INDIANAPOLIS — An Indiana University student who was one of three taking a semester-long course in Egypt said he plans to remain in the Middle Eastern nation through the end of the year despite a classmate's recent arrest during protests, a school official said Monday.
IU spokesman Mark Land said the student told school officials he feels safe at the American University campus, which is about 15 miles from downtown Cairo, and wants to complete the semester there.
"He's just going to stay on campus and do his thing and he'll be OK," Land said. "He feels safe, he feels comfortable. And at least as of right now he doesn't plan on returning."
IU student Luke Gates and two other American students were arrested last week in Cairo and accused of throwing firebombs at Egyptian security forces during protests against the nation's military-led government. Gates and the two others returned to the U.S. over the weekend after being released by an Egyptian court.
Gates told The Herald-Times of Bloomington for a story published online Monday that in the first six hours after he and the others were arrested, one guard punched him in the face, bloodying his nose, because he hadn't covered his head with his jacket as instructed.
Later, he said, the trio was moved to a jail where they were treated like criminals and were held in a large room without toilets. Some nights were so cold he couldn't sleep, Gates said.
"It wasn't horrible, it wasn't great, but we weren't abused," he told the Herald-Times. "Initially, other prisoners said we'd be there 25 years. I started thinking about my family, and who might be dead by the time I got out."
Land said IU began urging its other two students enrolled at American University to return to the U.S. several days ago as the situation in Egypt became increasingly volatile. One heeded the school's advice and flew back to the U.S., but the other opted to remain.
"We can't make them come back, but we recommended that they do so," he said. "We did strongly urge them to come home and talked to both of them and their family members."
Egypt's days of protests came ahead of parliamentary elections held Monday that drew a strong turnout among Egyptians hoping for democracy after decades of dictatorship under Hosni Mubarak, who was ousted in a popular uprising in February.
Land said IU has one of the nation's largest number of students studying overseas in a given school year. Its 2,190 students studying abroad in the 2009-2010 academic year ranked IU eighth in the nation in the recent Open Doors Report on International Educational Exchange.
Before the Egyptian protests, Land said, IU had a total of five students studying in the Middle East, with three in Egypt and two who remain in Israel. He said most IU students study abroad in the spring and summer.
In light of Gates' arrest, he said IU may take a look at its study-abroad programs to determine if any changes might be needed. Land emphasized that school officials who oversee IU students studying overseas place paramount importance on the students' safety.
"We want them to have great experiences but first and foremost we want them to be safe," he said. "I'm sure that we'll be talking about whether or not it's going to lead to any changes in how we approach things, but it's too early to say."
IU students heading overseas are advised during their orientation to avoid politically unstable situations, Land said, and told "not to get into any tight spots."
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