NEW YORK -- Those students evacuated from St. George's University Medical School in Grenada during a U.S.-led invasion may return to the island in January or continue studies on a neighboring Caribbean nation, officials said Tuesday.
An estimated 500 students were offered classes at three facilities in the city and New Jersey following the Oct. 25 invasion, when 631 students were evacuated from two campuses on Grenada.
Chancellor Charles Modica said students may also choose to attend class and live in Barbados because they may not be 'psychologically ready' to return to Grenada.
The new semester under the 'parallel campus plan' begins Jan. 4.
Entering students will be offered the choice of attending classes in either Grenada or Barbados. Second semester students will be able to stay at Long Island University or return to Grenada. Third and fourth semester students will be allowed to attend in Grenada or Barbados.
Fifth semester students will continue the regular course of study at Kingstown Medical College, an affiliate of St. George's University on the island nation of St. Vincent's.
'Any student evacuated from Grenada will always have the opportunity to study elsewhere,' Modica said in a statement.
The chancellor also announced that an estimated 35,000 pounds of goods left behind by students during the evacuation are back in the United States and may be reclaimed next month.
Modica said both Grenada campuses are being refurbished and 'will be made available by the U.S. military before the end of the year.'
A spokesman said an estimated $500,000 in damage was sustained on the two campuses during the invasion.
