MSU Students Leave
After 3 Robbed
By LaRaye Brown,
clarionledger.com
After three Mississippi
State University students were robbed
during a trip to Costa
Rica, the school ordered
them home, cutting their
six-week, study- abroad
program two weeks short.
But one student has
chosen to remain in the
country. The rest of the
21-member group returned
to Starkville this past
weekend.
"I hadn't had any
problems here, and it's
been a month," Tyler
Hardin, a Clinton
resident, said in a
Tuesday phone interview.
"He's 21 years old and I
trust him and his
judgment, so I let him
stay," his father, Andy
Hardin, said.
The trip is part of a
16-year-old immersion
program that places
students in Costa Rica
so they can better learn
the language and
culture. Students live
with host families and
work.
The group of
international business
students left the first
week of July and weren't
due to return until next
week, said MSU
spokeswoman Maridith
Geuder . However, after
three students were
robbed in two separate
incidents, Academic
Provost Peter Rabideau
and President Doc
Foglesong decided they
should return.
"When evaluating
situations involving the
safety of our students,
we will always err on
the side of caution,"
Foglesong said in a
statement.
Geuder said one student
was treated for minor
injuries after an
incident but was not
hospitalized.
She didn't have more
details about the
incidents. After they
occurred, Jack Jordan,
interim head of the
foreign language
department, and an
instructor flew to Costa
Rica to meet with the
students.
After the July 23
meeting, Andy Hardin
said his son asked to
stay. "Tyler said he
felt completely safe and
had learned more Spanish
in the time he was down
there than in all his
classes combined," Andy
Hardin said. "He felt
like he could get a lot
out of his last week.
Tyler Hardin said he was
worried when he heard
about the two incidents
but was relieved when he
learned they did not
happen near where he
lives.
After several phone
conversations and e-mail
exchanges, university
officials agreed to
allow Tyler to stay.
Other students flew into
Atlanta on Friday and
returned to Starkville
on a university bus.
Andy Hardin said that
before his son and the
other students left on
the trip, university
officials warned them
there was a chance of
being robbed and advised
students to travel in
groups.
There have been no
recent news stories of
widespread problems in
the country.
"In 16 years, I don't
believe we've ever had
an issue like this,"
Geuder said.
Said Foglesong: "We are
evaluating and
strengthening our
processes for assessing
the risks to students
who study in foreign
countries and ensuring
that safety protocols
are in place."
Even with the early
ending, students will
get full credit for the
course, Geuder said.
Andy Hardin and his wife
daily exchange text
messages with their son,
who often doesn't have
good cell phone
reception.
"I'm on pins and needles
waiting on him to come
home on Friday," the
elder Hardin said. "He's
in a third-world country
completely by himself.
"I'm a parent. I can't
help but be concerned." |
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