OP-ED: Study abroad merit awards a must for IGS

I was incredibly disturbed and shocked to hear about the new study abroad policy.According to the Office of Study Abroad's Web site, "Students may not receive any form of merit aid while on study abroad." These words represent a breach of "contract" to those who, like me, were told upon their acceptance that their merit-based scholarships would cover all four years, including semesters spent abroad. This is particularly egregious when one considers the character of the Brandeis student body, especially our merit award recipients and students pursuing the International and Global Studies major.

Brandeis attracts a class of individuals eager to realize their global citizenship in an experiential manner. I do not mean that this is the top priority of every Brandeis student, but I think that this generalization, however broad, more than stands up to scrutiny.

This holds true in particular when one visits the Brandeis Web site. Quite prominently displayed is a link to "Global Brandeis." While this link does not directly pertain to studying abroad, it is directly correlated to this most flaunted of the University's values. But is Brandeis all talk? Why should the University exhibit such an admiration for global citizenship-by which I mean the process of experiencing a foreign part of the world for an extended period of time, such as the length of a semester-but then deliberately throw obstacles in the path of merit award recipients trying to attain it?

The fact that one of Brandeis' most popular majors is the International and Global Studies program is highly indicative of the level of global awareness on this campus. IGS is a wonderful program with much to offer any student who chooses to pursue it.

However, these days, IGS is looking less attractive to those with merit-based scholarships because it has an international experience requirement. I do not suggest that IGS should get rid of this requirement because to do so would significantly impair the program. Studying abroad is essential to the IGS major, and pursuing the program using only lectures, textbooks and the Internet would leave graduates entirely unprepared for the real-world application of their classroom learning.

But, when someone like me, a Justice Brandeis Scholar, chooses to attend Brandeis, this decision is based on a contract with the school that implies that the cost of receiving one degree will not exceed the cost of any other. Justice Brandeis Scholars pay no tuition so long as a certain GPA is upheld. I personally resent being charged extra for following my dreams in choosing the IGS major and, therefore, studying abroad.

Recently, I have looked into doing a summer study abroad in lieu of a fall or spring study abroad. I am looking into programs in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I learned that many summer study abroad experiences do not fulfill IGS' international experience requirement because of a small difference in the number of credit hours involved in the summer versus during the fall or spring semester. Additionally, if I were to find a summer internship in Buenos Aires, this would not count either because summer internships are meant to fill this requirement if they are domestically based with an international focus.

It is not impossible that one of the summer programs in Buenos Aires will fulfill the requirement, but if it does not, and an internship in Buenos Aires is out of the question, I will be effectively barred from completing an IGS major the way I feel an IGS major is meant to be completed-with some experience of another part of the world and culture.

I understand that Brandeis has been hit hard by the economic crisis and that cuts are being made in many places besides merit aid portability. However, the University is wronging those of us who are here on merit scholarship.

The study abroad experience is key to producing the kind of global citizen that Brandeis openly strives to create. Adding a higher price tag for this experience, which is also a literal requirement for one of Brandeis' most popular majors, is completely unethical. Breaking contract with those the University determined to have earned merit-based aid is likewise unethical. If it behooves the University not to make such contracts for future classes or to raise the GPA standards for current students wishing to study abroad, then so be it, but the University has an agreement with current Brandeis students that must not be broken.



The writer is an International and Global Studies major and a member of the Class of 2012.