The rapid spread of the SARS virus in Asia has led to the cancellation of the LSU in China language study program scheduled for this summer.
LSU Study Abroad adviser Kevin O’Keefe said the Academic Programs Abroad office made the decision to cancel the trip after following travel advisories from the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and the U.S. State Department in early April.
The WHO reported on its Web site more than 5,400 probable SARS cases have been reported worldwide in the past six months, including more than 4,800 in China and Hong Kong and 41 in the United States. To date, 353 people have died of the disease.
O’Keefe said the program was to feature four weeks of study at Beijing Normal University, followed by a two-and-a-half-week “study tour” through southwest China ending in Shanghai.
One student had received a National Security Education Program scholarship, and one of the stipulations of the scholarship is students cannot travel to a country under a travel warning, O’Keefe said. He said the student will be allowed to retain the scholarship and travel to a different country.
O’Keefe said his office considered waiting to see if the situation in China would improve, but because “It was highly unlikely that things would get better before the end of May,” the program was canceled to allow the students involved to make other plans for the summer.
International studies junior Kathryn Dickerson, one of five students who had planned to go to China, said she agreed with the decision to cancel the trip.
“I was hoping they weren’t going to cancel it, but it’s not up to any of us,” Dickerson said.
Dickerson said she still would be willing to go to China because she does not see SARS as a serious risk to her, but she understands the University’s need to ensure students’ safety.
She also said she was not particularly disappointed by the cancellation.
“I love it because I have other options,” Dickerson said. “I’ll go to summer school here.”
Dickerson said she hopes to go to China with the program next summer.
Xiaoxue Cao, a foreign language instructor who was going to lead the students this summer, said the decision was difficult but necessary.
“I’m very disappointed for the students, but we can all understand the decision,” Cao said.
Cao, who grew up in southwest China, studied in Beijing for eight years.
“I’m very familiar with Beijing,” Cao said. “I can picture in my mind what the situation would be.”
Cao said her family’s home province has not been affected by the disease.
O’Keefe said he consulted other universities who had scheduled similar trips to China.
“I haven’t actually seen anyone that said they’re going ahead with it,” O’Keefe said. “It’s not a time to be making hopeful guesses about [safety].”
He said the University of New Orleans and Boston University, among others, had canceled trips set for this summer.
Students who had paid deposits received refunds when the trip was canceled, O’Keefe said. He estimated the total cost of the trip to be about $3,000, not including food and airfare.
O’Keefe said the University looks forward to continuing its bilateral exchange program with Beijing Normal University in the fall, but health conditions must improve first.
“As long as the travel warning is there, we really can’t go against the judgment of the State Department,” O’Keefe said.