Students studying in London this fall say they are not worried about terrorist attacks any more than they are while living in DC.
Despite heightened security alerts in the UK after the July 7th bombings in London, students participating in the AU Abroad Fall 2005 trips to London say they will feel safe while abroad, citing living in DC as good experience for living in a location with a high likelihood of terrorist threats.
"The bombings don't make me any more nervous to be studying in London. After living in DC for the last two years under the constant threat of a terrorist attack, it can obviously happen anywhere," said Blair Bryant Nichols, a junior majoring in Literature in The College of Arts & Sciences.
"I would feel safer there than in DC," said Jon Dawood, a junior majoring in CLEG in the School of Public Affairs. "London has more history with bombings, they have more security."
Four suicide bombers set off three bombs in London on July 7th, destroying three Underground trains and a double-decker bus, leaving 52 dead and hundreds injured.
According to Director of AU Abroad Sara Dumont, no students from AU were harmed, and all stayed in London until the completion of their program.
"There were no directives from either the U.S. State Department or the U.S. Embassy in London after the bombings except to go about one's daily business and keep vigilant, so we determined that we would not shorten or cancel our programs," Dumont said. "In the 12 years I have been working in study abroad, the students who have been harmed have almost all been harmed by accidents, most involving motor vehicles, and most involving excess alcohol consumption."
Students are more at risk of more common dangers such as assault or theft than they are of any terrorist attack, according to Dumont. By attending all pre-departure orientations where safety issues are discussed and reading and following any given information and advice, students will be "as safe abroad as they are here," Dumont said.
Student Lauren Richards, who studied in London this spring, advises other students to not avoid using the train system in London.
"Everyone has to take the tube, and you can't avoid it because it's the only way to get around.," said Richards, a senior in the School of Public Affairs.
One student in London during the time of the bombings this summer said she was close to where the three bombs went off.
"One of my co-workers and I decided to walk to work that morning instead of taking the tube," said Merideth Sharp, a senior majoring in Journalism at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
"At first someone said there was a power surge that affected multiple lines of the Underground, and that people were being evacuated from the trains," Sharp said.
After receiving information that a bomb went off, Sharp said she thought it "way too coincidental for there to be a power surge and a bomb. That's when it really hit me that something bad was happening."
Even with that experience in London, Sharp said she would study there again. She advises other students "not to let terrorism or terrorism threats change your wants and desires to study abroad"
