The four Syracuse University students studying in Cairo, Egypt, are making arrangements to leave the country for the semester as protests against the Egyptian government continue in the capital.

The American University of Cairo, SU’s world partner in Egypt, suspended classes prior to their start Sunday, prompting decision-makers to move the students out of the country for their safety, said Jon Booth, executive director of SU Abroad.

The SU students are unable to return to their studies in Egypt for the rest of the semester. SU Abroad has offered multiple options to the four students, including changing locations, Booth said.

One student is likely to return to SU for the remainder of the spring semester, and the other three are looking into studying at SU’s newest world center in Istanbul, Turkey, Booth said.

Booth said the decision was made Saturday to have the students leave the country.

AUC has two campuses in Cairo: one about 40 minutes by bus out of the city and one about a 15-minute walk from Independence Square, the location of many of the protests and demonstrations. All four SU students had the option to live at either campus, and all chose the campus in the city. The campus is located on an island in the city, Booth said, and the island was barricaded and is defended by tanks, preventing students from leaving and keeping them safe.

SU has been working with AUC for 10 years, and three to five students on average study in Egypt each semester, Booth said.

Communication with students has been limited due to a governmental shutdown of the Internet and telephone lines. The last e-mail contact with students occurred Friday, Booth said. AUC provided every student with landline access and a phone card to talk with their parents and guardians, he said, and then SU Abroad contacted parents to ensure the students were safe.

Travel out of the country has been chaotic, and students have been spending hours at the airport trying to leave, Booth said. He commended their efforts and said how pleased he was with their attitudes.

‘I think it takes a special student to decide to study in Egypt,’ Booth said. ‘I’ve been impressed with their conscientiousness, and I’m glad they are safe.’

The U.S. State Department issued a travel warning Sunday, encouraging Americans in Egypt to leave the country. But this is not the reason why the students are leaving, Booth said.

‘One of the things we take into account is State Department warnings, but that’s not a trip wire for us,’ Booth said.

There are other SU students studying in Israel and Lebanon, two countries the State Department dissuades students from studying in, Booth said.

‘We do our own assessment, working with the faculty here and the risk management office and the provost’s office to make a judgment of what we think is best for the student,’ he said.

knmciner@syr.edu

Published on January 31, 2011 at 12:00 pm