Studying abroad could be dangerous

Editorial Cartoon

Computers necessary for college students

Letters to the Editor

Studying abroad could be dangerous

College students face danger when they travel and study abroad.

Many students believe that because they are traveling with a college-affiliated group they are safer. But that is not always true.

On Friday, Jan. 16, a group of college students from St. Mary's College in Maryland was ambushed in Guatemala. The group was returning from a tour of educational and historic sites when two men allegedly attacked the group and raped some of its members. The college sent students to Guatemala twice before and encountered no problems.

Jane Margaret O'Brien, president of the college, said the school had talked to the U.S. embassy about safety in Guatemala and received no indication that students would be at a greater risk "than usual."

But a State Department consular information dispatch on violent crime in Guatemala released in September stated that "1997 has seen a marked increase in incidents involving American citizens." The dispatch also stated that "The most recent incidents reported to the U.S. embassy, which include shootings, kidnapping, rapes and violent assaults, have for the most part occurred during daylight hours and in many cases have affected entire groups."

Clearly, these students were at risk. And the operative words here are "than usual."

While the State Department doesn't warn Americans not to travel to certain countries, it does produce a counsular information sheet that records crime. Colleges and college students should review these records and sponsoring entities should educate students on the risk they take while traveling abroad for any reason.

Offers for travel and study abroad abound at TSU. Just about every bulletin board on campus includes one.

And the administration and faculty - rightfully so - encourage students to recognize the value of exposure to other cultures.

But they also need to help students recognize potential danger.

Part of this involves making students aware of safety risks, the differences in cultural attitudes about crime, the perception of natives about U.S. citizens traveling abroad and the difference between U.S. and foreign criminal justice systems.

Students need to take responsibility too.

They must also educate themselves about potential problems they face beyond "drinking the water," currency exchanges and language barriers.

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Editorial Cartoon

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Computers necessary for college students

Mark Skinner, News Editor

Several months ago my grandfather asked me a question:

"Can you do your work without a computer?"

I am not what you would term a big computer fan.

When I need to do research, I go to the library to retrieve books instead of to the internet to retrieve files.

Consequently, I told my grandfather rather self righteously I didn't need one to do my work.

Two weeks later while desperately searching for a computer to do some homework, I realized I had been a fool.

I couldn't do this work without a computer.

I can't type very well and without spell check I "wudd" misspell almost every word I type.

Later that evening, about 1 a.m., I finally got started on my homework using a friend's computer.

I have some great friends. I pulled this stunt a half a dozen times and they still haven't tried to kill me.

I think.

As I sat there typing and writing down the answers the computer spit out I had another revelation.

I didn't have the slightest idea what I was doing and worst of all I didn't have a clue what the computer was doing either.

I typed and the computer gave me an answer that I took on faith to be correct and holy truth.

I have no idea how it arrived at the answer it gave me.

I was its slave.

If someone gave me a pen and paper and told me to do the work I wouldn't even know where to begin.

Open up the computer case and stare at the guts all you want, you will see nothing.

No valves open, no wheels turn, no heart pumps, yet things happens.

I know stuff is happening down there in the microscopic guts of the machine, but it is invisible, at least that is what I have been told. I can't really prove it.

This scares me.

Computer screens remind me of a shark's cold, blank, black, eyes.

A computer makes the sphinx look like a emotional wreck having a nervous breakdown while on Oprah.

Stare at the screen and you can't tell what its thinking. Yes, thinking. Maybe their a little limited in what they think about, but so are sports fans.

My grandfather is a carpenter, among other things, and my dad is a welder.

They worked with things that can be touched, things that can't be messed up by a bored 11 year old in Norway with a "Computer Hacking Made Easy" book.

Maybe this is why computers freak me out.

A hammer is a very permanent thing. Unless you lose it, a hammer can be good for life.

A computer is obsolete the minute the box it comes in is opened.

Still, if I am a Luddite I am not a very good one. I am typing this on a computer. I wonder what it thinks of this column.

(Computer: Oh, quit your whining bozo before I deep blue your hieny.)

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Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor,

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