Students preparing to visit Egypt this May with Samford Abroad were recently informed with the news that the trip would not be proceeding as previously planned.
The trip to Egypt, with tentative dates of May 5-21, would have taken students through Cairo, Luxor and Aswan. It would have fulfilled a humanities or social science credit for students partaking. According to the Samford Abroad website, it had objectives including stoking appreciation for history, helping to “develop intellectual curiosity” and understand the influence that history and culture has had on Egypt.
However, the trip was canceled due to safety concerns regarding the ongoing conflict in neighboring areas of the Middle East.
“I got an email from the study abroad office, and they were like, ‘We couldn’t get proper evacuation coverage,’” said Anna Pharo, one of the prospective attendees of the trip. “And so, they said the trip is cancelled.”
Pharo, a geography major whose father is an archaeologist, has dreamed of visiting Egypt since she was young — so she was disappointed that the trip was unable to proceed.
“Since I was a little girl, Egypt has been top of my list. I’ve always wanted to go there,” said Pharo. “I’ve always wanted to see the pyramids, and see all the digs, and everything. I was super stoked, and there were a lot of people going. I was like dang, that sucks, you know?”
Students were presented with the opportunity to attend other May trips, such as a trip to Rome, Italy, or to Saba in the Caribbean Islands. But prerequisite work or training for other Samford Abroad trips, or the difference in dates between trips, would have made the potential switch less than seamless.
Jennifer Rahn, an Associate Professor of Geography and Sociology and faculty leader of the Saba trip, shared that she was unaware that students were given that opportunity until Pharo brought it up to her.
Currently, it’s unknown whether another trip to Egypt will be in the works in following years.
“At the end of the day, I know Samford values our safety over everything. If something were to happen, that would be a huge deal,” said Pharo. “I’m glad that they’re keeping us safe. I’d rather be safe than sorry. So, it’s probably for the best.”
Staff Reporter
