Haiti-Wheaton Partnership Trip Canceled

Students of the Haiti-Wheaton partnership (HWP) will occupy a table in Lower Beamer today, Feb. 22, seeking to gather 500 signatures on their petition requesting reinstatement of permission to travel to Haiti from the Global and Experiential Learning office (GEL).

Through the HWP, students and faculty have traveled to Haiti under Wheaton College’s sponsorship, engaging in academic studies and building relationships with L’Université Chrétienne d’Nord d’Haïti (UCNH), “a well-reputed Christian university of about 700 students,” according to the HWP website.

GEL reviewed the Haiti trip proposal for 2013 and notified the group in the fall of 2012 that the trip was suspended due to the current risks inherent in travel to the country.

Dean of GEL Laura Montgomery said, “Putting (the risks) all together … it is unsafe for undergraduates to go (to Haiti), and that doesn’t mean they can never go there, but under the current conditions it is unsafe.”

The GEL office and Risk Management base their trip evaluations on several different resources, including U.S. State Department warnings, the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC), International SOS and local information on the specific place to be visited.

From these sources, Montgomery concluded that the security, safety and health risks were too great to allow student travel.

HWP students and faculty were dissatisfied with GEL’s decision because they did not perceive the risks listed by GEL as sufficient to restrict travel.

Jeff Greenberg, professor of geology and faculty advisor of HWP, said, “Thousands and thousands of people are traveling to and working in Haiti all the time ... with no problems. Of course, nothing guarantees that bad things won’t ever happen to travelers.”

Students on HWP cabinet believe that the potential risks involved in the trip are outweighed by the benefits.

“I understand some of the risks that (GEL) are (listing),” senior Sarah Prenatt, president of HWP, said. “It’s a risk I’m willing to take in going to that country. … We are not just going in blindly.”

Citing the numerous difficulties the country of Haiti faces, Prenatt said, “There are so many things I feel like we can’t ignore. This isn’t something we can just drop and walk away from, because there is so much potential for good.”

HWP also listed multiple reasons for their frustration about GEL’s handling of the trip approval process.

First, the Haiti trip had been approved in the past, HWP said, and second, the faculty was not consulted in the decision process or provided with a way to address the risks GEL cited.

Greenberg said, “I am the advisor for the HWP, but I was not consulted to be part of the process on deciding reasonable risk.”

Lastly, they perceived an unfair application of policy within GEL: Only undergraduate students were restricted from travel.

In response to these concerns, Montgomery said that trip evaluations needed to be based on the current conditions in the country and the conditions projected for the time of travel, not on past trips. Montgomery said that GEL was unaware, at first, of the faculty’s role in HWP because the original trip proposal was not clear in noting the faculty members involved. On Wednesday, Feb. 20, there was a meeting between GEL and HWP faculty members.

Montgomery said that all trips are evaluated using the same resources and methods that GEL applied to this situation.

Montgomery explained why graduate travel is not restricted, emphasizing the “essentiality” of the trips, meaning that graduate student trips are often tied to their research and necessary for their education, while undergraduates can complete their studies without such trips.

In November 2012, the faculty and students of HWP composed an appeal letter to the Senior Administrative Cabinet (SAC). The document laid out HWP’s rejoinders to the risks stated by GEL.

After the proposal, GEL, which has final say on trip approvals, conducted more research and presented a recommendation to SAC, and the decision to hault travel to Haiti stood.

Currently, the group is looking to reestablish the trip by working with Student Government and hosting a table in Lower Beamer to garner attention for their cause.

Montgomery said that the cancellation of this trip does not mean travel to Haiti is now off the board. Rather, reinstatement is contingent on a case-by-case analysis of conditions on the ground.

Nicole Rienstra, assistant director of Student Involvement and the staff advisor for HWP, said that she has played a role as “mediator” between the GEL office and the students and faculty of the partnership.

Rienstra summarized her perspective of the situation: “I certainly respect GEL and want to continue to work with them and … I think they are pushing us to ask really good questions,” she said. “In the same vein, having worked on this project for the last several years, I feel really committed to the project. I do feel as though there are good reasons that we’ve outlined that would mitigate the risk to a traveler.”

Although the undergraduate students are currently unable to travel to Haiti this year, the partnership is planning to use their funds as well as the money raised from the Faculty Battle of the Bands to bring the president of UCNH to Wheaton’s campus.