Students abroad feel safe
By Lauren Hanvey
Staff Reporter

With war a reality, TCU Study Abroad students are being encouraged to take extra precautions for their safety, Education Abroad Coordinator Tracy Williams said Thursday.

The Study Abroad office has advised students to be aware of what is going on around them and make themselves less noticeable, Williams said.

“We have encouraged our students to ... not wear baseball caps or T-shirts with American icons, not congregate in large groups or at known American hangouts, keep volume of voices lower since Americans are known to be loud,” she said.

Lauren Osborne, a sophomore fashion merchandising major, is studying in Florence, Italy and said she thinks the people there look at her differently now that the United States has declared war.

“I don’t really feel threatened, but it seems like the people here are not for the war at all and are not happy with America,” she said.

Students say they do not think it will be necessary to come back to the United States before their study abroad programs are over.

“I feel that we will be able to stay over here until the end of the semester and it will all be fine,” said Lindsey Isbell, a sophomore premajor, who is also studying in Italy.

Williams said that the Study Abroad office continues to monitor information from the Department of State and there have been no notices for Americans to leave any of the countries in which TCU has students. Williams sent a mass e-mail Tuesday to study abroad students that gave tips on how to avoid being singled out as Americans.

Williams said she was studying abroad in Belgium when the Gulf War in 1991 took place and that she did not feel her safety was threatened then.

Sara Sohmer, instructor of history, taught at TCU’s London Centre in the fall and said she does not think London will become unsafe.

“They were very intent on making sure the building (where classes are held) was secure,” she said.

London has had a constant threat of terrorism for years, so this situation is not new, Sohmer said.

“Security precautions are much more integrated into daily life in London,” she said.

Outside of London, TCU’s Study Abroad programs have been on a heightened awareness level all semester, Williams said. She said the individual program directors have emergency plans in place.

l.e.hanvey@tcu.edu