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Harvard College Expands List of 'Permissible' Destinations for Sponsored Activities Abroad
Israel, Kenya, Iran, 11 other locations added
Cambridge, Mass. - October 5, 2005 - Harvard College Dean Benedict H. Gross, Leverett Professor of Mathematics, announced today that several countries to which Harvard-sponsored undergraduate activities had previously been prohibited have been added to the list of acceptable destinations.
The College has, and will continue to follow the U.S. State Department's travel warning guidelines. But, "we are taking a more nuanced view of those guidelines," said Jane Edwards, International Programs director. In the past, the College would not support student travel to countries with current State Department warnings. The revised policy permits travel to countries for which the State Department does not warn travel should be avoided. They now include, Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Colombia, Iran, Israel, West Bank and Gaza, Lebanon, Liberia, Kenya, Nigeria, Philippines, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe.
The policy warns, "although sponsorship will not be withheld, Harvard College undergraduates are strongly advised to use caution when traveling to countries for which the State Department has issued lesser warning levels."
"While we strongly support an international experience for all undergraduates, we want them to be safe wherever they are in the world," Dean Gross said. "We want students and their parents to be aware of the risks involved when traveling to certain regions around the world. The College will provide as much support as possible, advising students and their families about potential problems and how to avoid them, where to go for help when traveling, and how to reach people at Harvard when necessary," he said.
The policy requires all College-sponsored undergraduates traveling abroad to sign an "assumption of risk and general release" form prior to departure. For those traveling to countries for which the State Department has issued an advisory, the signature of a parent or guardian is also required. Further, students seeking College sponsorship to travel to a country with a State Department advisory warning must write a brief statement "affirming that they have considered carefully the risk of travel and that they have a plan for conducting their proposed activity abroad," as part of their sponsorship application.
The College will not support student travel to countries for which the State Department has issued warnings that order U.S. citizens to depart, U.S. dependents and non-emergency personnel to depart, strongly warns U.S. citizens against travel to the country, or warns citizens to defer travel to that country. Countries currently on the prohibited list include: Cote d'Ivoire, Afghanistan, Burundi, Central African Republic, Congo-Kinshasa, Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen.
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