Epps Rescinds Travel Prohibition

Dean of Students Archie C. Epps III yesterday removed the College's war-induced prohibition on travel outside North America by student groups.

"The general ban on travel is lifted and we will now decide on group excursions on a case by case basis," Epps said.

Epps said that in making the decision to lift the ban, he consulted with the same State Department sources who informed him in February that "the Harvard name would be a specific target" for war-related terrorist attacks. He said he also consulted with University Vice President and General Counsel Daniel Steiner '54.

So far, Epps said, the trips reinstated include the Collegium Musicum's trip to Mexico, the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra's summer tour and an anthropology class's trip to Costa Rica. In addition, he said, the athletic department will once again have the power to authorize trips outside North America.

Collegium Musicum

Cristina Toro-Hernandez '92, tour director for the singing group Collegium Musicum, said she thought the lifting of the travel ban was "terrific."

"We felt that the tour was really important because Collegium only travels once every five years," she said. Toro-Hernandez said that Epps had never actually canceled the Collegium trip, but that a tour to the mountain states had been planned as a back-up.

"Obviously we're thrilled because we travel so seldomly and it takes so long to plan a tour," said Wynne D. Love '93, a singer for Collegium. "It was disappointing to hear that we might not go and so much of our repertoire has to do with the place we pick that year," Love said.

Channing Yu '93, president-elect of the Harvard Radcliffe Orchestra (HRO), said the orchestra had decided to postpone their planned trip to Europe until next summer, but that they may be going to the Far East this summer.

"Right now a major bank in Malaysia is considering sponsoring an all-expense paid tour," Yu said.

According to Yu, the proposed tour would take the HRO through Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand. "It looks quite hopeful and we're definitely very excited. We're really lucky that something like this came up in light of everything that has happened, but it all depends on the bank," he said.

Epps said he was happy to announce the decision to rescind the travel ban, and he expressed his "appreciation for those who understood" why the College imposed the travel ban on February 8. Esme Howard contributed to the reporting of this article.