Birzeit University, along with the vast majority of institutes and organizations in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, has been adversely affected by the recent events that have come to be known as Al Aqsa Intifada. Following is a brief update of the situation as of February 15, 2001.

For the first month after the beginning of the unfortunate events, Birzeit University along with other Palestinian Universities, was unable to convene classes regularly. However, a general feeling within the University and the larger society that we needed to attempt to continue carrying out our normal daily activities prompted us to try to convene classes the week of October 9th. This proved difficult for students and faculty, who could not stay on campus knowing that friends and family were either taking part in funeral processions or in the hospitals or, worse yet, amidst the clashes. When the first bombing of Ramallah occurred on October 12, we had over 2000 students and faculty at the campus. We had heard about the Israeli soldiers that were found in Ramallah and knew that the situation may escalate. The administration had to send out a couple of cars to make sure the roads were safe. It was a major issue finding a way to get the students out of the University and ensuring their safety. Many students got stuck in Birzeit where they had to spend the night. After this incident, the University did not hold classes again until October 28 although it remained open for staff and students who were able to come. Following is information about the University since the reconvening of classes.

Students and faculty
Birzeit University has been particularly affected by the closures because its students come from all over the West Bank and Gaza Strip as well as from abroad. As the Israeli army and Israeli settlers block main roads, students and faculty living in other West Bank towns have had great difficulty commuting to and from the University. Faculty and students (especially Masters students) living in Gaza have totally been unable to attend. Driving next to Jewish settlements in the Nablus-Ramallah area is very dangerous and there were widespread reports about settlers attacking BZU students and faculty members on by-pass roads. Further, transportation is taking much longer with a half-hour drive from Jerusalem, for example, sometimes taking two hours. Further students who are living on campus or in the Ramallah area have been unable to reach their homes in other areas of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Once again this has particularly affected Gaza students who have been unable to return to their homes since the beginning of events and have been stuck in Birzeit and Ramallah.

Students' attendance fluctuates between 60% -80% with less on days when some towns have been totally under siege or the closures have been tight. On such occasions only 50% are able to reach the University. A number of students have not been able to actually come to the University at all.

The total number of students enrolled in the University for the current semester is 5447. To attain an estimate of student attendance, the University has proceeded to register students. As of November 2001, of the 5447 students, only 3125 students had registered. Currently, according to the records within the Registrar Office, 5133 students are attending classes. The 314 remaining students have withdrawn at different intervals of the first semester; 18 students withdrew during the first week of classes; 82 students withdrew during the first month of classes, 75 students made a total withdrawal from the University after the first two months of the semester; and an additional 139 students have informed the University by telephone or fax that they will be unable to attend at all due to the current situation because they live in far away areas. A major consequence of students' inability to attend classes is that many final year students will be unable to graduate on time. As to the international students taking courses in the Palestine and Arabic Studies – International Studies Program, of the 45 students who were enrolled for the first semester only 5 students dropped out. Further, to date only 20 students have enrolled for the second semester out of a usual 40 to 45 international students.

Faculty members are in almost full attendance except those from the Gaza Strip who have been unable to attain permits since the beginning of these events. To ensure faculty attendance and partially alleviate the situation, the University has been providing accommodations for faculty who would not be able to travel daily from their homes to come to the University.

Academic situation
After reconvening classes at the end of October all classes were shortened with, for example, classes of 50 minutes being decreased to 40 minutes. As such we have been able to continue carrying out our academic teaching but at about 60% of capacity. Furthermore, for two months after the reconvening of classes the University shortened the workday, with the workday ending at 14:30, rather than the usual 16:00 hours. As of January, the University reextended the workday except for faculty and employees that live in far away areas or have trouble commuting to their homes due to roadblocks. This was necessary because the situation and clashes usually escalate in the late afternoon making it difficult to ensure the personal safety of students and staff travelling.

Some courses offered by part-time teachers coming from outside Ramallah region had to be cancelled. The U.S. consulate ordered three Fulbright professors to leave immediately. One of them, a Palestinian American, refused to leave and was given a contract as a visiting professor for the first semester 2000/2001. A course from the International Studies Program had to be cancelled due to limited enrollment.

To partially compensate for the shortened workday some courses are being convened on weekends and holidays. Nevertheless, we have had to extend the current semester till the end of March. This has meant that we have had to substantially delay the second semester which was originally supposed to begin on February 1, and will now commence on March 17, 2001.

