WILL SEBERGER/Arizona Daily Wildcat Haley Contant, journalism junior, has decided to cancel her study abroad trip to England, citing safety abroad as her main concern.

International tensions touch UA student studying abroad

While the war in Iraq is keeping some students from joining study abroad programs, many already abroad feel safe.

"The war has only intensified my time here, and I know it will make it a deeper experience for me in the end," Molly Hanrahan, a theater arts junior who is currently studying in London, stated in an e-mail.

Hanrahan began studying in London in January and said upon leaving the United States she knew of the risk of a potential war, but she said the advantages of going abroad outweighed the disadvantages.

"Being abroad during this time is completely life-changing," she said, adding that her experience thus far has been "strange yet compelling."

The UA Office of Study Abroad and Student Exchange (SASE) reported a slight decrease in the number of students applying for study abroad programs this year.

"Many students are waiting to turn in their applications to see what is going to happen," said Cathleen Keenan Church, assistant director for SASE.

"In reality, it is a really interesting time to be abroad," Keenan Church said. She added that since the onset of the war, many students who are abroad have e-mailed her to let her know they are fine and not to worry about them.

I am not afraid of being hurt, but I am not going to go around waving an American flag either. - Jessica Pushor

"Students are not feeling nearly as uncomfortable as we had anticipated," she said.

Despite how students abroad feel about their safety, Keenan Church said SASE has received many phone calls from concerned parents who have students abroad or students who want to go abroad.

"Every university has measures in place in terms of safety and security for students studying abroad, so that is reassuring to the parents," she said.

However, many parents have decided their students' travel plans should be suspended.

Hayley Contant, a journalism junior, said her plans to study abroad this summer in London have been canceled.

"It was a tough decision to come to terms with because going abroad was something I had always wanted to do, but I know it is in my own best interest and safety to postpone my travel," said Contant. She added that her parents' concern for her safety and the possibility of travel dangers were her primary reasons for not going abroad this year.

Eliud Chuffe, resident director of the Summer in Segovia (Spain) program, said, however, that he doesn't think parents will worry about the safety of their students traveling to Spain.

Students in the program said they are not worried about their safety either, but they are concerned with how Americans are perceived.

"My biggest fear is how the people in another country will react to me as an American," said Crista Millikin, a pre-business junior who plans to study in Chuffe's program this year.

"I'm not going to let something like this affect what I've wanted to do for a lifetime," Millikin said, adding that she has no intentions of not going through with her plans for Spain.

"I'm not the least bit scared to go, I actually think it will be very interesting," Millikin said.

The global opinion about Americans is also on the minds of students currently abroad.

"I am not afraid of being hurt, but I am not going to go around waving an American flag either," said Jessica Pushor, an art history junior who is studying in Ireland.

Cody Harple, a UA student who is also studying in Ireland, said he has become "increasingly aware of the anti-American sentiment felt by a lot of people in Europe."

Harple recalled a protest he witnessed the night the war in Iraq broke out: "(Protestors) stomped outside a McDonald's and made a circle around the entrance · they were beating their drums and some people were yelling ÎUSA sucks.'"

"But I didn't feel threatened in the least," Harple added.

Hanrahan said her biggest obstacle since being abroad has been her realization of how far she is from her family and Canada, her home country.

"The fact that I'm not in direct contact with my family is stomach churning," Hanrahan said. "But if things get really bad, I can make the split decision to come home."

Keenan Church said students who wish to cancel their plans for upcoming study abroad programs will be able to receive a full refund, as long as the reason for cancellation is due to safety concerns.

No students have taken advantage of this new exception to standard SASE policy, added Keenan Church, who has heard few concerns from students who are planning to go abroad.

The war did force SASE to alter one of the 17 study abroad programs, but has not caused the cancellation of any others.

"The itinerary for the Greece and Turkey program was altered to only include Greece, for obvious reasons," she said.

"We want to get as many students abroad as we can" Keenan Church said.

She added that awareness of other cultures is something students who study abroad bring back and carry with them for a lifetime.

"Intercultural awareness is one of the best ways to solve conflict between the U.S. and other cultures · it is truly a life changing experience."

Hanrahan, Harple and Pushor all said they would recommend students to study abroad despite the current situation in Iraq.

Harple said he would definitely encourage students to partake in a foreign study program, unless, of course, they were thinking of the U of Baghdad or something. They might want to think that over twice."