Iraq situation jeopardizes summer overseas plans for many students.
By Jeremy Tammaro
Staff Writer
We were just supposed to go in there and find Saddam, his regime, the weapons of mass destruction that we were certain existed, and do away with all of them.
It was a battle that our leaders hoped could be executed as swiftly on the deserts of Iraq as it took to write about, but since the beginning of the battle, the term execution has taken on a more gripping meaning and the battle has transformed into a full-fledged war.
Faced with the possibility of months of conflict, the Pepperdine University community must handle some gripping questions as to how to move forward.
Do they go on as planned, or do they throw in the towel of safety and pull back from the normal way of life that the students and administration take proudly, especially concerning overseas programs?
“Right now at this point in the calendar there has not been any discussion to cancel this year’s summer programs,” Jerry Derloshon, director of Public Relations and News, said.
However, six students from the Lyon, France, program will be returning home this semester. This comprises about 20 percent of the students in the program.
“While we believe our students are safe, to accommodate their request and relieve any anxiety on their part or their parents, they are returning to Pepperdine to complete their course assignments as independent studies,” Derloshon said. “The Lyon program has not been closed, and we do not expect to close it.”
With the war continuing on into the summer, the Pepperdine administration has to be extra mindful about how it is sending its students overseas. Students are planning to study abroad through International Programs in such countries as Thailand, Spain, the United Kingdom and Russia.
“Pepperdine is very, very serious about the safety of the students both here on campus and overseas,” Derloshon said. “To ensure safety, communication has to be the key.”
There has been a heightened sense of security all over the Pepperdine world since Sept. 11, 2001.
The Office of Public Safety has integrated itself into the broader internal network of what is going on, working with other agencies to be cognizant of what is going on both on campus and in the local region as a whole.
As for Pepperdine’s network overseas, Derloshon said “We have great and ongoing relationships at the local and regional levels of all the cities we operate in. We have a good foundation for what we are doing … on a first name basis with the right people.”
Even with the heightened security measures, well-wishes and prayers, students abroad are still afflicted at times by anti-American sentiments.
“Personally, I’ve definitely been more wary and cautious in my travels, and I make sure (as much as I hate it because I’m very patriotic) not to key myself out as an American,” London Graphic correspondent Maya Minwary said.
For some students, it has gone down even further than just playing the American card.
“When this situation started it was more anti-Bush than anything else (in Argentina). However, I’d make an argument that it is turning anti-American,” Argentina Graphic correspondent Katrina Wills said. “I always got a reaction from my origins, but now many of us claim Canada to be our home. We do this not just to avoid questions, but any serious tongue lashing against us.”
Wills said one of her friends who was pinned on a subway by a man trying to convince her that Bush is the same as Hitler.
While these incidents may seem to be both alarming and extreme, they are certainly not the norm in all of the overseas programs.
“In my day-to-day life in (Heidelberg) Germany I really see no impact at all,” sophomore Melissa Jordan said. “It is true that we now have guards since the outbreak of war, but it doesn’t even feel necessary.”
Jordan added that one of the toughest stresses in her life has not come from being in Europe, but from the homefront: parents.
“They had such a different perspective than we do here – we feel safe and they think we are for sure the next target,” Jordan said. “Every time I left for a trip or came home later than they thought I should, I would get frantic e-mails. Very frustrating, yet I can understand their concern.”
Another fellow Heidelberger, sophomore Travis Weber, said students haven’t faced any anti-Americanism.
“We might be approached with anti-war sentiments, maybe even anti-Bush sentiments, but never anti-American sentiments,” said Weber, the Graphic’s Heidelberg correspondent. “Many Heidelbergers’ families are concerned for safety of us here, but we do not really feel threatened in any way by the Germans and other Europeans that live in and around Heidelberg. We are finishing out our year, not forgetting the war yet not letting it consume our experience.”
While the students seem to be able to live in the midst of different levels of adversity, it is the program directors who may have the most say in how the programs will continue.
“Our directors overseas are thought of very highly. They are seasoned and well-prepared,” Derloshon said. “Their feedback and insights are really considered heavily and they are looked at to continue to give the pulse on the situation.”
While International Programs certainly cause a great deal of concern for the Pepperdine community, there are other students who are soon to be leaving Pepperdine that now find themselves willingly walking into the current situation abroad.
Senior religion major Rebecca Blakey and senior Tyson Ward, religion and international business double major, have been planning for months to do mission work in Heidelberg, Germany.
When asked how she felt about the war and moving to Germany, Blakey simply said “No fears. I don’t feel like it is any safer here than it is over there. I think I am going to be more cautious with more of the decisions I make, but it is not going to prevent me from doing anything. I am more aware of it, but I am not going to let it dictate what I do.”
Ward added that he does not think terrorists would specifically target him, not that this would change his plans anyway.
“I feel sad that it has had to come to war, but I don’t feel that it effects my own personal traveling plans cause I don’t feel that I am in danger,” Ward said. “I feel that our government is doing what it can to protect us, and even if something does happen I am not afraid because I know that God will work through us.”
Even if the war finds its way into the German culture, Ward said he will still be around.
“I feel that a Christian’s job should be to serve people in a time of need and be the last person to run away,” Ward said.
Then there are the students who ironically will be sent overseas by the Peace Corps.
One such student, senior business administration major Breton Phillips, is still awaiting his placement, but that’s the only hindrance to his plans as of now.
“If I was placed in an Islamic country I would feel a little uneasy about being there,” Phillips said. “I don’t know if I would go, but I would consider it though.”
April 03, 2003