As the terror threat rises, many people question whether it is safe to travel during the current unpredictable times, due to the recent terrorist incidents in Europe.
Despite these red-flags, the university study-abroad program is still flourishing and seeing increased numbers, likely due to the university’s dedication to safety and students’ desire to have a global perspective through travel.
At Lipscomb, the semester-long global learning options are Florence, Italy; London, England; Santiago, Chile; and Vienna, Austria, three of four being European destinations. The vehicular attack in Nice, France, the suicide bombing in Ansbach, Germany, and the hostage-taking and murder of the priest in Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray, France, are some of the most recent terrorist-related attacks in Europe.
Even though these incidents are cause for concern, the director of global learning, Michael Winegeart, said he does not expect to see a tapering off of global learning at all over the years.
“Three years ago, Lipscomb joined Generation Study Abroad, which is an Institute of International Education (IIE) initiative to mobilize resources and commitments with the goal of doubling the number of U.S. students studying abroad by the end of the decade,” Winegeart stated. “With President Lowry’s vision and backing, we have quadrupled the number of students studying abroad in just four years.
“Although terrorism is on the rise, the leading cause of death for Americans traveling abroad is not terrorism, or murder . . . or even crime of any type — it’s car crashes,” Winegeart noted. “Even though the headlines are troubling, our students understand what a career differentiator studying abroad is; as a result, student enrollment has not dropped in any of our programs.”
Even though terrorism may not be the leading cause of death, Winegeart said Lipscomb’s study abroad program is still taking extra safety precautions for the upcoming year by monitoring global health, safety and security information to decrease destination risk levels for student travelers abroad.
“When it comes to safety protocols, we are very conservative in our risk assessment compared to other institutions,” Winegeart said. “Paris and Brussels have shown us that our procedures are sound and robust. This year, we are implementing a new online ‘travel-tracker’ when our students go away on the weekend for independent travel. This real-time program provides at-a-glance whereabouts reporting for all of our students — all over the world.
“This is done in conjunction with our on-ground security contact in Europe as well as through monitoring several official websites and warnings,” Winegeart firmly stated. “Although it is impossible to prepare for random acts of violence like the recent attacks in Paris and Brussels, there are many steps students are taught on location and in our pre-departure orientations sessions to help you stay safe.”
Rising sophomore Jordan Cumberledge is one of the students who is planning on studying abroad in London this fall. Cumberledge said she has wanted to visit England since middle school, and she is excited about exploring a new country.
“Europe seems like the perfect place to explore . . . full of history and culture and new experiences!” Cumberledge said excitedly.
Cumberledge said she is confident in the safety measures Lipscomb is taking, but she will take some extra precautions on her own as well.
“Lipscomb clearly cares about its study abroad students, and I couldn’t be happier with the security measures they have in place,” Cumberledge said. “Personally, the only safety measures I’ll be taking are ones I would do anyway: make sure all hotels and transportation are reliable, pay attention to the United States’ list of dangerous places to travel, be aware of my surroundings and stay with the group.
Cumberledge said she doesn’t want the terrorist threats and incidents to keep her from visiting a new culture.
“I believe the risk level is worth all the once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that study abroad will offer,” Cumberledge noted. “Our team not only gets to live in London, but we will also have long weekends to travel and spend a week in Florence. That alone is knowledge and memories that we will remember for years to come. What I’ve come to think is that I’m not going to let fear keep me from experiencing the world. Sure, something bad could happen, but at the end of the day, all we can do is trust God. He is sovereign and will have our London Team — and every other study abroad location — in His hands.”
Despite extra safety precautions that Global Learning plans to take, some students still feel it is not safe to travel in Europe because of the recent surge of terror in European nations.
One of those students is incoming sophomore Jacqueline Wieneke. Wieneke said Lipscomb’s “fantastic” study abroad program is one of the main reasons she was drawn to Lipscomb and part of the reason she originally chose to become a bison.
Nevertheless, Wieneke ultimately decided not to study abroad in Vienna during the fall 2016 semester.
Wieneke was all set to study abroad in Vienna; she had planned out her schedule, picked a roommate and payed her deposit. However, after many hours of prayer and what she described as “really, really hard decision because I wanted to do it so much,” Wieneke chose not to study abroad in Vienna during fall 2016. For Wieneke, this was an especially difficult decision since she is a nursing major and knew she would not have the opportunity to study abroad after her sophomore year since she would be in nursing school.
“I’m not sure if I was ready to pack up for three months and leave home,” Wieneke noted. “I think the threat of terrorism was in my mind a little bit . . . maybe not so much terrorism as safety in general. However, I think one of the main concerns was something I talked about with my mom [last spring]: ‘what’s going to happen between now and when I go back to school in the fall with the threat of global terrorism?’”
“Now,” Wieneke said, “we’ve had Nice, the attack in Turkey in the airport, the attack in Munich, two others in Germany — the train and the mall. That was a lot of the basis of my decision. Right before I made my decision, the attack at the Brussels airport had just happened, so my mom and I thought again, ‘what’s going to happen in the next six months before I leave that would be cause for concern?’”
Wieneke said the recent terrorist attacks over the summer did help her confirm to herself that she made the right decision not to study abroad in the fall.
“It [the attacks] kind of confirmed my decision in some ways that I didn’t need to go . . . and not that we’re supposed to live in fear . . . but I think there is a healthy concern for safety. You just never what’s going to happen. I’m really bummed that I’m not going abroad, but it’s not enough to change my mind that this is not the right time for me, personally, to go abroad.”
Although Wieneke said she is disappointed that she is not going to Vienna this year, she said she is looking forward to having more time to pursue other interests at school, such as dance and music.
Out of the four study abroad destinations, the Santiago, Chile, destination may be regarded as the safer alternative since the other three are European destinations, but Winegeart said he does not believe that is the reason the number of students choosing Chile as their study-abroad destination has grown.
“Santiago has grown into a year round program, but I think this is a direct result of having full-time Resident Director Zane Perkins on location,” Winegart said, emphasizing that it is “not because of a perceived diminished terrorism threat.”
Incoming sophomores Micah Baker and Haley Hickey are two students who are planning to still study abroad in Chile.
Although Chile is the perceived safer study abroad destination, Baker said she would still feel “comfortable” studying abroad in Europe. She then added, ” . . .but I know I would still have a little worry in the back of my mind. I think Chile could become a more popular location if the attacks keep occurring.”
Hickey echoed Baker’s thoughts that she could see Chile becoming a more popular study abroad destination.
“I think Chile will increase in numbers because of threats — but not because students aren’t comfortable going to Europe,” Hickey stated. “I feel like a lot of parents won’t let their kids go to Europe. I know my mom would be really skeptical about it!”
Regardless of the threats, Hickey said she feels confident that Lipscomb will try to keep all study abroad students safe.
“If it was my choice, I would choose to go to Europe even if there were threats because I know Lipscomb would keep us safe, and God would be watching over us,” Hickey said.
Since terror is rising, Baker recognized that decisions to study abroad are difficult to make for incoming freshman.
“Advice I would give to incoming freshman is to do what you’ve always wanted to do and travel where you’ve always wanted to travel because studying abroad is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Photo courtesy of Lipscomb University