The article in Thursday's Eagle regarding AU students studying abroad in Israel offers information that is quite misleading due to omissions your reporter chose to make from my e-mail correspondence with him yesterday. Because I am sure The Eagle wishes to fulfill its obligation to provide complete and accurate information to the AU community, I am here sending you the complete text of the sections of my e-mail to your reporter regarding the safety and security information supplied to our students:
"We do provide extensive information and advice regarding health and safety to all our students studying abroad, in writing, on our website, and in personal advising and pre-departure orientation sessions ... In addition, all of our partner universities abroad, including those in Israel, hold on-campus orientation sessions for their visiting study abroad students on arrival. These orientation sessions always include a segment regarding health, safety and security.
Finally, because of the near-constant volatility of the political situation throughout the Middle East, all of our students who study abroad there are required to sign some additional consent forms stating that they have been informed of and understand the additional risks of their chosen site for study abroad and take responsibility for choosing to accept these additional risks, and that they will abide by all the regulations of their program/host university abroad ... Students were contacted by their host universities in Israel in advance of their going abroad with the most up-to-date information and advice; we were copied on those communications and did not have additional advice to add. Our partner universities continue to keep us updated and informed. The Israeli universities have their own extensive and specific security measures and policies, and our students are required to abide by all the policies of their host institutions. Such policies may include some restrictions on travel."
Sara E. Dumont Director, AU Abroad-Abroad at AU
