MELISSA GIAIMO
News Assistant
British authorities foiled a terrorist plot to blow up as many as ten airplanes heading from London’s Heathrow Airport to multiple American cities on Aug. 10. At that time, many students from Pepperdine’s five schools were living or vacationing abroad.
New flight regulations made travel difficult as student returned home for the school year, but all made it safely home.
Dr. Charles Hall, dean of International Programs, focused on providing students returning from the Edinburgh Acting Program with practical information.
His office took action immediately after the threat, said Hall, informing students exactly what they should consider before flying, as well as what to bring and what to leave behind.
Director of Public Safety Earl Carpenter also regularly communicated with the State Department to ensure that Pepperdine students would be safe to travel.
Although the British government foiled this potential second Sept. 11, security experts around the world pronounce that airplane travel may never be the same again.
Preceding the terrorist scare, 84 Pepperdine students traveled to London to attend the Edinburgh Theater Program and Summer Law School Session. Students were subject to intensive security measures, such as the banning of all carry-on items except for absolute essentials, such as wallets, eye glasses, baby formula and verifiable prescription medications.
But travelers’ inconvenience did not stop at prohibiting carry-on items. At Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, chaos ensued as hundreds of flights were cancelled, trapping thousands of passengers at the airport. Distressed passengers rushed information desks, payphones, restaurants and luggage stores as they awaited information regarding their flight status.
Summer law school students arrived at Heathrow days after the scare. Glyn Trevillion, the program coordinator for Pepperdine’s London Law School, said that a couple of students had a seven hour delay.
Junior Barbara Harvey said although Edinburgh students were only delayed on their way home from Heathrow “an hour after boarding,” they were subject to additional security inspections. Security searched one girl after screening detected a lip gloss in her bag, Harvey said.
Also, “a lot of people had to empty carry on bags and put their stuff in plastic bags,” Harvey said.
Following the threat, the University has not changed any policies regarding its overseas programs. Both Hall and Trevillion agreed that the best way to counter terrorism is to continue normal activities.
“The aim of terrorism is not to kill people,” said Trevillion. “It’s to stop people from doing what they would normally do. Once you stop doing that, they win.”In that spirit, almost 250 Seaver students are studying abroad this September. Although the University anticipated dropouts after the Heathrow scare, the International Programs office reports only one cancellation. The only major change affecting the International Programs will be a new procedure requiring arrival at the airport at least four hours in advance and adherence to the new airline security restrictions.
Despite the inconvenience and sometimes invasive nature of new security measures, Pepperdine faculty and students said they accept these measures as a necessary precaution.
“By giving up [certain liberties] we gain greater security,” said Hall. Having just returned from Heathrow, Harvey said she did not feel that security measures were too extreme “considering the state of the world right now.”
08-28-2006