Number of study-abroad students continues to increase after 9/11
The American University in Cairo (AUC) is gradually increasing the number of study-abroad students admitted each semester, building up to a ceiling of approximately 550 undergraduate students by spring 2009.
AUC receives more than 550 applications each semester, but the ceiling was set based on the estimated capacity of the university. “ This is the number we can take on without crowding our regular students,” said Gina Cinali, executive director of institutional planning, assessment, research and testing (IPART).
According to Rana El Harty, assistant to associate provost for international programs, the current number of study-abroad students is 370, most of whom come through AUC’s New York Office looking for a semester or two of classes in the Arab Language Institute (ALI) or the political science department.
“Last fall, 11 percent of students admitted were study-abroad students, this spring semester, it was 29 percent, “said Ghada Hazem, director of admissions.
This planned increase, accompanied by the move to the new campus in Kattameya next fall semester, has prompted the International Students Services Office (ISSO) to start preparing early for the arrival of the students. “We usually train our student orientation leaders (SOL) a month before study-abroad students arrive,” said Dina Wafa, assistant manager of the ISSO, “This year we’re making them visit the new campus and start learning the location of everything there six months in advance.”
Most study abroad students will be living on the new campus, where 480 dorm rooms have been reserved for them. However, according to Fatma Abu Youssef, director of housing, the Zamalek dorms will still be open, with 350 spaces allocated for study abroad students, for “those who like to stay downtown.”
Abu Youssef also added that the apartments and hotel rooms that had been rented for study-abroad students after the Zamalek dorms ran out of room should no longer be needed after the move.
“In housing and other areas, things are handled in what most study-abroad students would see as a disorganized way, but I think that’s a way to experience the culture,” joked Anya Erokhina, a political economy junior from the University of California in Berkeley.
Erokhina added that the Zamalek dorms will remain a popular location for study-abroad students to stay because it is closer to the downtown area, which is considered the cultural centre of the city.
The lure to study in Egypt as a Middle Eastern country is linked to a growing post- 9/11 fascination in the United States about the area. “There’s a fixation on political issues in the region and a certain glamour connected to [studying] it,” said Eric Goodfield, a political science professor.
According to Goodfield, who has between six to 20 percent study-abroad students in his classes, there is a lack of reflection on the internal problems of the United States (US), and instead, a projection of this on the Middle East. “There’s a sense that the US’s internal problems can be solved if those in the Middle East are.”
Goodfield added that this ‘fixation’ has led to several institutions investing a lot of money in studying the Middle East, making it a lucrative field for students and creating a ‘new gold rush’ toward the area.
On the other side, Egyptian students also find interaction with study-abroad students to be an eye-opener. “I can see them wondering ‘is it offensive if I say this? Can I talk about Israel?’” said Mayy El-Sheikh, political science junior. “But they talk to us and they see how their countries contributed to the misery of the region.”
Not all study abroad students are here for political enlightenment. “I’m interested in music and I wanted to explore the music scene outside the United States,” said Elie Sherman, a Middle East studies junior from the University of California in Santa Barbara.
Even with additional study abroad students, the admissions office says thet total number of students will not increase beyond 6, 220, of which 4,140 are expected to be undergraduates.