Studying abroad adapting to changing international climate

As the impending war on Iraq becomes more of a reality each day, increasing international tensions have resulted in different reactions by the Office of Programs Abroad and by students.

Concerns about traveling and anti-American sentiment have not prevented large numbers of Tufts students from studying abroad, but have caused the office to change some of the recommendations it makes about programs.

Though changes in the international climate after Sept. 11 prompted many to predict a decrease in travel, Foreign Study Advisor Sally O'Leary said that there "was not a dramatic drop off" in the number of students who have wanted to study abroad in the last year and a half.

The number of students heading to what are considered more dangerous locations, though, has dropped somewhat according to O'Leary. For example, three to four years ago, an average of 13 to 15 students visited Israel per year. Currently, O'Leary reported that only one student is studying abroad in Israel this semester.

The changing feelings towards Americans have also prompted O'Leary to adjust the types of recommendations she makes to those who express interest in dangerous locations.

O'Leary is focused on encouraging students to study in safe locations, and to assure that their parents are involved in the decision-making process if they express interest in a dangerous country.

"I would discourage certain locations right now, but ultimately the decision lies in the hands of the students and parents," O'Leary said. If a student expressed an interest in visiting Israel, for example, O'Leary said that, "My first response would be, 'how do your parents feel about this?'"

O'Leary said that the "leave of absence" that a student takes from Tufts when studying on a non-Tufts program is part of what makes ensuring safety difficult for certain students abroad.

Students who travel on Tufts programs generally have the advantage of being kept informed by the University while abroad, according to Program and Orientation Coordinator Janna Behrens. Warnings issued on the State Department's website are forwarded on to Administrators of the Tufts programs, so the University is assured that students will receive the message.

But many students who have studied abroad on non-Tufts programs -- as roughly 350 students do each year -- said that Tufts does not disseminate safety warnings to them on a regular basis. All students who spoke to the Daily said that they received safety warnings only from the program they were studying with, and never from Tufts itself.

Most students who studied on non-Tufts programs were satisfied with the level of communication, even though it was fairly minimal. "I never really communicated with Tufts but it wasn't really a big deal," said senior Lindsay Aldrich, who spent her junior year on a non-Tufts program in London.

"I never felt in danger anywhere I was -- and I even [visited] Moscow which is way off the beaten path," Aldrich said.

Safety information is normally left for the program itself to distribute, O'Leary said.

"I would assume that a reputable advisor such as Hebrew University would stay on top of those advisories," she said.

Instead of feeling pressure to communicate information directly to Tufts students abroad, the University feels that putting programs through a rigorous selection process is the more important step in determining whether students will be kept safe. O'Leary said that the safety of the programs has to be trusted completely for it to be recommended by Tufts.

Part of a program's evaluation process is based substantially on student feedback from those who have petitioned and enrolled in the program. Without that feedback, as well as clearance by professors, the program cannot be approved.

"Safety is an enormous concern for all of us in the Study Abroad office," O'Leary said.

But students traveling on non-Tufts programs are subject to safety standards that are not set by Tufts, O'Leary said. While Tufts could decide to cancel one of its own programs, or suspend it for a few years if the country were unsafe -- such as it did with the Tufts-in-Ghana program -- it does not have the same control over outside programs, O'Leary said.

The type of information that is being communicated at the mandatory pre-departure meetings is also changing due to the international scene, according to Behrens. The meetings serve partially to inform students of safety concerns they may encounter while abroad. While pre-departure meetings in past years have included information about culture differences, gender roles, health and safe sex, Behrens said that "Safety within study abroad is changing. We update our messages as world events change."

Such changes include advising students to refrain from engaging in heated political discussions or protests while abroad, and avoiding dangerous situations that could otherwise make them subject to terrorism.

But many Tufts students who were in foreign countries during Sept. 11, 2001 said that they did not feel as though they were in danger. Most students agreed that any negative comments were directed at the United States as a country, and not at the citizens themselves. "It wasn't as focused on the people as it was on our government," said Holly Goyert, a senior who spent a year abroad in Argentina on a non-Tufts program.

Goyert said that "the normal turmoil of the country" was at times a safety concern, but that in general she said, "I felt perfectly safe when I was there."

Some foreigners were very sympathetic to the terrorist attack on the US, but some were not. "I encountered a lot of people who said, 'your country deserves that,'" said Rachel Messer, a senior who spent her junior year in Spain on a non-Tufts program.