The University Center for International Study Abroad said study abroad programs sponsored by the University are carefully reviewed to alleviate problems such as those recently experienced by a group of Americans studying in Guatemala.
Problems can happen.
Officials at St. Mary's College of Maryland said 13 students and three faculty members from their school were taken hostage by a group of five to seven armed men Jan. 16 for approximately 90 minutes in a sugarcane field. A local paramilitary force was alerted and fired warning shots that dispersed the hijackers and released the hostages. Guatemalan authorities eventually arrested five men who are still being held pending trial. Lecaque said many considerations such as politics, hostility toward tourists and communication technology are taken into account when the University chooses study abroad programs. He said a University-sponsored trip to Africa was canceled last year because the University feared the violence that could have occurred after political elections.