Students who want to study abroad in China or Taiwan will have
to put those plans on hold because the University of California
Education Abroad Program will continue to remain closed in those
regions as a response to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
SARS, an acute form of pneumonia, was responsible for more than
800 deaths over the past year, according to the World Health
Organization.
Last year, the EAP office called back 44 UC students from
Beijing and Taiwan and closed its programs to those two countries,
because the WHO determined that SARS posed a grave threat
there.
Bruce Hanna, the EAP director of communications, said this
decision was not reached casually, but after careful consultation
with many different experts.
“Primarily we are concerned about student safety. We rely
on judgments of professionals on site, as well as the advice of
appropriate agencies, to see if our students are indeed safe. This
is what we base our decisions on,” Hanna said
On July 5, however, WHO announced that SARS no longer was a
danger for those willing to travel abroad, a decision that did not
open up Beijing or Taiwan for the approaching fall quarter to UC
students.
Hanna said this has to do with the way students sign up for
EAP.
“We could not open up Beijing in the fall, since students
have to sign up a few months in advance, and the decision to
restrict travel was reached in May, when SARS was still heavily
active,” he said.
He added that the Taiwan program would not be impacted, as it is
not offered in the fall, and both the Taiwan and China programs
should be available by February.
Cathryn Dhanatya, international programs counselor for UCLA EAP,
said that if students wanted to study abroad, they had other
options available other than the EAP Beijing and Taiwan
programs.
“They could apply to alternative programs in other
countries, or try the Princeton Chinese program in the summer.
Students could also apply on their own, not through the EAP, or
they could wait and apply for programs opening up after
January,” she said.
David Wu, a fourth-year economics student, chose to apply to the
Princeton China program for the summer.
“They kind of let us know that we have other options late,
but they did offer an alternative program in Princeton, New Jersey,
where we could learn Chinese for the summer,” Wu said.
He added that the turnout in Princeton was disappointing, with
only four other UCLA students attending, since most had dropped out
of the program.
“I was a little let down, but I was confident they made a
decision with our best interests in mind,” Wu added.
However, Chris Leung, a fourth-year computer science student,
was disappointed by the way EAP handled the situation in Hong Kong
because a lot of students were forced to drop out of the
program.
Other UC campuses were also affected by the WHO declaration.
On July 15, UC Berkeley lifted its controversial ban on foreign
students coming from SARS-affected countries.
Hanna said that he was pleased with the decision.
“I am glad to see that we are not putting undue
restrictions on students coming in,” Hanna stated.
He added that with the current situation, “students can
sign up with as much confidence as anywhere else.”