The majority of this term's Language Study Abroad and Foreign Study Programs are proceeding as planned, but as tensions abroad escalate, the future of overseas academics in sensitive areas is being questioned.
Program directors and participants currently abroad have been instructed by the College administration to take extra safety precautions, including dressing conservatively and avoiding American establishments.
"We want students to be in contact [with their directors] at all times," said Associate Dean of Faculty Lenore Grenoble. "We need to be able to reach anybody ... at any given moment."
In efforts to increase communication with relatives at home and among themselves, many students have purchased cellular phones. Remaining on site during weekends and breaks has also been encouraged.
The U.S. State Department issued a worldwide caution on Oct. 7 for American citizens abroad, urging them "to monitor the local news, maintain contact with the nearest American embassy or consulate and to limit movement in their respective locations." Program directors report that their students have remained calm and that awareness of their status as Americans has grown.
Theft and security concerns led to the recent cancellation of the Russian FSP.
On the Jerusalem LSA scheduled for summer 2002, Grenoble said, "Safety is a number one issue for us. We're working on the baseline that ... it's going to be safe."
The future of this program has not yet been decided due to volatile Israeli-Palestinian relations. Previously cancelled because of unsafe conditions, the Jerusalem LSA comprises students of both Arabic and Hebrew.
Lewis Glinert, director of the Jerusalem program, was unavailable for comment.
Religion professor Kevin Reinhart, director of the spring 2002 Morocco FSP in Fez, was unsure of the status of his program. "I'm not interested in taking students into an unsafe situation," he said. "We must be prepared to bail."
Although home to a Muslim, Arabic-speaking majority, Morocco's history and traditions are closer to those of Algeria and Tunisia than the strife-torn nations of southwest and central Asia. In recent years, relatively few acts of terrorism have taken place.
"Fez is less likely to be a target [than Rabat]," Reinhart said, because of heavy regional police surveillance.
Since the events of Sept. 11, no student has withdrawn from the Morocco FSP, although Reinhart predicts that phone calls from reluctant parents will ensue in the coming months.
No alternative on-campus programs have been established in the event of future FSP or LSA cancellations. All scheduled winter programs are located in Europe and are unlikely to be affected by turmoil in Afghanistan.
"What we really want to do," Grenoble said, "is understand other parts of the world better ... it's a real challenge for us."
