By Jessie Hethcoat
The University of Portland's study abroad has added a new summer program.
The summer in Eastern Europe program visits Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria all within a month, and includes six university credits and a trip to Auschwitz, the extermination camp in Poland.
"It would be unusual for student to not be emotionally moved by the stark reality of the holocaust," Rev. Arthur Wheeler, C.S.C., said. "Auschwitz is a particularly grim experience."
The trip begins at the University of Portland Center in Salzburg, Austria. From there, students will proceed by bus to Krakow, Poland, where they will live in downtown student apartments. On the way to Krakow, there will be overnight stops in Vienna and Prague.
"What sets this trip apart from all the others is the variety of things that students will get to see," senior Allison Goodfellow, student coordinator of the program, said. "Even though there's still a lot of time to explore on your own, the trip will take all students to four major European cities."
The classes offered in the program are Fine Arts in Eastern Europe (FA391), taught by Dr. Kenneth Kleszynski and Eastern European Political Cultures 1945 - present (POL391) taught by Dr. Gary Malecha and Br. Donald Stabrowski, C.S.C.
The program will cost $5,800, which is similar to the cost of programs that do not have as much travel included.
"This trip will give an in-depth look at multiple cultures within the geographic area of eastern Europe," Wheeler said. "Polish people had a really tough 20th century. Students will get to see things that, thank God, we have not been exposed to in the US."
Because the classes can be used for core requirements or upper division electives, this program is open to all majors. No preference is given to any specific major.
According to Wheeler, the Study Abroad Office is trying to create more opportunities for majors that have previously been underrepresented in the students that have chosen to study abroad.
Additionally, the summer programs are opportunities for students who wouldn't be able to leave the country for an entire year or semester.
"The Eastern Europe program is a broad-based multi-cultural experience similar to Salzburg, but not as lengthy of a trip," Wheeler said.
Class is held Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Wednesdays are used for mandatory excursions taken with all students and faculty.
"The housing in both Salzburg and Krakow are centrally located," Goodfellow said. "The students will be living walking distance from downtown in apartment-style housing."
In the past, UP has offered a Europe summer trip that visited London, Paris and Salzburg. This year, the trip will be exploring Europe's eastern regions instead.
The Europe program came into being because the University Center in Salzburg could be used for two summer sessions, but there was not enough time for three. Because of this, the study abroad office decided to hold a program that begun in the university center at Salzburg and stayed there for half the session.
"I'm interested in the eastern Europe program because I'm half Polish, and it's a unique opportunity to be able to see and study in an area that your family comes from," sophomore Michael Fritz said.
According to Wheeler, UP has a high percentage of students with Polish, Czech and Austrian descent.
Students like Fritz may attend to learn about the history of their ancestors. Others will go to see cities that are rich in cultural history.
"The student that attends the eastern Europe summer program should be interested in experiencing culture and seeing cities other than London and other popular Europe destinations," Goodfellow said.
"Most students aren't going to end up in Eastern Europe on their own. This is an incredible chance," she said.
