George Washington University is making arrangements to remove six of its students from Egypt, following the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in a military coup.
The George Washington Hatchet has more:
Students from University of Michigan and University of California at Davis, as well as U.S. Fulbright scholars have also been ordered to evacuate.
The move mirrors GW’s responses to previous incidents of international turbulence. The University evacuated about a dozen students from Egypt during the Arab Spring in 2011, as did other colleges. Safety concerns were heightened last week after an American student from Kenyon College was stabbed and killed during a protest.
“The university’s top priority is to ensure the safety and well-being of our students. Consistent with this, we have recommended that the four GW students in Egypt leave, and we have arranged transportation via commercial flights for any student who wants to be evacuated,” GW spokeswoman Candace Smith said in an email.
GW spokesperson Candace Smith told DCist six of the seven students in the country have elected to leave.
A graduate student from American University is also being evacuated from the country, according to Sara Dumont, director of AU Abroad. A Howard University official said the school doesn’t have any students in Egypt, while Catholic University currently doesn’t offer a study abroad program in the country. The Georgetown University official with information about the school’s study abroad program in Egypt was not in the office Friday.
On Wednesday, the State Department ordered the evacuation of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members from the country and warned U.S. citizens to depart. The evacuation order follows the June 28 death of Kenyon College student Andrew Pochter, who was fatally stabbed while watching a protest in Alexandria. Pochter, a native of Chevy Chase, Md., was in the country to teach English to Egyptian children.
At least one pro-Morsi protester was killed Friday, while 16 people diedat a pro-Morsi rally earlier this week.
George Washington University evacuated 12 students from Egypt during the 2011 revolution that ended the regime of President Hosni Mubarak, while American evacuated 11 and Georgetown evacuated 15.
