Vol. 7 [UT Stories] Two May Study Abroad Programs Moved Amid Iran Conflict

• Texas Global has moved two May Term programs to new countries following the outbreak of conflict in Iran in February.

How the decision was made:

• UT began assessing risk levels and identifying alternate locations shortly after the conflict started in February.
• The UT System Board of Regents draws on guidance from the U.S. Department of State and On Call International to evaluate travel risk.
• Travel to Jordan was fully suspended; Istanbul received a lower risk designation, allowing the lead professor to appeal to Texas Global's International Oversight Committee and the Office of the President — but the appeal was denied.

Impact on students and faculty:

• Participants in both programs were offered the choice to continue at the new destination or withdraw with a full refund.
• Both programs include a preparatory spring course covering language, history, and culture; lead professors have adjusted their syllabi to reflect the new locations.
• Students in the Istanbul program learned of the move during a class session; one student, Elif Painaik, described the announcement as a shock that left the room visibly shaken.
• Associate professor Reema Barakat, a faculty lead for the Jordan program, will be unable to join the Morocco trip because her Syrian passport does not allow enough time to obtain the necessary visa.
• Jordan participant Elizabeth Pompa expressed concern about the shift in living arrangements — students had been expecting private apartments in Jordan but will now stay with host families in Morocco — and called for more cultural and language preparation for the new destination.
• Co-lead Olla Al-Shalchi acknowledged the disappointment while affirming that students understood why the change was necessary.
• The Multiculturalism in Jordan program, previously based in Amman, will now run in Rabat, Morocco; Turkey: Ottoman State and Society, previously set in Istanbul, has been redirected to Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

(Source: Daily Texan)