[media-credit name=’BRYAN FAUST/Herald Photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Thousands of University of Wisconsin students study abroad every year, and that doesn't appear to be changing.
Fighting on the Israeli border, the anniversary of Sept. 11 and recent complications at Heathrow Airport in London have not stopped students from heading overseas.
And despite this week's coup d'etat in Thailand, UW's study abroad students there remain safely in the country, UW officials said Wednesday.
"I'm convinced [the students] are not in any danger," said Languages and Cultures of Asia professor Robert Bickner, who works with the study abroad program in Thailand.
While regular safety precautions are in effect and students are informed to be alert of their surroundings, Bickner is confident of their safety.
"When I have to start thinking about a contingency plan, we'll bring the kids home," he said, adding he is not at that point now.
Thailand has experienced a long list of coups, most of which have been entirely bloodless. This coup, Bickner said, is no different.
"What's happening is two factions of power are 'counting noses' to see who has more support," he said. "What our students are seeing is a nonviolent change in authority."
According to UW spokesperson John Lucas, seven students are currently in Chiang Mai, Thailand, with a UW study abroad program. While the School of Business and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences have programs in Bangkok where the coup took place, no UW students are currently studying there.
Although students have been asked to be more alert when traveling, Bickner said he has not seen any sign of an increased risk for travelers in Thailand.
"We want [students] to be alert to what's going on," Bicknet said, "but we don't want to scare anyone."
But safety precautions are nothing new to study abroad participants. Keeping student travelers informed and on alert has been a top priority of study abroad advisors in recent years.
"[Safety measures] have always been in place, but now they're at a higher level," said Julie Lindsey, interim assistant director of student services with UW's International Academic Programs. "Terms like 'national security' didn't used to be part of everyday language."
Students are taking advice, learning emergency procedures and deciding to go abroad anyway, Lindsey added.
"Since 9/11, there was a lot of speculation that study abroad numbers might decrease because of heightened security measures," she said. "But the numbers actually continue to rise."
And according to Ronnie Hess, communications director for the UW division of international studies, it is important for those numbers to continue to spike.
"[Study abroad] experiences are instructive and life forming," she said. "Students come home with different perspectives of themselves and the world. It's an important element in becoming a globally competent citizen."
To celebrate past and present study abroad participants, and in honor of the U.S. Senate resolution designating 2006 the "Year of Study Abroad," an exhibit of two dozen photographs from around the world was put on display in the Madison Public Library for the month of September.
"I think one of the reasons we wanted to show the photographs was so that a larger group of people could see how our students had wonderful experiences studying abroad," Hess said, adding the study abroad department is also working on having the exhibit displayed on campus.
According to Hess, the exhibit not only works to display past participants' experiences, but also to attract more students to study abroad programs.
"Our students who have studied abroad are our best spokespeople," she said. "They have not been discouraged by the difficulties we've been experiencing in today's world. They're voting with their feet."