He had just talked about the possibility of an attack happening to him the day before.
Nicholas Hunter-Shields, a senior majoring in tourism, hospitality and event management, is traveling abroad this semester in Florence, Italy, with CAPA The Global Education Network. On March 22, Hunter-Shields sat in his Florence apartment when CNN and BBC notifications appeared on his phone.
Bombings in Brussels.
His roommates were around, including one who had just flown out of Brussels the weekend before the attack. As other students trickled in, all of them followed the aftermath of the bombing unfold through their phones in real-time.
“I could have had a roommate that was there,” he said. “Or even I could have been there.”
Within minutes of the attack, CAPA had called to make sure he was safe.
Once considered a safe global destination, Western Europe has served as the epicenter of two deadly attacks orchestrated by the Islamic State. Last November, suicide bombers and shooters killed more than 100 people in Paris. On March 22, bombings in Brussels claimed the lives of more than 30 people.
As dangerous situations materialize around the world, IU relies on a series of safety protocols from IU-approved study abroad programs to keep its students safe.
The Office of Overseas Study outlines 13 responsibilities it assumes in protecting students studying abroad in IU programs. The list includes conducting regular assessments of safety protocols used in programs and providing safety training to program directors.
“We can’t protect everybody from everything,” Kathleen Sideli, associate vice president for overseas study, said. “But we try to make sure your director had training from us about what to do in emergencies, who to call, what’s an emergency, how to keep people together.”
In an emergency situation, IU-approved programs must report the status of IU students to the University. Programs not approved by IU are not required to report the status of University students.
Additionally, students participating in non-IU-approved programs in countries where the U.S. State Department has issued a travel warning do not receive support services from the University.
Sideli said four IU students studied in Paris at the time of the bombings. All of them were safe.
No IU students were in Brussels in an IU-approved program at the time. CAPA was located its students studying in the city within two hours of the attack.
Thirty IU students were participating in the Florence program at the time of the Brussels attack, Sideli said.
The organization uses a combination of preventative and reactive measures to locate its students in emergency situations.
CAPA marketing director Lorena Leonard said students must have must have working cellphones that they are to keep with them at all times. The program maintains a 24-hour hotline for emergency use, Leonard said.
Students must also undergo safety training upon arriving at their destinations and report travel arrangements to the program every week.
At the time of the bombings in Brussels, the organization used a combination of calls, emails and social media messages to locate its students. All of the students were located.
Despite the increasing threats, CAPA has no plans to change its safety protocol.
“We did not consider tightening or changing anything because it is one that works,” Leonard said. “We strongly believe in our safety protocol as being a good standard — a gold standard — for the industry.”
Although programs like CAPA have been successful in keeping students safe, Sideli said IU is considering removing its students in Turkey due to safety concerns. There are three students currently in the country.
Hunter-Shields left Wednesday for a trip to Greece. He said he is conscious of being over prepared for anything that could happen during his trip. But for him, the possibility of danger is worth the opportunity to study overseas.
“It is a risk going abroad, even more so now,” he said. “But that shouldn’t be something that should hold you back unless you are certain that something is going to happen. And you can’t be certain that something is going to happen.”
