Go Forth

One year after imposing stricter restrictions on travel destinations, the College got it right once more. The College’s decision last week to reinstate some countries under State Department travel warnings as approved travel destinations was a welcome turnaround from a wrongheaded previous policy. The looser restrictions allow students to get course credit and money to travel to 13 additional countries, and they bring the College to the head of the line amongst peer institutions. By expanding the range of international experiences available to undergrads, the College has laid the groundwork for a true “internationalization” of its curriculum. Director of the Office of International Programs Jane Edwards, the University’s General Counsel, and the nine-member committee responsible for evaluating the travel policy deserve special praise. Also, the students, faculty, and staff who signed an online petition calling for a review of the travel policy should be congratulated for spurring the College into action.

The old policy on travel was far too restrictive. It prevented students from getting grants or credit for studying or traveling in any country with the slightest of State Department travel warnings. The policy stipulated that undergrads could not travel to countries for which the State Department had stated that US citizens should “consider carefully the risks of travel” or “defer travel.” With this stringent policy in place, students could not study in countries such as Israel, Lebanon, Iran, and Kenya. The result was that students were prevented from traveling to some of the most interesting and educational places in the world simply because of a general, blanket warning.

The old policy also ignored regional variations in safety within countries, causing blatant inconsistencies. Ironically, students at Yale—who were under much looser restrictions than their Crimson peers until last week—have never been able to visit the Indian side of Kashmir with university support (but have been allowed to travel to the rest of the country). Harvard students, by contrast, have always been allowed to go there because Harvard’s travel policies are country-based instead of region-based. The College’s change in travel policies addresses this issue indirectly by lifting travel restrictions wholesale on many of the countries that caused inconsistencies. And the fact that the College’s travel policy remains country-based, but yet is much looser, allows students greater flexibility than many peer institutions.

Whether restrictions are region-based or country-based ultimately hinges on the same legal calculations that Harvard’s General Counsel made in loosening the College’s restrictions in the first place. While some students may be frustrated that there are still countries where travel will not be supported by the Univeristy—Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, for instance—they need to understand the responsibility the College has to protect its students. Waivers may not be able to absolve Harvard completely in the event of a tragedy in a country to which the State Department recommends Americans to defer travel. The potential consequences for the University and for future Harvard students abroad—not to mention for the student involved—if such a tragedy occurred far outweigh the benefits of approving travel to locations with strong State Department warnings. As it stands, Harvard’s restrictions are already among the loosest in academia. Yale, for instance, still refuses to acknowledge all travel to the West Bank and Gaza. Students shouldn’t demand the right to get exceptions from a policy that already stands head and shoulders above the rest. We applaud the College for striking the right balance between managing its liability and giving students a range of travel options.

With the change in travel policy, the College has shown that it is truly committed to enhancing students’ ability to learn from a broad range of different countries and cultures. In loosening its travel restrictions beyond those of many other peer institutions, the College has actually become a leader in the area. We call on the College to continue in this direction and on students to embrace the opportunities they are given. Study abroad, whether during summer or term time, is an invaluable educational experience, and those who can take advantage of the chance to travel must do so.