Despite rumors of its cancellation, the Miami University Journalism Program will still be sending students to Kosova, according to Ed Arnone, program coordinator and visiting associate professor of journalism.
This year, Miami teamed up with American University in Kosova, resulting in access to new facilities, according to Arnone. Students will now stay in new, on-campus dormitories and attend classes in modern classrooms.
Arnone said Miami will send students of various majors to the country's capitol, Pristina. Summer 2011 will mark the program's fourth year, and Arnone said he plans to bring 12 students on the trip.
Kosova, located in Eastern
Europe, gained its independence only a few years ago from Serbia and grappled with a crippling war, Arnone said.
"It is a rare opportunity to watch a country being born after such a devastating war," he said.
More than half of the country's citizens are under the age of 25, and 90 percent of its population is ethnic Albanian, making it a unique place for Miami's students to study, Arnone said.
He said students in the program take a variety of classes in journalism, geography and the culture of Kosova, which totals eight credit hours.
"(A) major component (of the program) is being a news reporter in an independent news company," Arnone said.
Arnone said the students work with the faculty of KosovaLive, the only news station in Kosova that is not politically biased.
First-year Megan Berey is attracted to the program, but skeptical about its safety.
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"(As a creative writing major), that sounds interesting and appealing, but to be honest, I don't think my parents would want me to go," Berey said. "A new country definitely has its risks and they would probably worry about sending me there."
Arnone was confident in the safety of the city.
"Pristina is actually one of the safest cities in Europe, both in terms of crime and in terms of political tensions," Arnone said. "Kosova is a very welcoming society by nature."
American forces helped initiate and eventually carry out the independence movement of the country, and because of that, Americans have good relations with Kosova, Arnone said. He said Americans tend to have a misconception about Kosova's stability because of media perspectives on the Balkan wars that occurred years ago.
Arnone, who said his own reporting experience is helpful in aiding the program's students, said a typical day for a Miami student in Kosova entails morning classes followed by hands-on work in the KosovaLive newsroom.
Arnone said he is happy with the way everything has turned out and that the merge with American University is a "wonderful success."
For students interested in the program, an information session will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3 in 227 Williams Hall. Students can also contact Ed Arnone at arnoneej@muohio.edu.
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