Calvin Students Headed to Mexico, Not Honduras

Summary: Calvin students planning to study abroad in Honduras for the fall semester will now spend that semester in Mexico.

See full story: http://www.calvin.edu/news/2009-10/honduras-mexico/

Students who had made plans to study abroad in Tegucigalpa, Honduras this fall semester will settle about 500 miles northwest of that location in Merida, Mexico. That decision-prompted by the political instability in Honduras-was made by the Calvin travel safety committee.

Calvin director of off-campus programs Don De Graaf is a member of that committee and has been keeping a close eye on what's been happening in that country.

"All our sources indicated that there was greater risk associated with going to Honduras," he said.

Those sources included travel alerts from the U.S. State Department and the Canadian government and travel restrictions by the Christian Reformed Church in North American and other NGOs.

The decision to relocate an off-campus program is a first for the travel safety committee. But, De Graaf said that his office has been communicating throughout this entire situation with the students signed up for the Honduras semester and their families. He says he's grateful that 23 of the 25 students originally signed up for the Honduras semester have signed on for Mexico.

"Ultimately our aim is to create a safe and stable environment where learning can take place for students," said De Graaf. "We recognize that we can't eliminate all risk. Perhaps if we eliminate all risk, people won't go. But we want to make it as safe a situation as possible."

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Received on Wed Aug 19 08:27:28 2009