Concerns about the emergence of Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome has UCLA’s Education Abroad Program closely
monitoring international health safety in Asia, and has students
raising concerns about summer and fall academic plans.
An emergency meeting held on Friday, April 4, at the
University-wide Office of the Education Abroad Program in Santa
Barbara, addressed parental and student concerns regarding
SARS.
Administrative Director of EAP Emily Norris explained that the
University-wide Office of the EAP is conducting extremely careful
monitoring procedures, corresponding with the World Health
Organization and the Center for Disease Control.
The department has consulted with staff members at the host
universities, health authorities in Asia, and state department
advisory boards on a daily basis.
“We are closely watching the situation and there is no
need to cancel or postpone the entire program,” Norris said.
“We will not close the program unless we find that we need
to.”
Approximately 186 students are scheduled to go to Asian and
Southeast Asian countries for the upcoming summer and fall 2003
terms with EAP.
While she affirmed that it is too early to gauge the direct
effects of SARS on EAP plans, Norris did advise students to wait on
purchasing airplane tickets and to make back-up plans.
In response to parents’ and students’ concerns about
SARS, EAP has taken accommodative measures by eliminating a
financial penalization for withdrawal after the May 10
deadline.
Third-year communication studies student Stella Aung expressed
disappointment in not being able to travel as freely as she had
planned, but she is still planning to study abroad in China in
June.
“I’m still mostly worried because it seems that SARS
is still spreading and not controlled. But we have been informed
that EAP has done research and I don’t think they would put
our safety in danger,” said Aung.
Currently, there are 20 UCLA students studying abroad in Asian
countries and although only one student has expressed serious
thoughts about returning early, several more students are
considering withdrawing.
The students have been given a list of advisory precautions to
abide by while abroad which include limiting travel, wearing
protective face masks, and using their own chopsticks.
Second-year English student Lynn Kiang was one of the EAP
candidates planning to go to China for the summer and fall term but
decided to withdraw from the program because of her parents’
increased concerns about health risks.
“My mom was a little paranoid about sending her only
daughter to China when things seemed to be getting worse and
worse,” said Kiang. “It’s just not worth the
risk.”
The CDC urged people to postpone all non-essential travel to
mainland China and Hong Kong. This updated travel advice comes as a
result of uncertainties about how SARS spreads, of concerns over
the ability to get adequate medical care, and as an effort to halt
the spread of SARS.
SARS originated in southern China near Canton and then spread
from there to Hong Kong and Vietnam, and then to the rest of the
world. Its causes and cure remain unknown. According to WHO, a
total of 2,416 SARS cases and 89 deaths have been reported from 18
countries as of April 5.
The outbreak of SARS has kept many colleges in Hong Kong and
Singapore closed and has suspended various study abroad
programs.
U.S. universities that have canceled study abroad programs or
trips to China and Hong Kong include George Mason University,
Indiana University School of Law at Indianapolis, Syracuse
University, Union College and the University of Wisconsin.
University of Michigan has cancelled programs and traveling in
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and Toronto.
Syracuse University has recalled students from the spring
semester program in Hong Kong and has canceled two upcoming
programs in mainland China due to health concerns about SARS, said
Norris.
A meeting for all EAP students was held Monday in Beijing, China
to address concerns and travel restrictions due to SARS. Traveling
by air, on trains or on buses is advised against since it heightens
the possibility of exposure to infectious diseases such as
SARS.
EAP students are also prohibited from travel to Guangdong, China
and Hong Kong, and those who violate this prohibition are subject
to EAP dismissal. Students who do become ill due to SARS are also
subject to quarantine.
But despite the increase in travel restrictions, only one UC EAP
student has officially withdrawn from the current program.
“A reason UC students are staying is the comfort level
provided by the local on-site presence of UC faculty at overseas
study centers. UC students are not alone in a foreign land ““
they are cared for by a well-structured, mature and resilient
infrastructure,” said Bruce Hanna, University-wide director
of strategic marketing and communications.
Although Hanna affirms the university’s use of prudence in
distinguishing between genuine medical risks and perception of
risks, students are still expressing concerns.
“It might change my experience in China because it’s
going to make me more cautious and paranoid about whom I’m
around,” said second-year communication studies student
Tiffany Keng. “It has changed my mentality and has dampened
my mood and excitement about the trip.”