Maital Guttman, Trinity ’05, has discovered her passion.
She premiered her film Mechina—a documentary about young Israelis before their terms of mandatory military service—to a crowd of more than 500 people at Duke in the spring and is now travelling around the country presenting it to new audiences.
None of her efforts would have been possible, however, without Duke funding her research in Israel last summer.
“Having grant money to go to Israel gave me an opportunity... that has snowballed into a greater thing,” Guttman said, adding she could not have done her work in any other country.
But this year, students could not follow in Guttman’s footsteps.
This summer, Duke did not provide students with any funding for research grants that involved trips to countries that were issued travel warnings by the U.S. State Department. Israel, along with 28 other countries, is included on the list.
Duke’s policy for students going to countries on the advisory list is clearly defined for students in a study abroad program. The University operates no program in countries on the list but will allow students to participate in programs sponsored by other institutions as long as they sign waivers. There is no policy, however, for students traveling with a professor or a Duke-sponsored research grant.
As administrators mull over how to formulate guidelines for these students, many would-be travelers have complained this year that the University is limiting their academic pursuits.
Robert Thompson, dean of Trinity College, is leading the push to establish a new policy. Though administrators have not formally decided on a protocol, Thompson said it is likely that one similar to the study abroad policy will be enacted this fall.
Thompson said the University has delayed approving a policy because administrators have had to navigate a way to address both the academic freedom and safety of students in foreign countries.
“We don’t want to say you can’t go, we just don’t want to advise you to go,” he said about countries on the watch list.
Administrators were concerned that the University would be held liable if a student was injured during a Duke-sponsored trip to one of the countries on the list. Thompson stressed that although any policy allowing students to travel to the countries puts the University in a vulnerable position, administrators wants to have protocol they can defend if something were to go wrong.
Gilbert Merkx, vice provost for international affairs, estimated that only 15 to 20 students were affected by refusal of funding for trips to countries on the list. And he said the University’s study abroad policy was consistent with peer institutions.
But many question whether the State Department’s list is the best basis for Duke policy. Eric Greitens, Trinity ’96, traveled to several countries on the State Department list during his time at Duke. He the list is imperfect because it includes entire countries—not just the areas where violence is present.
“When I was working in Croatia... it was extraordinarily safe and far from conflict,” he said. “Yet the entire country was on the watch list.”
Merkx said because violence is unpredictable, the list can be viewed as inconsistent. “More people were killed by terrorists in Spain than Kenya last year, but Kenya is on the list and Spain is not,” he noted.
But Margaret Riley, assistant dean of Trinity College and director of the Office of Study Abroad, said the list is the best available, noting that there are serious reasons behind every travel warning. She also said students do not express interest in travelling to most countries on the list.
Guttman said although she understands the University’s position, a compromise should be reached. “Education is sometimes risky and pursing your passion is sometimes risky,” she said. “But fear is not a reason not to do something.”
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.