UB students who visited Cuba for four weeks this summer to attend the University of Havana may be the last group to do so, according to alterations made to the Cuban embargo.
According to the US Department of the Treasury Web site, under the strengthened embargo, study abroad programs to Cuba lasting less than 10 weeks are no longer permitted. Students hoping to visit will not be issued visas by the United States government.
The masters study abroad program, which lasts a minimum of one semester, is not affected.
Students who took part in this last trip are unhappy about the new embargo, which was signed during the period of their visit.
"It's a shame other people could miss out on this opportunity," said Daniel Newcombe, a senior history and classics major. "It is kind of pointless. Cuba is not a great threat to America."
The program was divided into two sections, one for students who fluently spoke Spanish and the other for those who did not. Students in the Spanish program took a Spanish language course and one on the history of Cuba. Those in the English program took classes about urban planning in a socialist state, and a class about the history of the Cuban revolution. Each course of study included daily field trips to supplement classroom learning.
Students dished out a few thousand dollars each for the experience, but say it was well worth the expense.
While the classes and visits to historical sites made the trip a unique learning tool, students said the people of Cuba taught them lessons they couldn't have learned in classrooms.
"In general, people are much more welcoming. They are more outgoing hospitable people," said Robert Batdorf, a senior Spanish and economics major. "They can't add material items to their lives so they add friends and acquaintances."
Newcombe said he fondly remembers his interactions with the Cuban people as well. He said they live life to the fullest, and that made his time there memorable. Periods of intense study were followed by lively bouts of recreation.
"Having a good time is very much a part of Cuban life," Newcombe said. "They play hard and they work very hard."
He said it also didn't hurt that his money stretched so far there. He saw the movie "Kill Bill" for two pesos.
Mark Boyd, a senior environmental design and African American studies major, was impressed by the warm weather and aesthetics of Cuba. He fears American students will lose an incredible opportunity if denied the right to study there.
"It's a beautiful place to be," he said. "Without having gone and interacting with the people, you just miss so much."
In response to the new restrictions, Cuba held the biggest anti-American rally in its history. According to Batdorf, the assembly featured a six-story banner with a picture of George W. Bush sporting a mustache like that of Adolf Hitler.
"As much as they like the American people, they hate the American government," Batdorf said.
According to a Sept. 25 Associated Press article, President Bush tightened the long-standing embargo with the goal of undermining Fidel Castro and Cuba's communist government.
Students believe the president is wielding the new executive order as a political tool.
"George Bush is trying to win the election," Batdorf said. "It's not a coincidence. He's had four years to do this. He has decided it is all of a sudden an issue a summer before the election."
Batdorf said the entire situation dates back to when Castro came to power, declaring the country socialist and seizing the property and businesses of the wealthy Cuban people.
Many of those Cubans have successfully resettled in Florida.
"He's trying to solidify a large demographic in a major swing state," he said.
"It's only an issue for those people in Florida whom he's trying to get to support him."
Ultimately, Batdorf believes this subtle legislation, which appears not to affect most Americans, has serious underlying implications.
"It is a microcosm of the game of politics in America, where politicians don't just do what they believe in, or what is in the best interest of their people, but what is going to help them win in November," he said.
Professor of Urban Studies Henry Taylor, who also attended and taught classes in Havana this summer, agrees.
"Cuba is painted as an evil empire," he said. "And if enough people see it as different from that, it makes a negative impact on the governmental policy."
He said he worries about the educational implications the termination of the shorter study abroad programs might have.
"Politics should never dictate educational policy. It can create an environment where scholastic inquiry and the ability of students to pursue research can be jeopardized."
In such an environment, Taylor said, individuals can be afraid to voice their own opinions.
"It's wrong to eliminate educational programs that have been beneficial to both teachers and students for purely political reasons," Taylor said. "We have a right to free inquiry. We have a right to know."
Taylor said that Americans are responsible enough to make up their own minds about places like Cuba. The only way they can make an honest decision is to experience these countries firsthand, the way UB students did this summer.
"It was an extremely rich opportunity for students that gave them insight into a socialist system different from the United States," he said. "I think the people who went were objective enough to see the good, the bad, and the ugly, and appreciate that."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
