As SARS cases rise, students weigh options

By Kristen Baumgartner

Rising cases worldwide of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are forcing some Santa Clara students to return early or completely cancel their plans to study abroad.

Students studying in Beijing were forced to return home early, said Director of International Programs Dennis Gordon. Programs in China and Hong Kong have been suspended for the summer and fall quarters.

SARS first appeared in China, but in recent months it has emerged in more than 20 countries throughout Asia, North America and Europe. More than 7,000 cases have been reported worldwide, 623 of them resulting in fatalities.

This deadly illness is primarily spread through close person-to-person contact including touching and sharing items. SARS has affected China the most with 5,209 reported cases and an additional 1,710 in Hong Kong alone.

Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued travel advisories and alerts for affected areas. They recommend that people postpone nonessential travel, as most of the cases in the United States occurred among travelers returning from SARS-affected areas.

It is with the multitude of warnings that study abroad organizations across the country began notifying students of the dangers of staying in an affected country. University of California campuses pulled 44 students studying in Beijing.

"[There are concerns that] the Chinese government was systematically withholding information and deaths among a younger population," said Bruce Hanna, director of communications for the Education Abroad Program at UC campuses.

Syracuse University, a popular affiliate program for Santa Clara students, was one of the first to respond to the disease because it is a situation that the program cannot control, said Ryan Williams, the assistant director of admissions at Syracuse.

Sophomore accounting major Julie Golton has been planning since January to spend the fall in Beijing through the Beijing Center. While this time of the year should be one of preparation and excitement, it is instead a time of anxiety as she awaits news from the university about whether or not the program will be canceled.

"I will decide [to go to Beijing] after they make their decision. Of course I'm a little worried, but if they tell me I can go, I figure they believe the situation is under control" said Golton.

Sophomore accounting major Khandra Wong was one of the students planning to go abroad through the Syracuse program, but as a result of SARS, she has decided to call off the trip completely.

"I guess I decided to cancel partly because of my parents," said Wong. "Ultimately it was my decision, but my parents were a huge factor. The population in Hong Kong is so dense and they didn't want me to risk it. I figured it was safer to stay here, but it was a hard decision to make."

Syracuse Study Abroad has since canceled the fall programs and pulled out current students studying in Hong Kong. In a recent letter sent to parents and students, Executive Director of Syracuse Study Abroad Nirelle Galson called the cancellations unforeseen and difficult.

Although disappointing, Galson said that the cancellation keeps with the top priority of safeguarding the health and safety of students. Wong was offered alternative places to go, but she has decided to turn them down and return to Santa Clara in the fall because Hong Kong was the only place she wanted to study. She said that she hopes to travel and work there once she graduates in 2005.

Junior economics major Taylor Croonquist said that he was having the time of his life studying abroad in Beijing. Although his program was planned to end on May 15, Croonquist had arranged to stay in China through this August at another university. However, on April 22 he was advised to leave China immediately. The news stunned him because he actually had only heard about the severity of the situation just weeks before.

"Not much information was passed down from the government, but suddenly things began to happen faster and faster. It went from not knowing anything, to having a few meetings, to the school going on complete lockdown and being forced out of my host family's house," said Croonquist.

Croonquist said that all students were all given disinfectant, told to report their body temperature every day, and to have windows open at all times for ventilation.

"Although we weren't forced to leave, we weren't given much of an option," said Croonquist.

Croonquist, now back at home in Seattle, still has schoolwork to complete for his classes, which is due at the end of this month. Despite an early end to the program, Croonquist said that he feels the experience was and worth it. He will be back at Santa Clara in the fall for his senior year.