Penn calls students home from Israel

The University suspended Penn Abroad programs in Israel yesterday for the remainder of the spring semester -- and prospectively for the 2002-2003 academic year.

Citing the escalating violence in the Middle East, Provost Robert Barchi decided to suspend the program after consulting with the staff of the Office of International Programs and the deans of the undergraduate schools.

In a letter sent out to all those involved in the Israel program, the University asked all Penn undergraduates currently studying in Israel under the auspices of Penn Abroad to make arrangements to depart Israel as soon as possible.

"The level of violence and the State Department's periodic advisories have escalated to a point that it was no longer appropriate for us to continue this program this semester," Deputy Provost Peter Conn said.

"This is a suspension," he added. "This is not a cancellation, not a termination. We will continue to keep this under review daily. When we reach a conclusion that the situation is improved, we will lift the suspension."

But for the four Penn students studying in Israel this semester, concerns over an escalating war must be balanced by the fact that, with semesters ending the last week in May and the first week in June, a temporary suspension now means a permanent loss of a once-in-a lifetime opportunity.

"I'm torn," said College junior Gabrielle Sirner who is currently studying on Penn's program at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

"This is a country that is so important to me and the Jewish people," she continued. "I want to be there, not only showing my support, but really feel that I need to be there now. And at the same time, obviously safety is a concern."

Sirner is actually in New York right now. She came home to observe Passover and was planning to return to Israel soon, even after seeing the situation spiraling out of control -- a reaction that might seem odd to some people.

"Part of me feels that I need to be there now more than ever," she said. "While I'm there, there are times that are frightening. I'd be lying if I said I was fine all the time. But at the end of the day, what it came down to was that is where I wanted to be."

The University tries to prepare students for the possibility of the study abroad programs being cancelled as soon as they decided to commit. In order for students to study abroad in Israel, they must sign a form that states, "I also understand that the University reserves the right to cancel the program or require me to leave the program before the end of the semester."

Conn said that for the three years he's been involved with Penn study abroad, no suspensions have been made. The last he knows of was ten years ago for programs in Nigeria when violence in that country was reaching dangerous levels.

College senior Rachel Wainer, who participated in study abroad in Israel last spring semester, said she's sure this year's participants will "be emotionally crushed and very upset." When the University considered cancelling the program last year, Wainer was one of many students who fought that suggestion, petitioning the University to reconsider, which it ultimately did. Yet, Wainer acknowledged that the situation is quite different now.

"I'm struggling with whether I myself, who chose to go last spring and had an amazing time, whether I will go next fall as I planned to do," Wainer said.

Besides the disappointment in having to cut short a study abroad experience, the suspension of the program leaves students with many questions regarding academic credit, personal finances and departure.

In terms of academic credit, the University has proposed two options for students. They may take a leave of absence from Penn for the current semester and receive a full refund of tuition and study abroad fee. However, with this option, students will not receive any academic credit for this semester.

"Every reasonable effort will be made to help you resume your studies at Penn in fall semester 2002 and complete your undergraduate degree in a timely fashion, although you must realize that you may need to spend an extra semester at Penn to complete course requirements," the letter reads.

The second option students have is to return to Penn and simultaneously remain enrolled in the Penn Abroad program and complete the courses they were supposed to undertake in Israel at Penn under the supervision of Penn faculty and, if possible, in consultation with the course instructors in Israel.

Under this option, receiving academic credit for the coursework depends on the student's ability to find a Penn faculty member for each course to supervise the work. Also, with this option, students will receive no refund of tuition and fee for the spring semester.

"I'm sure any faculty member in Jewish Studies would be happy to help a student who's taking a course that we can supervise," Jewish Studies Program Director David Stern said.

Sirner said Inge Herman, executive director of the Office of International Programs, already called her to help find professors to supervise courses at Penn that are similar to the ones she's enrolled in at Hebrew University. But Sirner's only wish is that Penn would permit her to stay at Hebrew University and still receive transfer credit, which is not listed as an option in the letter.

Conn, however, said Penn does not run its programs on the basis of transfer credit.

"One certainly understands the reasoning of the Provost," said Stern, who added that he has limited knowledge about the decision. "I'm not sure that I would agree with it or make the same decision. It's complicated and sad just all the way around that you have to make a decision on these grounds."

Stern said he's definitely not happy that the program has been cancelled and he doesn't think that the safety question should be the only factor in making the decision.

"Statistically, one is probably safer in Israel than in Philadelphia," Stern said. "The real problem in Israel now is that life is just so restricted because of this -- you can't go to cafes, restaurants. Frankly, though, I think that students are grown up people."

"It's very educational to be abroad, and it's very educational to be abroad in a country at war, too," added Stern, who studied in Israel during the Six-Day War.

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