On the heels of the cancellation of the Cuba study abroad program this fall, plans for a spring session were also canceled following the implementation of a set of governmental restraints.
In June, the Office of Foreign Assets Control, addressing instructions from the Department of the Treasury, announced regulations barring educational programs for American students in Cuba. The decision stemmed from economic sanctions imposed on Cuba by the Bush administration, and it prevents students from pursuing any study abroad options in that country.
"This is not an issue of safety," Penn Abroad Overseas Program Manager Donna Butler said. "It is all a result of changes in government policy in not allowing students to go to Cuba, which is what originally canceled our plans for the program this fall."
In the past, Penn has sent students to Cuba to study for a semester through the Butler University program in Indianapolis, which had students studying at the Universidad de La Habana. This program focused on classes in the humanities and social sciences.
After the cancellation this fall, there was still hope that changes in government policy would allow the program to run in the spring. But as the deadline approaches, the lack of policy changes has prompted University officials to encourage students to pursue alternative study abroad options.
Information from the Butler study abroad Web site conveyed hope for the availability of program in the future.
"We can only hope that we will be able to resume the Cuba program in the near future, but this depends on future changes in regulations governing academic programs in Cuba."
Butler also commented on the possibility of a return of the program in the near future.
"It is very hard to tell when these regulations will change, and there is no way of knowing when any changes will come about," Butler said. "It all depends on issues of the government."
Several Penn students who were planning to travel to Cuba were disappointed by the program's cancellation.
"As soon as the new guidelines were enacted this summer, [the Office of International Programs] notified all applicants of the potential consequences for the abroad program ... and we were advised to come up with alternate applications," College junior Sammy Mack said. "Of course it's disappointing, but there's no way the school could have known what was going to happen with the program."