Financial repercussions
It is still difficult to estimate the financial loss due to the current situation. Speaking roughly, it would amount to around US $1,300,000 for the current semester and approximately US $2,000,000, if the situation continues, into next summer. This is in addition to the normal operating deficit of the University. This is due to the fact that although the University has not been able to run at full capacity, the running costs of the operation are relatively unaffected. In effect, the running costs have increased due to the fact that teaching faculty that have been unable to reach the University are still being paid their salaries while other professors are being paid overtime to compensate for their colleagues.

Most of the students who enrolled have not paid their tuition fees in full to date. To assist students in being able to continue their education despite the current financial problems everyone is experiencing, the University has agreed to have students pay their tuition fees in three installments each semester. Despite this allowance, the number of students requesting financial aid from the University has more than tripled.

The extension of the first semester means a shortening of the second semester with a further loss. Moreover, the University will probably have to compensate for the inability of students to graduate by reducing our intake of new students in the next year. This could have serious financial effects on our operation that would last for four or five years to come.

A number of our community projects undertaken by the various institutes and centers have also been affected adversely. International donors fund these projects and the disruption of their activities affects their funding. It should be noted, however, that our current donors have been very understanding and we expect our good relations with them to continue. Despite this, several activities have had to be limited or cancelled due to the current situation. These include the following:

• The Institute of Law has had to cancel its training of judges and lawyers.
• Community Volunteer Program in the Student Affairs Office has had to limit its student volunteer activities such as olive picking in the villages, tree planting and other urban beautification activities, the International Summer Camp and planned activities to take part in the International Year of Volunteers 2001.
• Center for Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences have been unable to supervise their activities in Jericho which include planting of tomatoes and cucumbers and have been unable to transport produce from Jericho to be sold in other areas of the West Bank. Further, organizations for which CEOHS carries out pharmaceutical and food testing and analysis have been unable to bring their products to the University for analysis. Finally, CEOHS has outstanding payments that they are unable to collect due to the current financial situation.
• Media Institute has had to limit in-service training for radio and television broadcasters and technicians to individuals only from the Ramallah area.
• Center for Continuing Education has been unable to convene some of their professional training courses.
• Several academic departments at the University, including the Geography Department, the Palestinian Institute of Archaeology, Civil Engineering Department and the Biology Department have been unable to carry out fieldwork for students.

Moreover during the current crisis, it is proving very difficult to fundraise for new projects and programs or the growing administrative deficit as funding is currently being directed towards emergency situations and immediate medical and social welfare needs. As such education is not a priority for many funders at this time.

Effects of current situation on students physical and mental well being
Above and beyond the academic problems being experienced by students, the current situation has adversely affected students physical and mental well being. The Community and Public Health Institute at Birzeit University has conducted a survey on the impact of Al Aqsa Intifadah on the Mental Health of Undergraduate Students at Birzeit University. The study collected data on 1566 students and will be published soon. The preliminary findings show that a significant number of respondents have been negatively affected by the recent events.

In terms of injuries, although the University does not have exact figures as to the number of students who have affected by the current Israeli aggression, 8% of 1566 students who responded stated that they have been injured during the current violence due to gas inhalation, rubber bullets, or beatings and 2% of those injured claimed mental health problems as their injury. Among the more critical injuries is that of a student, Hani Barghouti, who was shot in the mouth with a rubber bullet on the first day of the clashes. Another student, Mohammed Daghlas was shot in the spleen during a demonstration. He has been operated on and will need three more operations. A faculty member, Dr. Simon Al Araj, a professor of Mechanical Engineering was also wounded last week in his house in Beit Jala from shrapnel of an Israeli bomb.

More than a third of the survey population (36%) have indicated that they know of someone, including relatives, friends or neighbors who have been martyred, while more than half (57%) said that there was one or more individuals within their immediate environment who was injured during the latest events.

According to the survey, students are showing a variety of symptoms generally seen as indicators of stress. The effects indicated by student respondents of the survey include physical symptoms, such as nightmares, sleep disturbances, constant fatigue, and unusual headaches. They also include behavioral symptoms, such as an inability to concentrate on studies, appetite loss, appetite gain and more serious behavioral problems including cursing and use of bad language and fighting with others. Of the respondents in the survey, 49% said there was no one helping them in solving their current problems. Of those who have gotten help 37% said friends assisted them, and 55% said that family members helped them. The University is in the process of developing a special project to assist students in overcoming the negative effects of the current situation and improve students overall mental well being.

To counter the this phenomena, and despite the financial difficulties the University is facing the University has hired additional counselors to work in the Student Affairs Office and provide the needed additional support to students.

With these various problems we have found solace in the fact that the Birzeit University community including the administration, students, and faculty, are determined to survive despite these difficulties, as indeed we did a decade ago when the University was totally closed.