Students abroad taking precautions

In Spain, College junior Andrea Zucker is now wary of standing in front of a McDonalds restaurant or any other American icons.

And even though England is one of the United States' closest allies, College junior Alexis Marchio refrains from wearing the Penn logo or anything else that can identify her as an American.

Zucker and Marchio are among the 448 Penn students currently studying abroad. And while no students overseas have reported being threatened, many say they are not taking any chances.

Since the U.S. air strikes on Afghanistan began more than a week ago, Penn has been offering support to those abroad.

According to Joyce Randolph, the Office of International Programs director, her office has sent e-mails to the students and their parents almost daily.

"The key thing that we have been trying to emphasize is their staying in touch with their families and the on-site staff," Randolph said.

She added that the students were also advised to try to blend in to the local culture and to register at their local American embassy.

While no Penn students are studying in countries such as Indonesia and Pakistan, where there have been violent anti-U.S. demonstrations, most Penn students abroad said they are being more cautious than they normally would have been.

While Marchio has experienced "nothing but support from the local people," she is still taking precautions to be on the safe side.

"I have become frightened because of the war," she said. "I am suspicious of everyone and everything."

Other students described similar feelings of uneasiness.

"The biggest thing that I'm feeling over here is confusion," said College junior Siobhan McGreal, who is currently in Paris. "We are just more aware of the fact that we are Americans."

According to students in Europe, sympathy toward Americans runs deep partially because Europe has been a target of terrorism in the past.

"A lot of the French have felt this type of fear before because there has been a lot of terrorism here before," McGreal said.

While students in western Europe by and large have not experienced many anti-U.S. sentiments, students in the rest of the world have not been as impervious.

For instance, while the Chinese government was generally sympathetic to the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., the military efforts have renewed suspicions among some people.

According to College junior Derek Wong, who is abroad in Beijing, "the Chinese attitude toward America has returned to one of skepticism and subtle mistrust."

The United States and China have had confrontations recently, including an errant missile strike against China's Yugoslavian embassy and the forced landing of an American military plane off China's coast.

However, Wong added that China has stepped up security in many of the biggest cities, thereby allaying some fears.

Wharton junior Randy Kessler, abroad in Hong Kong, has felt similar subtle anti-American feelings.

"It is rarely expressed outright, but I have heard `they got what they deserved' whispered from local student to local student," Kessler said.

While Kessler has not changed any of his routines dramatically, he said that students have been restricted in terms of travel.

According to him, the popular Indonesian beach resort of Bali has seen a drop in tourism from American students due to the country's large Muslim population.

Rina Doshi, a College junior studying in Argentina, said that she has been told by some that "Americans deserve to suffer this tragedy because we have constantly been on top and had it easy."

Despite the varying degrees of anti-U.S. sentiments towards America's war in Afghanistan, Randolph said that study abroad programs for the spring have not changed, and that there has not been a decrease in interest.

"But, for the first time, a lot of our students are burdened with their identity as Americans," Randolph added.

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