Students and their parents must also sign an additional set of waivers.

All SU Abroad programs have a required pre-departure meeting to cover safety concerns. Every student studying abroad is also encouraged to register with the State Department to provide additional protection, Clay said.

“It is important for students to be in tune with the local norms so that they can determine when things start to go south,” she said.

Students are encouraged to stay out of dangerous areas while abroad. They do have the right to back out of a program, Shane said, and it is up to the individual to weigh the risks.

“A lesson learned from 9/11 is that no one is safe,” Shane said. “Just because you’re an American living in America, you’re still not safe from the terrorism that can strike anytime, anywhere. How long are we going to protect students from the world?”

 

Published on August 30, 2012 at 1:25 am

Contact Kerry: kwolfe01@syr.edu