Luc Beaudoin, associate provost in the University of Denver’s Office of Internationalization, sent the following letter to the University community on Monday.
Dear members of the DU community,
Our thoughts are with the victims and communities of the past week’s attacks in Paris, Beirut, Syria and Baghdad. At DU, we continue to monitor international security through various sources to give us a more complete picture. These sources include the U.S. Department of State and the Canadian, U.K., and Australian foreign and external affairs ministries, as well as International SOS and the Overseas Security Advisory Council. For an updated report on the recommendations of these sources, visit the University’s Enterprise Risk Management page.
You may have received — as has the Office of International Education — some inquiries from students and parents regarding the continuation of study-abroad programs for fall 2015. At this time there are no plans to bring DU students home early. There also are no plans to cancel faculty-led courses to Europe scheduled for later this month.
DU makes these types of decisions based on information from the sources I have mentioned above, and we always put the security of our students, faculty and staff at the forefront of any decision we make. There has not been a recommendation by the U.S. Department of State for American citizens to evacuate Paris, France or any other countries in the region. Life in Paris itself, while under heightened security, is starting to go back to normal with schools, markets and cultural attractions scheduled to open today and over the next few days.
For the members of our community in Paris or its regions, International SOS is recommending the following:
- Do not be unduly alarmed by a visible security force presence.
- Follow any official instructions.
- Consider carefully any information relayed on Internet-based social networks and ensure appropriate corroboration through reliable sources. There have been false alerts that have caused panic.
Students abroad and their family members who have questions and concerns are being asked to reach out to their advisors in the Office of International Education.