When students heard about the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13, many’s first instincts were to contact their friends abroad to make sure they were safe and away from danger if they were in the city. With all of the talk about threats throughout the world, it begs the question if it will affect Stonehill students' opinions of studying abroad.
Stonehill College junior Shannon Barry, currently abroad in Edinburgh, Scotland, said she was more worried for her other friends that are currently abroad in Europe, too. “Everyone travels so much throughout study abroad that everyone was messaging each other making sure we were all safe. That was the scariest part.”
When asked how their abroad experience would have changed, many seniors felt that it would have left an impression on their abroad experiences, whether they were near the location of the attacks or not.
“Paris was the first city I visited outside of Italy when I was abroad, and just like everyone else will tell you, it's magical,” said senior Gabriella Salce, who studied in Rome last spring. “I would have wanted to experience Europe, explore and learn about other cultures, and not attach the ugliness of those attacks with Paris, a city that I feel so deeply in love with.”
Even when not directly affected by the events, many students abroad have similar reactions to those still on Stonehill’s campus. There is always a mix of emotions after an event of that magnitude, especially with at least one of the victims being an American college student.
“Naturally, I think everyone is, at the very least, more aware, and obviously there are varying degrees of that and varying degrees of how affected people are,” said junior Leanne Murray, who is currently in Edinburgh, “but nothing really changed for me, which I know is fortunate for me.”
For some students, the attacks have hit close to home and they are either questioning if they still want to go abroad or have even been debating coming home early because they are too scared. Stonehill students have been lucky, as the students from our school in Paris are safe and unharmed, but most know what could have happened, and that is what scares them the most.
Some students’ parents have expressed more concerns about going abroad than many of the students themselves. Junior Emily Wooster’s parents are worried that the school will not let students study abroad next semester. Despite these concerns, most students still plan on their semesters away for the spring.
Despite some people’s fear of more attacks, junior Kimberly Purisky is optimistically looking forward to studying abroad in Dublin, Ireland next semester. “I’m not going to let these attacks affect me to not go abroad, and am still planning on traveling around Europe. I’m definitely going to be cautious and travel around in a group, but I’m not going to let a terrorist attack stop me from taking an advantage of this opportunity," she said.
