Staying safe while abroad

By Rachel Schwartz

A second summer of terrorist related activity in London again affected students studying abroad in Durham, England, and led students to ask questions about safety abroad.

"Sometimes I'm surprised students don't worry more," said Dennis Gordon, executive director of International Programs. "But that's because I think they do understand that the world's risky."

With around 450 students abroad for fall quarter, there are more students studying abroad than ever before.

Senior Andrew Bolger is currently studying in London and said in an e-mail that although his parents asked him if he still wanted to go, the bomb plots and last year's tube bombing did not change his decision to study in England.

"I even remember thinking that London will be safer while we are there because of the scare and the high amount of surveillances that the government over here is allowed to use," Bolger said in an e-mail. "They have no problems with tapping phone lines and putting camera's up literally everywhere."

Santa Clara has run a Durham summer program for several years; however, in the past two years students have been directly affected by the London tube bombings of July 11 and this summer's airline scare.

Many students were planning to return home during the week when the plot to blow up British airliners using liquid-based explosives was exposed.

Last summer, program participants were in London during the 7/7 bombings that struck British public transportation, leaving 52 dead. Following the bombing, Timothy O'Keefe, a professor in the history department, decided to move the program to Durham ahead of schedule, after just three days in London.

"The atmosphere varied depending who you were with. Some of the students were really anxious while other students seemed to be in more of a " 'wait and see' state," Professor Phyllis Brown said.

Some of the Santa Clara students studying in Europe last fall were in the Paris area during the eight days of rioting by French youths that resulted in over 500 cars and numerous buildings being burned.

While program organizers warned students not to take the bus at night, the riots did not directly affect those Santa Clara students.

Some, like senior Molly Scudder who was in Paris at the time, said the entire event was over-sensationalized by the American media.

The day before the Durham program ended, students scrambled to re-arrange flights and re-pack bags in accordance with new, stricter luggage restrictions.

Junior Kaylie Pezzuto tried to maintain a sense of humor, despite the fact that her flight to Paris had been canceled. She started a Facebook group titled, "Me, my Ziplock bag and Heathrow," for students in the Durham program.

Some students who had planned to continue to travel in Europe were forced to alter their plans due to canceled flights and severe delays. O'Keefe, who directs the program, arranged accommodations in Durham so that students could stay an extra day for free if their flights had been canceled or delayed.

While some students were upset, others noticed the difference in the British attitude.

"The thing that we noticed the most was how normal everyone seemed because we were really panicked, but all of the Londoners were just kind of walking around like nothing had happened," senior Kara Miyasato said.

In a time where there is a constant and real threat of terrorist attack, the university has emergency plans for Santa Clara students abroad.

Contingency measures in the event that some sort of disaster or attack occurs varies depending on the program, but according to Gordon, Santa Clara has plans in place to communicate with students and parents in the event of an emergency, or in certain cases, bring students home.

Additionally, all Santa Clara students studying abroad have some sort of traveler's insurance in place before they leave.

"The thing we try to tell students all the time is that at the end of the day, you're responsible for your own safety and so you should plan ahead and keep up on the news," Gordon said.

Contact Rachel Schwartz at (408) 554-4546 or rschwartz@scu.edu.