By Laura Fitzgerald, Senior Staff Writer
On the morning of March 22, as Miami University study abroad students were getting ready for class in Luxembourg, neighboring Belgium experienced the worst terrorist attacks in its history.
The John E. Dolibois European Center in Differdange, Luxembourg is about two hours away, by car, from Brussels, Belgium, where suicide bombers killed 32 people and wounded more than 300 others in attacks at Zaventem Airport and Maelbeek subway station.
Cheryl Young, assistant provost of Global Initiatives, said there are currently no faculty-led programs in Belgium, and there were no programs planned for summer or fall 2016. However, students studying at the Luxembourg campus can travel on the weekends and breaks, so some Miami students were in Brussels recently before the attacks.
Sophomore Hannah Russell is currently studying abroad in Luxembourg and was in Brussels two days before the attacks occurred. She said she was upset when she heard the news because of her proximity to the attacks.
"I was terrified that morning. It is so scary to think I was just there, at that train stop, days before," Russell said.
Russell said while she did not have to change any of her plans, many students canceled or altered their travel plans to avoid Brussels, which is a major transportation hub. She says the attacks created apprehension about traveling in the European Union.
"It makes traveling seem more terrifying. There is a lot of fear that you will be in the next city to be attacked," said Russell.
Russell said she is not very concerned for her safety, although she has been more afraid when flying into large airports because of the possibility of an attack.
Following the attacks, Global Initiatives sent an email to all students studying in Europe that discouraged traveling to or through Brussels. All study tours and study trips outside the main campus in Luxembourg were evaluated for safety, and no changes were made to any programs.
As of now, no other study abroad programs were pulled due to a threat of terrorism, Young said.
"We just have to take it day by day, and based on what's happening and where it's happening. It's so uncertain now. Anything could happen any day, even in the United States," Young said.
Young says she has not found that students have been deterred from studying abroad due to the fear of terrorism. According to Global Initiatives Open Doors history, the number of undergraduate domestic students studying abroad has increased from 1,687 in the 2012-13 school year to 2,046 in the 2014-15 school year.
The Miami Global Assistance Program tries to minimize risks abroad by doing such things as requiring all students studying abroad to have HTH Worldwide supplemental health insurance or equivalent insurance. Students must also register with the STEP program, which allows travelers to register with the state department so the federal government knows the participants' location at all times.
Global Initiatives also has a Crisis Response Team, which responds to emergencies using resources in Oxford and abroad with the student. Emergencies can range from a student who ends up in the hospital, a group of students that lost their luggage, or a student that needs mental health assistance.
"We support that student as if they were on campus, to the best of our ability," Young said.
Sophomore Cali Ford is studying abroad this summer in Kosovo. She said after news of the attacks broke, she was not deterred her from studying abroad.
"[It wasn't] that I was more afraid to study abroad in Europe. I was more afraid of my parents being uncomfortable with it. I was afraid for some of my friends in [Luxembourg]," Ford said.
Junior Emily Sabanegh is studying abroad at City University in London. She said the terrorist attacks will not affect where and when she travels, and she will not let the fear of another attack stop her from traveling.
"You can never predict when or where something like this can happen," Sabanegh said. "As scary as these attacks may be, stewing in the corner in fear is no way to live."