Drug war violence in Mexico is escalating to an all-time high, forcing Baylor U. study abroad programs in Mexico to halt.
Baylor has suspended every program in Mexico, with the exception of the law school in Guadalajara, until the conditions change, said Dr. Michael Morrison, director of the Center for International Education. Guadalajara has not experienced the violence seen along the northern border of Mexico and in Monterrey.
More than 28,000 people have died in drug-related violence in Mexico since President Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive against drug traffickers in late 2006.
Two Baylor students studied in Monterrey in the spring. Following an outbreak of violence outside the gates of Monterrey Tech, Baylor arranged for one student to return immediately and worked with the other student and the student’s parents to determine that the student would remain for the last few weeks to finish the Monterrey Tech program.
“We are not currently taking students on that program, as Monterrey is one of the most dangerous places,” Morrison said.
Dr. Sijefredo Loa, associate professor of Spanish, directed the last Baylor in Mexico program to Xalapa, Veracruz, in June 2009.
“There are a few facts that are very alarming,” Loa said. “The road blocks the cartels have set up, for instance. They’re stopping tourists with vans and buses because they want to check the traffic. So this has alarmed and scared a lot of people.”
The drug cartels in the interior and northern parts of the country have forced Baylor to re-examine its annual study abroad trips to Mexico.
“In April we were getting ready for the 2010 trip and were not getting the response we wanted,” Loa said. “I think I had just four students committed to going. It is expensive and we decided to cancel because we didn’t want to risk the safety of our students.”
Loa said he hopes programs will eventually return to Mexico because it is an important cultural partner with the United States. He said Baylor will return as soon as the perceptions of violence change.
Loa said there’s one city in particular that he wants to explore.
“Zacatecas is in the mountains in Northern Central Mexico,” he said. “It is dry, cool during the summer. It has culture, so many attractions and it seems to be very unique in its offerings.”
Students have shared extensive reviews with Loa about their independent trips to Zacatecas and he hopes to set up a program to tap into those experiences.
The trip would be inexpensive in comparison to other study abroad trips. However, because of its northern location it would be another two to three years before Baylor would be able to think about taking students there, Loa said.
Baylor does offer other study abroad opportunities in other countries for students who would be inclined to study in Mexico.
“Latin American Studies has an Argentina program and we have two in Spain. Plus, we have exchange programs to Costa Rica,” Loa said. “It’s not like our students will go to other universities because we don’t have programs — they will just go to other programs.”
Morrison said the increased violence in Mexico negatively affects international students at Baylor, too.
“Students from China and all 74 countries represented at Baylor can find themselves needing to update immigration documents, and by law you have to leave the country to do that,” Morrison said. “Some students may decide to go back home to update their documents, while some may choose to go to Mexico because it is less expensive. We caution if they decide to do that. We are looking into finding a way that we might be able to make that possible through the cooperation of American universities on the border, but we do not have anything set up yet.”
International students who need to update their documents are faced with the decision of whether the safety risks are worth taking to save time and money.
“I would go to Mexico because it’s closer, but not if it’s dangerous,” Kuming, China, junior Ellen Guo said. “I don’t want to risk my life just for a visa.”