After last week's terrorist attack in Mumbai, India, in which 179 people, including several Americans, were killed by gunmen, University administrators are monitoring the situation to determine whether there will be a policy change regarding study abroad in that country.
"As always, the Office of Study Abroad will continue to monitor the situation and work in collaboration with our program providers to find the best fit for Hopkins students in terms of both academics and safety," Lori Citti, director of the Office of Study Abroad wrote in an e-mail to the News-Letter.
The University's policy holds that students are prohibited from traveling to countries that are under U.S. State Department travel warnings, with exceptions provided on a conditional basis.
While no travel warning on India has been issued, the State Department did issue a "travel alert" on Monday.
"The Department of State warns U.S. citizens about heightened security concerns in India, and advises U.S. citizens traveling to or already in India to maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness," the alert read.
According to Paula Burger, dean of undergraduate education and vice provost, any change in University policy regarding study abroad in India is largely dependent on whether the State Department issues such a warning.
"Should such a warning be issued, we would follow our policy and procedural protocols. But, at this time, no such formal warning has been issued, so we expect to stay in a very attentive monitoring posture as the situation develops," Burger wrote in an e-mail to the News-Letter.
However, according to Citti, the State Department warning is only one of several factors taken into account when determining the University's study abroad policy.
"Decisions concerning whether or not to run spring programs in India will depend on a number of factors, including ongoing developments (including travel advisories and warning messages from the Department of State), the location of the program, the ability of the provider to provide emergency support to participants and a number of other important considerations," Citti wrote in an e-mail.
Though Hopkins does not operate any programs in India, students frequently decide to attend programs operated by other universities and organizations.
Citti noted that several Hopkins students plan to study abroad in India next semester, though due to student confidentiality exact numbers could not be released.
All of the students planning to spend next semester in India will attend programs based in cities other than Mumbai.
For Marie Cushing, a junior and current layout editor at the News-Letter, her plans to study abroad in India next semester have not been affected by last week's events.
"It's definitely something that's scary ... but I decided that the potential experience, what I hope to get out of the trip, will outweigh those concerns," she said.
Cushing will attend International Education for Students (IES)'s program in Delhi. Her itinerary will include excursions with the program to various cultural sites within India but will not include Mumbai.
While Cushing was only provided with the travel itinerary this past Monday, she was given no indication that the absence of Mumbai from the program was due to the attacks.
She hopes that the University will not change its policy and permit her to travel to India for the spring semester.
"I'll be devastated if the University or the [IES] program decides to cancel it," she said.
Cushing said she was contacted by e-mail Tuesday evening by the Office of Study Abroad asking if she or her family had any concerns regarding her study abroad plans.
According to a report issued by the Institute of International Education in November, 2,627 Americans studied abroad in India during the 2006-2007 academic year.
This placed India as the 20th most popular destination, but with a 24.2 percent increase from the previous year, India's popularity as a study abroad destination is growing rapidly.
