SU students safe in Chile

Karl Doll finally received a call from his girlfriend at 9 pm on Saturday. She is studying abroad in Santiago, Chile, about 200 miles from central Chile where the earthquake hit last Friday.

Twenty-two Syracuse University students arrived in Chile just a week before the 8.8 magnitude earthquake hit Concepcion, Chile. Keeta Koalska, Dolls girlfriend, said windows were blown in and some walls crumbled down. "I was woken up by the shaking but it was just an after shock," said Koalski.

Doll says that Koalska told him the host families that the students are staying with are getting their homes back together, putting things back on the shelves.

Assistant Director of SU Abroad, Carrie Abbott has been in contact with the Santiago program every day getting the latest updates. "We were contacted right away on Friday that our students were safe," she said.

Abbott said the students weren't effected dramatically by the earthquake but thinks it's a great experience for them.

Classes and orientation programs are on time and in session. "Students are taking in what happened but are moving on," Abbott said.