Correction Appended
The suspension of the UC Education Abroad Program in the
Philippines has been continued indefinitely, pending the lifting of
the State Department’s warning for that country.
The State Department’s warning, first issued in March,
said several terrorist groups were planning multiple attacks
throughout the country and urged Americans there to be
“vigilant.”
EAP, following its policy of immediately suspending all study
abroad programs in a location for which a State Department warning
was issued, cancelled its Philippines programs last spring.
Nine UC students were participating in the academic year program
before it was abruptly suspended in the spring. Two of these
students choose to stay in the Philippines on their own after EAP
canceled their program.
The academic year Philippines program consists of a language and
culture immersion course, followed by a semester at one of two
universities in Manila: The University of Philippines at Diliman or
Ateneo de Manila University. In addition, internships are available
for students who complete their course of study in Manila.
Among UCLA students, summer session in the Philippines was the
most popular of all the Philippines programs offer by EAP,
according to the UCLA EAP Office.
Sixty-three UC students had signed up for the program scheduled
for this past summer. After its cancellation, 10 UCLA students
opted to study in the Philippines on non-EAP curriculum
instead.
EAP had been hoping that the summer program would boost interest
for the academic year program prior to the cancellation of the
entire schedule. The UC decided that the program would not be
reinstated if there are fewer than 20 students who sign up for the
2006-2007 school year. But for now, no curriculum will be possible
with the State Department’s continued warning in place.
It is unclear at this point how much interest students still
have in the program. Because the suspension is widely known on
campus, students are not considering doing the program, and campus
officials as well as EAP are not getting student inquiries.
“I’m sure there are some interests,” said
Emily Le, International Programs Counselor for EAP.
Whether or not there is visible student interest in the program,
the UC hopes that is will continue once the warning is lifted. When
asked about the probability that the program will resume, UC
Spokesman Bruce Hanna said that it was “very high. It’s
a great program.”
The Phillipines program is not the first program to be suspended
due to security reasons. The Israel program has been on hold since
2002, and in 2003, the SARS epidemic forced the UC to suspend
programs in China and Taiwan. The hold for China and Taiwan was
released, however, in October, 2003.
There are critics who question the wisdom of using State
Department Travel warnings to determine whether to suspend a
program.
Barbara Gaerlan, assistant director for UCLA’s Center for
Southeast Asian Studies department and the first director of the
Philippines program, said other measures should be used to
determine whether to continue a program or not.
Harvard University, for example, does its own evaluation on
whether to suspend programs in places for which the State
Department has issued travel advisories. Under this policy, Harvard
students in the Phillipines are continuing to receive credit under
its study abroad programs.
Gaerlan said there is little danger in the Philippines now, and
the warning should have been lifted months ago, but has not
possibly due to neglect on the part of the State Department.
“Students on a college campus are relatively safe,”
Gaerlan said. “There is no place you can go to be guaranteed
safe.”
The UC, which has a policy of following State Department’s
advisories and warnings after extensive consideration and
discussions, is unlikely to change this policy any time soon.
The UC “acknowledges that the State Department has
responsibilities to advise on the safety of U.S. citizens in those
countries,” Hanna said. “The UC is prudent in taking
its advice.”