(U-WIRE) WASHINGTON ? The terrorist attacks on Washington, D.C., last month caused 74 students to leave American University, including undergraduate, graduate and Washington Semester students.
A final count of students who left will not be possible, however, until final grades come in. Students may have left without notifying the school, and their absence will only be realized when final grades come in and are compared to the university roster, said Linda Bolben-Pitcher, senior assistant to the university registrar.
A total of 240 students withdrew from AU this semester, of which about 30 percent left because of the terrorist attacks.
Among the undergraduate population, 20 students left, 17 which were English Language Institute students here from abroad taking English courses before enrolling for a degree. Six graduate students also left, Bolben-Pitcher said.
Of the students that have left, a few have returned or will be returning this semester or next semester, Bolben-Pitcher said.
“We are hoping that students will return next semester,” Bolben-Pitcher said.”Initially we got a lot of calls from parents and were concerned from the location, but I’m hoping that they will all come back, now that things have all calmed down.”
In the Washington Semester program, 10 students went back to their respective colleges and universities. Seven schools were represented in those that left. Dona Chapmen, assistant dean of the Washington Semester program, said AU probably would not have lost all 10 students, but several students from the same schools returned together.
While the program lost 2 percent of its students, enrollment for next semester is rising.
“The program is actually growing,” Chapmen said. “[The attack] doesn’t seem to be scaring people off. They still want to come.”
Most students are glad they stayed in the program, especially with all of the news and events that are going on.
“They feel like they are being a part of history,” Chapmen said, “And to them that is far more exciting just reading about it.”
The World Capitals program had only one non-AU student withdraw from the program after seeing a U.S. State Department announcement Oct. 2 that warned of possible retaliation against “symbols of American capitalism” in Italy, said Amy Morrill Bijeau, associate director of the World Capitals program.
The U.S. Embassy in Italy is advising Americans to take extra precautions but not recommending they leave the country.
A letter from Margaret Melady, president of the American University in Rome, said that AU has increased security on and around the campus and is currently working with security experts and Italian police.
The announcement is the lowest form of warning the government can issue.
Enrollment in the World Capitals program has increased for next semester, despite a growing sense of international apprehension after the terrorist attacks. It is the strongest year ever for enrollments with 428 deposits and 518 applications. Last year 376 students went abroad.
