All study abroad programs in Mexico, including one undergraduate academic program, are remaining under suspension due to safety concerns, according to a CU-Boulder news release.
In late July, after monitoring reports of intensifying violence and working in cooperation with program partners in Mexico, the university’s administration and the Office of International Education set the suspension, according to the news release.
“This is a very difficult decision that was not made lightly,” interim Provost Russell Moore stated in the news release. “After reviewing the U.S. Department of State Travel Warning for Mexico, the July 9 Overseas Security Advisory Council report on escalating violence in Mexico, the June 29 Warden Report for Guadalajara warning of the deteriorating security environment there and news reports on rising drug cartel violence within Mexico, we concluded that it is currently not safe for our study abroad or INVST students to remain in Mexico.”
CU offers study abroad programs in Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Oaxaca and Monterrey, said Mary Dando, the director of study abroad programs. Students decide where to study based on whether or not they wish to complete classes in English or Spanish.
Dando said there were less than five students who were scheduled to participate in programs in Mexico this fall, but unless the level of violence decreases considerably, it is likely that the suspension will remain in effect through the spring semester as well.
“We are monitoring information from the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Consulate,” Dando said. “If it changes, then we will review that suspension to see if we will be offering programs in the spring, but the deadline to apply for programs in the spring is October 1. Unless things change dramatically I guess the suspension will be in place for the spring.”
Dando said despite the suspension, the study abroad office was able to substitute programs in other locations for the students who were planning on studying in Mexico.
“For the fall students planning to go to Mexico, we were able to offer alternative programs in Peru or Argentina, depending on the program they were looking for,” she said.
Dando also said the majority of the students planning to travel to Mexico agreed to participate in programs elsewhere, while one student decided to remain in Boulder.
Haley Burns, a 20-year-old junior English education major, recently returned from studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain and said her parents were slightly worried about her safety while she studied abroad.
“They were a little [scared], just because in Europe, Greece was falling apart at the end of last March, their economy was terrible, so there were riots in the street, and everyone was saying that Spain was going to be after Greece because the unemployment rate was so high,” Burns said.
She said she believes in light of the violence the temporary suspension is a good idea.
“I think it’s reasonable because when you’re studying abroad you are figuring out a lot on your own, and [the study abroad office administration] is not holding your hand,” she said. “You’re on your own. Until the drug wars stop, I think it’s reasonable.”
Carey Folbrecht, a 22-year-old senior theater major who is currently studying abroad in Argentina, said although safety should remain a priority, other countries are often experiencing periods of change.
“For the most part, I think it would be irresponsible for a program to knowingly send students into a dangerous situation, especially because kids coming abroad have to deal with so much,” Folbrecht said. “I get that it was necessary to suspend the programs, but it’s also a shame; we forget in the U.S. that the most political change we’ve had since our founding is having a new president or new members of Congress. One of the most eye-opening experiences here has been realizing a small part of what it’s like to live in a country where political stability is not a given.”
Even if traveling for a study abroad program requires last-minute changes due to such concerns, some students say it is an experience that should not be missed.
“I never wanted to leave. I think its something that everyone should do; it definitely matured me as a person,” Burns said. “It’s hard to describe, but if you get the opportunity to, everyone should do it.”
Contact CU Independent Deadline News Editor Sarah Simmons at Sarah.e.simmons@colorado.edu.
