The unexplained death of San Diego State student Austin Bice, whose body was discovered last Tuesday in the Madrid River, shouldn’t scare students away from the experience of studying abroad, according to Cal State Long Beach officials.
Bice, 22, from Carlsbad, Calif., was studying international business at Carlos III University in Spain since January.
He failed to return home after a night out. Police have found no signs of foul play and are now waiting on the results of an autopsy after Bice’s body was found in the Manzanares River.
This Madrid case is an extreme example, according to CSULB’s Center for International Education assistant director Cecilia Fidora. Fidora strongly attests that tragic incidents overseas involving foreign students are very rare.
“No city, even the so-called safest ones, are immune to tragedy,” associate Spanish professor and undergraduate advisor Bonnie Gasior said.
Gasior, who has been to Madrid about a dozen times and taken students abroad to Madrid twice, said she’s never felt threatened, unsafe, fearful or in danger.
“Madrileños enjoy late-night dinners, they go to the theater, they congregate in coffee shops and parks,” she said. “In other words, the streets are filled with people until all hours of the night. That human presence, I think, creates a safety in numbers effect.”
Fidora said it is undeniable that there’s always a certain amount of risk involved in studying abroad, simply because part of the adventure is diving into an entirely different lifestyle.
“Safety is never guaranteed,” Fidora said. “We hear about people wandering down the wrong alley in downtown Long Beach.”
CSULB conducts a mandatory orientation in an attempt to avoid any tragic situations.
Students are issued guidelines on safety and proper behavior they should follow when traveling abroad.
Students are grouped depending on their destination and placed in scenarios that are intended to provide them with clear information on the ramifications of different approaches, as well as what is most likely to happen and what they can do to prepare.
“Students are strongly urged to use the same caution as they would in the United States overseas,” Fidora said.
Exaggerating what the correct decision or approach is can likely clarify the direction or decision students should make abroad. For example, “It’s 4 a.m. You and your friends are out at a club. You’re tired. You want to go home, but your friend doesn’t want to. What do you do?”
It is noted that students have a strong intention to drink once abroad, but Fidora said she hopes Bice’s example reminds students to stick together, and not wander off by themselves.
“You’re putting yourself at a huge risk by being alone at night in an unfamiliar surrounding, under the influence of alcohol,” Fidora said. “Alcohol abuse makes a student incredibly more vulnerable to risky behaviors or being taken advantage of.”
Although CSULB’s International Education office does its best to try and educate students about their safety, “in all reality, students are going to do what they want,” Fidora said.
As a product of study abroad, Gasior said she believes that study abroad programs are not only an important part of the overall college education but also have transformative powers.
“Personally, I think all students should be required to study abroad for at least a semester,” she said. “It opens up your mind to different cultures, viewpoints and, in many cases, different languages. It is both challenging, rewarding and fun.”
Study abroad programs also enhance your professional potential because many employers consider an experience abroad to help develop cross-cultural awareness.
“A student who has seen many cultures, visited many places, has more going for them than a student who has never been out of Orange County,” Fidora said.
Benjamin Bailleux Tyack, 25, an exchange student from Meaux, France, said that his experience abroad in the United States was the best decision he made.
“Having left my quiet and secure nest to the big unknown, I learned so much about the United States, American culture, American people and their diversity, as well as, most importantly, myself,” Tyack said. “I met amazing people in this once-in-a-lifetime experience. It changed me for the better.”
Tyack, who completed his master’s at CSULB with a special focus on audiovisual, strongly encourages other students to study abroad.
“If you want to become a citizen of the world, you need to experience something different than your regular life, and now is the best time,” he said. “You’re a student. Later on in life, you’ll have ties or, say, a nine-to-five job holding you back.”
Bice seemed to have been enjoying his trip to Madrid, according to updates on his Facebook.
He told his family and friends about his foreign adventure, commenting on his trip to Valencia, difficulty with Spanish and Madrid’s phenomenal and exciting nightlife.
Tyack said students who want to study abroad should look at pieces of information like this, rather than dwelling on potential risks.
“Ultimately, his tragic story should not stop students from following their own dreams and goals in a dissimilar corner of the world,” Tyack said. “It was the most rewarding experience of my life.”
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