With general safety protocols set in place for students abroad, the University of Wisconsin IAP office was put to the test in wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris.
To ensure the safety of UW students, the university has many security measures in place for students traveling abroad.
Safety is a top priority of International Academic Programs as well,IAP Director Dan Gold said. All students traveling abroad are required to have travel insurance and verify their contact and emergency contact information with the university.
“When the attacks happened, our first concern was to reach out and locate all of the students that were in Paris,” Gold said. “There are safety directors who are there for the students.”
Working closely with the international safety security director and programs and partners abroad, Gold said IAP constantly evaluates the safety of all locations.
Additionally, Gold said the study abroad office remains open 24 hours a day to offer emergency support for students studying abroad, and has partner and study abroad programs that remain open at all hours of the day as well.
Within five hours after the attacks, UW senior Ben Winding, who is studying in Paris, said IAP Assistant Director Matthew Geisler called him to confirm his safety and assist in any way he could.
The reason for the delay in communication, Winding said, was due to bad phone signals from heavy cellular traffic because “everyone in Paris was trying to contact everybody.”
Only a 10-minute walk from two attack sites in the 10th and 11th arrondissements, Winding said he wasn’t afraid or nervous until he found out that the attacks were occurring all over Paris and the death count was increasing.
“I had just been going out with my friend and it was just a normal night, and I started getting texts from people actually in the U.S. asking me if I was OK and I had no idea what they were talking about at first,” Winding said.
Though the recent attacks have alarmed and concerned many students and parents, Gold said there are currently no plans to cancel the programs in Paris.
In an email he received Monday morning, Winding said there were no adaptations made to the general study abroad emergency protocol or the one specific to France trips. But there is counseling being offered to the students who are currently in Paris.
