The Tufts in Ghana program has been suspended for the spring 2001 semester as University officials revamp the program to ensure student safety on the University of Ghana campus. The decision, made by Vice President of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Mel Bernstein in conjunction with a faculty oversight panel, comes after a Tufts student was violently raped on the Accra campus in Ghana last year.
Tufts in Ghana had already been under suspension this fall following an administrative review of the program - one of Tufts' nine sponsored abroad options - this past summer. The review investigated safety conditions on the African campus after numerous reports of acquaintance rape and sexual assault against Tufts students studying in Ghana. Three rapes were reported to University officials in 1998 alone, according to Tufts' Office of Public Safety web site.
"The suspension of the program has been continued through the spring 2001 semester, and the students that had planned to attend this spring have been informed," said Tufts Programs Abroad Director Sheila Bayne. "There will be a thorough review of all aspects of the program."
Administrators attribute many of the past incidents to the cultural differences between Americans and Ghanaians, and the possibility for mixed signals when dealing with different cultural standards for consensual sex. Sources indicate, however, that the rape last spring was far more violent and premeditated in nature. While Tufts cited this recent incident as the immediate cause for the program's original suspension this summer, the University acknowledged past security concerns as a factor in the decision.
Dean of Students Bruce Reitman, who has been involved in the decision since the outset, praised the academic merits of the program and expressed his hope of reinstating a safer version of the program as soon as it is viable. "There is every hope of restoring the program," he said. "The value of having a Tufts program in Africa is very clear."
Administrators and faculty advisors will meet early next week to discuss the future of the program, and to determine "what it is going to take to get this thing back on the road," according to Reitman.
The suspension will allow more time to complete the ongoing investigation as well as give administrators a chance to implement enhanced safety measures on both the program orientation and the campus itself. Reitman did not rule out the possibility of hiring a Tufts administrator to advise students on-site. Currently, students enrolled in the program report to a Ghanaian official in Accra.
As part of the University's traditional safety efforts, an on-site orientation warns students about past incidents and mentioned that certain behaviors - while less-than-seductive in America - could be misinterpreted by Ghanaians.
Nevertheless, many past participants said they had no idea that any sexual assaults had occurred until they had already signed onto the program. This left some calling on Tufts to make all relevant information available to students before they finalize their study abroad decisions.
Program alumni agree that there is a fundamental culture gap when it comes to issues of sexual relations in Ghana, and that Ghanaians and Americans often misinterpret one another's sexual signals. For example, when a woman agrees to enter a man's bedroom in Ghana, it is often assumed that she is willing to have intercourse unless she explicitly says otherwise.
"There is more of a gender divide in Ghana - it's not a totally segregated society, but there are certainly more distinct gender roles than we have here," said senior Laura Sheppard Brick, who studied in Ghana last fall.
Sheppard-Brick said that there is a perception in Ghana that American women, partly because of the way they dress, are more sexually promiscuous than their Ghanaian counterparts. "Ghanaian women always cover their legs, and American women don't," she explained.
Even though Ghana is one of the most prosperous and stable countries in Africa, the issue of rape is especially poignant across the continent, where male-dominated cultures often discourage women from resisting unwanted sexual advances and reporting sexual assaults. Rape also carries broader implications on a continent where HIV infection rates are the highest in the world.
While some alumni are critical of a local culture where silence is often interpreted as assent and platonic overtures are sometimes perceived as sexual advances, others, like senior Andrea Johnson, believe that American students should be responsible for giving clear signals and avoiding potentially dangerous situations.
"It's really a personal choice about what situations you put yourself in," she said earlier this fall. "If you go to his room, for most Ghanaian men, you're sending a signal that you're interested in something more than a platonic relationship. So you can either go, or you can talk to someone and lay down the ground rules."
Johnson, who is engaged to a Ghanaian man she met while studying there, criticized the administration's decision to suspend the program. "I don't think it was the right decision at all," she said. "I think it's really awful. I got so much out of the program, and I'm a completely different person because of it."
Not waiting for the administration's final judgment, at least two students had already cancelled their plans to attend the program this spring.
"There is no question as to the usefulness and popularity of the program, but the safety of our students has to remain a primary concern," Reitman said.
