Students plan to study abroad despite national tensions

Illustration by Sami Seyedhosseini, Cartoonist

In a society as globalized as ours, it should come as no surprise that a core tenet of the modern college experience often involves studying abroad, whether for a short travel course or an entire semester.

But under the current administration, there may be a new concern for students to consider. A report by ProPublica found that since Trump’s inauguration, over 170 Americans have been detained by ICE without cause or reason. That doesn’t even account for Americans detained at border crossings, many of whom have allegedly been taken under questioning for their political beliefs.

It’s important to note that while the number of Americans who studied abroad this past year has yet to be quantified, previous years show an increasing trend that would be difficult to reverse, even with anxieties over ICE. An Open Doors study found that from 2022-23, over 280,000 Americans studied abroad in some capacity, with an additional approximate 25,000 taking non-credited trips, internships or work opportunities abroad with their university. This is a sharp increase from previous years, as only about 188,000 students took part in the 2021-22 term.

The same trend applies to Chapman, with around one-third of students participating in one of Chapman’s 100+ international academic programs at some point in their studies. Despite the increased tensions, and despite Chapman facing federal pressure over student protests for Gaza, students who spoke to The Panther expressed confidence in their current plans.

For students like junior broadcast journalism major Ben Behrens, the answer was simple: “As of now, none of my plans have been affected by the current administration’s decisions.”

It’s a sentiment shared by junior broadcast journalism major Ainsley Savant, who responded similarly: “As of now, none of my plans have been affected by the current administration’s decisions.”

Avery Goldstein, a junior majoring in writing for film and television, described the same outlook, despite her plans taking her abroad far longer than the former two. 

“Luckily, thus far, the current administration hasn’t interfered with my travel plans,” she said. “I am less scared about this because I re-enter the U.S. from Germany, and the Trump administration hasn’t expressed much concern with travel from large European countries.”

Behrens and Savant are both participants in the next round of Chapman’s Community Voices program, a summer travel course that takes students abroad to different parts of the world to shoot short documentaries. Past locations have included Thailand, Eswatini and a few domestic locations, like Alaska. This upcoming summer, they will be venturing to Taiwan.

“I had only heard great things about the program ever since I got to Chapman freshman year, so I initially was interested due to its reputation,” said Behrens. “I knew that it would be an opportunity to expand my scope of the world and sharpen my filmmaking skills through a very unique experience with many talented filmmakers.”

Savant is especially excited about the ability to see through the eyes of those in Taiwan. 

“I'm excited to put myself in the shoes of someone who lives in a completely different country and learn about those experiences and why it's important to them,” Savant said.

In addition to Community Voices, Savant is also gearing up for an interterm travel course to London called Deconstructing Hogwarts: Religion, Race and Gender in Harry Potter. With the course scheduled to last 10 days, she spoke with enthusiasm about getting to take the trip with other fans of the franchise.

“'I’m really excited because I'm a big Harry Potter fan and I get to go with a bunch of other people who are also interested in the same thing,” said Savant. “I didn't want to go abroad for a super long portion of time, so the 10-day course was … more pertaining to what my kind of abroad experience looked like.”

An international experience more unique to Chapman and a few other universities is the Semester at Sea program. Founded in 1965, the program offers students a chance to spend a semester taking courses while also making port calls at various coastal locations around the world. It’s the program Goldstein will be taking, which she expressed optimism about despite tensions.

“It’s the least traditional study abroad program I could find, which I love,” she said. “Being on a boat, traveling to different continents, new countries and getting to immerse myself in different cultures are invaluable experiences I hope to gain.”