As geopolitical and natural crises erupt across the globe from Japan's nuclear plant meltdown to the revolutions in the Middle East Dartmouth's Off-Campus Programs Office remains "vigilant" in ensuring the safety of students studying abroad, Off-Campus Programs Executive Director John Tansey said. This summer's Advanced Language Study Abroad in Japan, which was altered following the Fukushima nuclear power plant failure in March, was the only program to undergo logistical changes in light of world events.
The Off-Campus Programs Office constantly monitors the countries in which Dartmouth offers programs using a variety of sources, including updates from the U.S. State Department, faculty members with relevant expertise, International SOS a company that sends clients special alerts when important global events occur and the Overseas Security Advisory Council, which works closely with the State Department and the private sector to provide information exchanges regarding security abroad, according to Tansey.
Any event from a pandemic to a university strike may influence a program's ability to operate safely without interruption, Tansey said. When that happens, Dartmouth faculty convene to discuss possible responses, he said.
"There are a number of different reasons we may call a group together here on campus to look at a situation involving a program," he said. "The response of the crisis management team is scaled so that the membership of the group at any given time really depends on the situation."
The Japanese program was originally scheduled to take place in Chiba, a suburb of Toyko located about 200 miles away from the Fukushima power plant, Gabbie Chen '14, a participant in the upcoming LSA, said. The students will now spend their summer in Kyoto, which is more than 400 miles away from the crisis location, according to Chen.
Tansey cited expected electrical shortages in Tokyo throughout the summer which will prevent reliable air conditioning use as a reason for moving the program further south.
"Families weren't as comfortable as they normally are with having students in that condition, and if their classrooms aren't air-conditioned it could be quite uncomfortable," he said.
Tansey said that although some program participants might be concerned that the nuclear radiation could reach Tokyo from Fukushima, radiation was not a primary reason for changing the location of the program.
"The experts are saying that the risks [of nuclear fallout] are low and do not pose a significant health risk," Tansey said.
Chen said she viewed the move to Kyoto as a positive development, pointing out the richer cultural offerings available there.
Following the April 28 bombing of a cafe in Marrakesh, Morocco, that killed 15 people most of whom were foreigners Dartmouth decided not to change the Foreign Study Program in Fez, Morocco, due to advice from various sources, according to Tansey.
"Our programs operate with a degree of caution regardless, and we ask our students to remain alert and to keep up to date," he said.
Most students in Morocoo were surprised and concerned after hearing of the bombing, Luke Murphy '13, a student currently on the FSP in Fez, said in an email to The Dartmouth.
"It certainly made us worry about our weekend trips to the more touristy places in Morocco," he said.
Murphy said he is not worried about the recent Middle Eastern and North African political uprisings, citing Moroccans' strong national allegiance to their king. Students on the FSP are also largely unconcerned about possible retaliation from the killing of Osama bin Laden, he said.
"All the people I've met and talked to seemed to be happy about Bin Laden's death," Murphy said.
When Dartmouth had to evaluate the situation of an off-campus program in Cholula, Mexico, during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, a large group of decision makers eventually decided to evacuate the students, according to Tansey. The Mexico LSA was the only Dartmouth off-campus program that had to be evacuated since Tansey began working at Dartmouth in 2001, he said.
Since Mexican officials responded to the swine flu by restricting flight outside of the country, Off-Campus Programs expedited the difficult process of removing students from the country by chartering a private jet to fly Dartmouth students to the United States, Blake Williams '11, a participant in the program, said.
Williams lauded Dartmouth for reacting to an assumed "worst-case scenario," even though "looking back, it wasn't as serious."
"The most important thing to keep in mind is that Dartmouth is going to have your best interests in mind," Williams said.
