Tufts emergency plan for students abroad to hold firm

With the threat of war looming, college administrators are developing emergency contingency plans in case of potential attacks on American students studying abroad. At Tufts, an evacuation plan that has been in place for many years will be implemented in the case of a serious emergency.

The possibility of terrorist activities, anti-American riots, and even natural disasters are causing many university administrators to revise the crisis plans that will protect American students abroad. Many schools feel that these plans are particularly important in the post-Sept. 11 era, especially given the possibility of war between the United States and Iraq, according to The Washington Post.

A crisis simulation that will take place in the near future at Georgetown University exemplifies the precautionary measures some schools are taking to assure the safety of their students. This month, Georgetown administrators will gather in a conference room to discuss the response plan for students who need to be evacuated from a foreign country.

Tufts' current emergency plan, which follows the State Department's advisement and evacuation procedures, will remain the University's primary means of protecting students abroad, Associate Dean of Programs Abroad Sheila Bayne said. The plan has been in place for several years, and there are no plans to change it at this point.

One important aspect of ensuring the safety of students abroad is keeping them informed of important events. At the ten study abroad programs currently offered through the University, resident directors work with students to communicate important information to them while they are away. Dissemination of security information, as well as the monitoring of the information's legitimacy, is handled by Program and Orientation Coordinator Janna Behrens.

But, many students choose to partake in study abroad programs that are not affiliated with Tufts. In that case, students who decide to travel to dangerous regions are doing so at their own risk, Bayne said.

Last year, 350 Tufts students traveled to countries such as Nepal, Pakistan, Kenya, Botswana and Uganda through non-Tufts programs. When students participate in non-Tufts programs, they are forced to take a "leave of absence" from the University.

Although students traveling on Tufts programs stay in communication with the University and often receive e-mails from the study abroad office about security warnings issued by state department, students at non-Tufts programs can lose contact with the University.

Some students said they felt as if they were abandoned when studying on non-Tufts programs. Junior Erica Levine studied at Hebrew University in Israel last semester, and was not contacted by Tufts, even when her university suffered a bomb attack. Still, Tufts' lack of involvement made preparation for the trip easier, Levine said. "It was a relief not to have to deal with some of the problems I know my friends faced when trying to go abroad," she said.

Tufts' study abroad office is concerned with the ability of other major university programs to ensure the safety of Tufts' students, Bayne said. The University doubts that evacuation procedures would ever even need to be implemented, however. Evacuation of any campus abroad is "very unlikely and unprecedented," given Tufts' history, Bayne said.

Many students prefer Tufts' relaxed regulations to other school's strict guidelines about where students are allowed to travel. "I think it's nice that the University values the importance for students to go abroad and don't deprive us of these opportunities," Levine said. Next semester Levine will be returning to Israel.

More than 150,000 American students are going abroad this year, and the Office of Programs Abroad said that 500 of them will be from Tufts. Increasingly, students are moving away from the traditional destinations in Western Europe to more exotic underdeveloped nations throughout the world.