Foreign Study Programs Decline Sharply

After two summers of leading groups of Corvallis High students through England, counselor Ellen Samsell thought it was time to take a group to Italy,

But when a representative of the American Institute of Foreign Study arrived in Studio City to sign up Corvallis students to go to England, the October hijacking of the cruise ship Achille Lauro and December’s terrorist attacks in the Rome and Vienna airports were too fresh in the minds of students and parents. Not a single student signed up.

Hours after the attack that left 16 dead in the Rome Airport, 23 high school students from Memphis, Tenn., walked off their plane into the chaotic aftermath there. They went on to complete their Italian holiday, but the Memphis school board canceled all future overseas trips.

Summer Plans Cancelled

Fear of terrorism has put an abrupt end to the plans of thousands of students who had planned to study in Europe this summer. And just as those in the travel industry have reported a sharp fall-off in bookings for international travel this summer, so sponsors of foreign study programs say they are facing their most difficult season since World War II.

“Every time another incident occurs we get lots of phone calls from parents and students, mostly from parents,” said Lynn Sanborne, a spokeswoman for the American Field Service, which has sponsored exchange student programs for more than 40 years. “The U.S. bombing of Libya generated many calls, especially from parents who have children scheduled to go to Tunisia, Egypt, Greece and Jordan.”

Bearing the brunt of the cancellations are high school summer-abroad programs. No firm figures are available, but several school districts have canceled overseas programs, and a growing number of parents are withdrawing their children from summer sessions in Europe.

Liability Concerns

Some school districts have abandoned overseas programs out of concern over their liability for the students taking part. According to a 1985 survey of the liability insurance policies of 15 New York school districts, none covered travel outside North America.

Additionally, the field-trip permission slips that parents sign to release school districts from liability are “not worth the paper they’re are written on,” said Richard Castallo, an associate professor of education at State University College of New York, who conducted the school district insurance study.

Kathleen Dunn, manager for the School Exchange Program of the National Assn. of Secondary School Principals, said she has told dozens of administrators seeking guidance to follow the advice of the State Department’s travel service. So far, the service has not recommended against student travel.

‘Moral Obligation’

“Many of the principals not only feel they have a legal obligation for the safety of the children, but that they also have a moral obligation,” Dunn said. “Right now, we’re all walking on eggshells.”

Colleges are also growing cool to the idea of sending students overseas this year. At USC, leaders of the International Communications Studies Program are planning to reevaluate a decision to go ahead with a five-week program that involves taking a group of students to London, Paris and Geneva.

“For some reason, I feel very removed from all that stuff,” said Lauren Tobin, a junior scheduled to take part in the program. “Maybe I should be worried, but I know there are a lot of Americans over there already and (Libyan leader Moammar) Kadafi can’t get all of them.”

Mother’s View

But her mother, Pat Tobin, who is president of a Hollywood public relations firm, takes a different view. She said: “Lauren is an only child and it would certainly be disastrous to bring a child up for 20 years only to have her killed for no reason. She wants to go regardless, but my feeling is that she should wait.”

Most sponsors of summer-abroad programs say they have no intention of canceling their tours, but they say they have taken precautions.

For instance, International Student Exchange has rerouted some of its tours so that students will not arrive or leave from the Athens International Airport, which U.S. officials criticized for lax security last year but which has since adopted measures that gained it approval from international bodies that monitor airport security. Instead, these student groups will arrive in Greece by bus and leave by ship.

Neutral Carriers

The Student Exchange has also reduced the number of U.S airlines it will use. According to general manager Franz Jost, the organization has switched to carriers that it perceives to be neutral--Scandinavian, for example.