Friday, May 1, 2009
The Office of Study Abroad canceled a language study program in Mexico Thursday because of public health concerns surrounding the H1N1 influenza virus, also known as the swine flu. In the meantime, several international students made plans to return to their home institutions early.
The summer study abroad program, in Puebla, Mexico, near Mexico City, was scheduled to begin May 15 and had sixteen students enrolled.
“The Office of Study Abroad always places the well-being of our students as our highest priority,” said Sue Lorenz, director of the Office of Study Abroad, in a media release.
Jill Jess, associate director for news and media relations of University Relations, said the students would be compensated for their airfare cancellation costs and that the office would attempt to find suitable alternate study abroad plans for the students.
University officials initially said the flu outbreak was unlikely to affect study abroad plans, but after the World Health Organization raised the international pandemic alert Wednesday, Provost Richard Lariviere and staff from several other offices on campus began daily situation update meetings Thursday.
Several international students received e-mails from their home universities, and made last-minute plans to return to their countries. The e-mails said that the universities would allow them to leave if they felt uncomfortable about the potential health threat of swine flu, which has stricken two Kansas residents.
Aurore Tabarand, Vichy, France, graduate student, said she got an e-mail from her home university, Groupe ESC Clermont, Wednesday, saying officials there would support students who decided to leave. She said ESC Clermont officials said worries about final projects and exams should not prevent students from leaving a situation they felt uncomfortable with. Other international institutions have informed their students the same, Tabarand said.
Tabarand said that she decided to leave after speaking with her parents and that, although she felt the situation was under control, she worried what may happen in the next few weeks.
“I was fearing not being able to go home if something did happen,” she said.
Tabarand is planning to take a flight back to France on Saturday. She had to pay a 150 Euro ($199) charge for taking her flight early. She said she knew of two other students from her university who had made the decision to leave Kansas early.
Johan Bagewitz, Kristinstad, Sweden, senior, first contacted officials at his university in Vaxjo. The university responded that it would be supportive if he decided to leave.
Bagewitz said officials he spoke with Tuesday at the Office of Study Abroad told him the University of Kansas would be supportive of him choosing to leave if he was able to arrange to finish his final projects in Sweden, which he said his professors allowed him to do.
“This is my personal decision,” he said. “No one has forced me to leave, but everyone has been supportive of my decision.”
Bagewitz said that he had arranged to leave on Saturday, but that he was waiting to decide if he wanted to go.
“I don’t really know what could make me stay, though,” he said.
Bagewitz said he began worrying about the swine flu after speaking with friends studying in Mexico.
Although cases of swine flu have been reported in Europe, he said international students considered the threat to be higher in Kansas.
“The U.S. is way closer to where it all started,” he said. “I think it is safer to be in Sweden than in the U.S.”
Bagewitz and others said the decision to leave was a difficult one.
“I’m kind of divided,” Tabarand said. “It’s mixed feelings because I’m happy to be going home, but kind of sad to be going so quickly.”
More information about the University’s assessment of the flu situation can be found at alert.ku.edu.
— — Edited by Justin Leverett
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Comments
Flu fears cause study abroad cancellations
Anyone that is afraid of the swine flu is an idiot. ONE person has died. ONE! More people die from the regular flu. Hell, more people die for no reason at all. It makes me sad when everyone ducks and covers when any little threat comes along. Grow up already, we all die eventually.
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