Some students wanting to study abroad in Egypt will have to put their plans on hold.
Colleges around the country have halted their programs in Cairo in the midst of political uproar in the city surrounding the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president. Most notably, the whole University of California system is blocking 22 students from studying there in the fall, a decision made after the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning urging Americans not to visit the area, according to The Huffington Post.
“These types of decisions always depend on what’s happening on the ground,” said Ines DeRomana, director of health safety and emergency response for the University of California’s Education Abroad Program. “An increase in violence is usually a trigger, as is not being able to get a feel for what local police are doing.”
Ten UC Davis students in the area, though not in immediate danger, were airlifted to Europe earlier this month. Students from other schools such as the University of Michigan, George Washington University, Tufts University and Wellesley College were also recently evacuated from the country. Like the UC system, Georgetown University will also cancel a fall program in Cairo.
Despite the efforts of U.S. schools to keep their students safe, not all have been lucky enough to escape Egypt’s turmoil. Kenyon College student Andrew Pochter was fatally stabbed during a June 28 protest in Alexandria.
This isn’t the first round of evacuations for students studying in Egypt. Many left the country in 2011 when then-president Hosni Mubarak was overthrown.
The number of American students who studied in Egypt decreased by about 40 percent from 2011 to 2012, according to a study carried out by DeRomana and others. Sharon Witherell, a spokesperson for the Institute of International Education, attributed the decline to program terminations and students’ desire to keep out of the politically volatile nation, according to the Los Angeles Times.