University officials said today MSU’s study abroad program in Japan continues to operate smoothly despite a 7.0-magnitude earthquake that hit off the country’s northeast shore last week.
No MSU students currently in the country were impacted by the quake, said Amber Arashiro, international student adviser in the Office of International Students and Scholars, or OISS.
Reports indicate the quake led to tsunami warnings, which later were called off, but Arashiro said the impact on students was minimal.
“It didn’t really seem to affect our students,” Arashiro said.
The tremor is the latest in a string of aftershocks to hit the country this summer following a massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake in March.
Following that disaster, officials with MSU’s Japan Center for Michigan Universities announced their plans to continue the center’s May and summer programs as scheduled, while at the same time contributing to relief efforts.
In light of the record-breaking earthquake and the eruption of January protests in Cairo, Egypt, the university has re-examined many of its study abroad policies, even going so far as to move one program out of Egypt and into Meknes, Morocco.
Officials have expressed confidence in the program even as protests have occurred in the region, some as recently as early June.
The current batch of students remains safe, however.
“They haven’t had any problems,” said Anne Baker, the program’s assistant director. “They’ve been very closely monitored.”
Baker confirmed the program’s plans to return to Egypt in the fall and said, in the meantime, a program director on the ground is providing feedback to MSU and working with students in the country.
The university previously suspended all programs in Egypt following the outbreak of an intense political revolution in January. Students were transferred in February from the program’s base — Alexandria, Egypt — to Morocco.
MSU works closely with coordinators and professors to ensure programs of study in other countries are carried out effectively, said Elizabeth Plagwitz, the assistant director in MSU’s Office of Study Abroad.
“(Coordination efforts) really went very smoothly this year,” Plagwitz said. “We have a strong group of students abroad right now.”
Statistics for this summer’s study abroad participation have not yet been finalized, but officials in the school expect them to be similar to last summer’s figures.
During the 2009-10 school year, 2,589 MSU students took part in study abroad programs through the school. In the 2008-09 academic year, the school ranked No. 1 among public universities for study abroad participation, according to a study conducted by the Institute of International Education.
Students participating in the programs in Japan and Morocco could not be reached for comment.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
