The Tufts-in-Ghana program will be reinstated for the 2002-2003 academic year after a two-year suspension, administrators in Arts, Sciences and Engineering announced yesterday. The program was incepted in 1996 but was suspended in 2000 pending review after several Tufts students were sexually assaulted on the Accra campus.
Revamped procedures will include significantly extending the pre-departure meeting, which has lasted just two hours in the past. The resident director will also now have an assistant to help students live and study and Ghana, while a Tufts staff member will be available for the students throughout the transition and orientation when they arrive on the Ghana campus.
The University began accepting applications to the program prior to its reinstatement, and six Tufts students were accepted for next year. Students are able to participate in either the fall or spring semesters.
The decision comes after the completion of a study by program advisor Janna Behrens, who was hired last semester to gage the feasibility of reinstating Tufts-in-Ghana. A member of the Peace Corps in Ghana from 1995 to 1997, Behrens was familiar with the African nation.
She said that the latest changes have made Tufts-in-Ghana safe for students, because the result will be improved acclimation to Ghanaian culture.
"As the world changes, it is necessary for students to know more about how cultural adaptation plays a significant role in his or her personal safety," Behrens said. "There are certain things that the students need to be aware of before they go [to Ghana]."
According to Behrens, the attacks on students, while reprehensible, cloud the picture of what Ghana has to offer. "Ghana is an amazing place...it's the heart of African culture," Behrens said. "It's a wonderful place for Tufts to have a program."
Sophomore Stacey Rashti, who will study in Ghana with two other students in the fall, is excited that the program has been reinstated. She said that while safety is a concern, it should not be the overriding factor on when and where to go abroad.
"It's definitely a time to be cautious, but it's not a time to be afraid to travel," Rashti said. "I think they've taken all the necessary precautions but there is only so much you can do."
The students accepted for next year went through a selection process that now involves a personal interview intended to examine prospective students' motivations and expectations for the program.
In a press release yesterday, Deans of Arts and Sciences Susan Ernst and Dean of Engineering Ioannis Miaoulis said they "value the Tufts-in-Ghana program as an important educational offering and are pleased that it can now continue to be among the University's extensive opportunities for studying in other countries."
