Italy Abroad Students React to Being Sent Home Early

Students studying abroad in three different locations in Italy were advised to return to the United States on Saturday, February 29th due to the spread of the novel coronavirus throughout Italy. 

According to a campus wide email sent by spokesperson Paul Redfern on behalf of Hagi Bradley, Vice President and Dean of Student Life, and Karl Schonberg, Vice President of the University and Academic Affairs, the 15 students studying in Cortona, Rome, and Sorrento are being sent home after the State Department Travel Advisory for Italy was raised to a Level 3, which urges U.S. citizens to econsider travel. 

“The health and safety of our students is our top concern,” Bradley and Schonberg write in the email. 

Dylan McDonough, a member of the class of 2021, was part of the Sorrento, Italy program. He said he had initial interest in the program because his family is Italian and he had taken two Italian courses at St.Lawrence, so he was interested in learning more about the culture and language. 

McDonough said he had first found out about the coronavirus through the media, but once the disease began to spread in Italy, both St. Lawrence and the university in Sorrento were sending daily updates to the students about how to stay healthy.   

“At first, I didn’t think anything of it,” McDonough said, “then friends of mine in northern Italian programs were getting sent home by their universities and this is when I started to worry.” 

The students in the Sorrento program received an email from Marina Llorente, Associate Dean for International and Intercultural Studies, on Saturday, February 29th, when Italy had reached a Level 3 travel advisory. 

“Given this development, and after consulting with the SLU Student Safe Travel Committee, we are requesting that all students in Sorrento return to your home in the United States,” said Llorente in the email, “it is very sad that you have to leave the program, but we’ll assist as much as possible.” 

McDonough said that his initial reaction was disappointment, but he ultimately understood why SLU chose to make this decision. Despite the fact that his abroad experience was cut short, he said he still felt as though he got a lot out of the two months that he was there. 

Similarly, Chloe McConnell, Class of 2021, was part of the Cortona Program and said she was devastated when she heard the news that she would have to be returning home. McConell said students in her program were told on the 28th of February that the program was likely to continue, and the students were ecstatic. “A few of us went out to celebrate,” she said. 

According to McConell, the next morning the students received the email that they would have to be evacuated two days later. “I can’t even describe it,” McConnell said, “This was my only chance to be a student in Italy; it was my dream.”

McConell said she had her heart set on the Cortona program since freshman year as it was perfect for her because of its focus on studio art. She said she still cherished her time there and was very grateful for her opportunity to travel to Italy. 

Moving forward, McDonough said he has not received any information from SLU or the Center for Disease Control (CDC), but he said he has heard rumours that the students will have to undergo a self-quarantine.

 On the other hand, McConell is currently in the states under “self-isolation” which she said will last until March 16th. The email from Bradley and Schonberg also said that all 15 students returning to the states will be able to finish their coursework virtually and should not experience any loss of academic progress. 

However, McDonough said he would rather return to St. Lawrence and finish his online courses on campus, but that St. Lawrence is unable to house the students returning from abroad. 

Likewise, McConell said she was worried about the logistics of finishing a studio class online. She also said that some of the students received an email from SLU informing them that they are not allowed on campus for the remainder of the semester. 

“I thought this might be a miscommunication, so I sent a reply email and have yet to hear back,” she said. 

As a final thought, McConell said despite the stress that the situation brought, the Cortona program directors, Kris Schramer and Chris Robinson, and all the professors at Cortona worked very hard to help the students out.

“They are doing the best they can in a bad situation,” she said, “I hope this can all be sorted, and I hope to one day return to Cortona.” 

In terms of plans for future programs, St. Lawrence has not released any statement about what their plan of action is. 

Erin Kumler, Class of 2022, was accepted into the summer Italy program in Rome. She said she was not aware of the potential dangers of the coronavirus in Italy when she applied, but they would not have deterred her from applying. 

“Even if the program is cancelled, I would still want to go and experience Italy,” Kulmer said. 

Kulmer also said that Serge Onyper, the professor teaching the summer course on the neuroscience of fear, told the students to hold off from buying plane tickets and there will be a meeting after spring break about their plan moving forward. She said she hoped St.Lawrence will let the students travel this summer. “I think at that point, they will have something figured out,” she said, “and once we get there, we just have to be careful and take precautions not to get sick.” 

In regard to the presence of the coronavirus on the St. Lawrence campus, the most recent update was sent to the students in the previous email exchange mentioned sent on behalf of Bradley and Schonberg, which stated that as of February 29, 2020, no St. Lawrence student has been confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus.