Students Protest Restrictions on Study Abroad

Students hoping to expand undergraduate study abroad options will present a petition to College administrators this week, urging them to amend a policy that discourages travel to 29 countries.

The petition—available at www.travelpolicypetition.org—calls on administrators to change a College policy that prevents students from receiving credit or funding for studies, internships, or travel in countries listed on the State Department’s “Travel Warning” list.

The petition, as of 1 a.m. this morning, had gathered 358 signatures from Harvard affiliates.

Proud Dzambukira ’07, an organizer of the effort to change the policy, said that he and other students will present the signatures to Dean of the College Benedict H. Gross ’71, Deputy Dean of the College Patricia O’Brien, and Director of the Office of International Programs (OIP) Jane Edwards in a meeting on Thursday.

“Our purpose is to show that a lot of students do not agree with the current policy and that they want change,” Dzambukira said. “I have a feeling most of the administration do get that point, and I’m hopeful that they will change the policy.”

Edwards did not respond to requests for comment yesterday, but according to the OIP website, the policy was adopted in 2003 with the intention of ensuring student safety.

The policy states: “Harvard College strongly supports international activity for its undergraduates, but we are also very much aware of the risks associated with international travel.”

Yet increasing undergraduate opportunities for studying abroad has been a key component of the College’s ongoing Curricular Review, a fact which petition signatories have said conflicts with the College’s strict adherence to State Department warnings.

Rather than rely on the State Department advisories to determine travel restrictions, the petition recommends that the College evaluate study abroad proposals on a case-by-case basis.

Supporters of the petition said that Harvard should make its travel decisions internally, citing Yale as an example, where a faculty committee determines a list of restricted countries.

The petition also questions the validity of State Department advisories, arguing that the State Department focuses on the potential for political violence and not overall rates of crime in a given country.

Rangarirai M. Mlambo ’07, a native of Zimbabwe, said that he thinks Harvard’s decisions should not take into account the State Department’s advisories.

“To limit people’s travel choices simply on the basis of what the State Department says, which is not always accurate, is sort of unfair of Harvard and prevents people form making those kinds of choices for themselves,” he said.

Harvard’s policy does make an exception for students who are traveling to countries with a parent or guardian.

Alexandra D. Harwin ’07 said she signed the petition because Harvard’s policy prevented her from studying in Israel over the summer. The College announced last month it would maintain its restrictions on travel to Israel despite a State Department policy change that lessened its warning.

“I think that this is a quite restrictive policy compared to other schools,” she said. “I think that the linking of Harvard’s policy to State Department list is not necessarily the wisest choice.”

Dzambukira said that overall, he saw the policy as an “equity” issue that gives wealthier students an advantage in traveling abroad. He said that some students have the option of funding their own endeavors overseas, while students with tighter budgets may require Harvard’s support in order to pay for their travels.

“The poorer students who would like to go to these places can’t go...they are left with nothing,” he said.

Dzambukira said he hopes to collect at least 500 signatures before Thursday’s meeting. In addition to the signatories, the petition has solicited the support of seven student groups and Professor of Law Alan M. Dershowitz.

—Staff writer Javier C. Hernandez can be reached at jhernand@fas.harvard.edu.