Wellesley College Cancels its Egypt Program This Fall

Wellesley College students who were scheduled to study in Egypt this fall are looking to study elsewhere, according to a Boston.com article.

Anne Yu, spokeswoman for the college, told the Globe that the four students will not be traveling to Egypt, and Wellesley College evacuated one student from Egypt to Dubai on July 3.

“Safety is paramount,” Yu said in an email statement to Patch. “The students who had planned to study in Egypt this fall are looking into other options through the College for their study abroad experience.”

Recent political unrest in Egypt has made the country unsafe for travel. Egyptian military has overthrown President Mohamed Morsi and forced him out of office, following riotous street protests across Egypt. At least 51 people protesting against the military coup in support of Morsi were killed in a massacre, according to The Guardian.

Tufts University spokesman Alex Reid told the Globe that two Tufts University students were evacuated from Egypt on Friday and returned to the United States. One student had not finished studies.

The Globe reported in February 2011 that Boston College, Northeastern University and Harvard University all had students in Egypt who were required to leave. Middlebury College in Vermont reportedly paid thousands of dollars to charter a private plane for 22 students. At that time, Egyptians were protesting the Mubarak regime.

According to the Wellesley College’s Office of International Study, about 45 percent of Wellesley College juniors study abroad. The college has been a study abroad partner with the American University of Cairo since 2010.

Do you know anyone who's studied abroad in Egypt recently?