Editorial Board: University’s study abroad restrictions justified
Program through University of Texas opens doors for travel
KANSAN
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
Last week, Hillel sponsored a petition to allow KU students to study abroad in Israel without having to disenroll from the University. The petition advocates allowing students to study in Israel through the University of Texas. Currently, the University of Kansas has no programs in Israel due to travel advisory warnings from the State Department. While its decision to disallow KU-affiliated programs in Israel is unpopular among those wishing to study there, it is the University’s right to sponsor study abroad programs where it sees fit.
Israel has been on the travel advisory list since 2000. According to the country’s profile on the State Department’s Web site, security concerns in Israel are only increasing. Hamas, a recognized terrorist organization, has de facto control of the Gaza Strip. Kidnappings, shootings and terrorist attacks are regular occurrences in Gaza and the West Bank. While the travel warning is mostly directed at Gaza—Americans are encouraged to avoid all travel there—the warning also encompasses Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, the two largest Israeli cities and incidentally the locations of two University of Texas programs.
It is obviously a person’s right to travel where they wish. However, the University has its own responsibility to ensure the safety of students and faculty.
It is obviously a person’s right to travel where they wish. However, the University has its own responsibility to ensure the safety of students and faculty. Its decision to make judgments based on the State Department’s recommendations is both fair and responsible. Every state on the list is present due to deep-seated and sustained social, military and/or political conflict.
The OSA already accepts credit from students who have enrolled in independent study abroad programs in Israel, an exception to their stated policy of not providing any financial or academic support for study in countries on the advisory list. This is a notable concession, and one that students who choose to study in Israel should appreciate.
The obvious conflict in allowing students to study in Israel is that it opens the door to other programs in designated unsafe nations. If students are allowed to study in Israel, should students who wish to do so be allowed to study in Sudan, Indonesia and Algeria? It is unjust to make Israel a special case, which the OSA is already skirting in allowing transfer credit from unaffiliated programs there.
Recognizing that students’ wishes to study in Israel have a basis in genuine academic and cultural interest, the University of Texas compromise is, at this moment, the fairest way for KU to exercise its right to not directly sponsor Israeli study abroad programs, while allowing students to have a less-difficult time in pursuing their academic goals.
Just as it is KU’s right to ban study abroad programs in Israel for the time being, it is also the University of Texas’ right to allow for such programs and assume responsibility for the safety of their participants. Finally, it is the responsibility of all would-be participants, before enrolling in any programs, to educate themselves on the political reality of Israel today.
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