It is hard not to fall in love with the city of London. Participating in Boston University International Program’s London Internship Program was unquestionably an amazing experience. However, finding the same admiration for the BU London staff and how it deals with student problems is an entirely different story. On the Charles River Campus, BU administrators and staff have, in our experience, proved incredibly helpful and determined in solving problems and aiding students with their needs. But for a program that enrolls only around 300 students per semester, the London staff cannot receive the same compliment.
During our semester in London, a broken heater in February was not fixed for two weeks, leaving three students to deal with an unbearably cold room. Four students sharing one bathroom were left with a broken toilet for four days, which is a clear health and sanitary concern. The program allows students to store luggage over winter break — but upon arrival, our luggage was nowhere to be found and only materialized when another student found it in her room. In all of these situations, we followed the protocol for maintenance requests and other concerns to the best of our knowledge. However, nothing was accomplished without excessive reminders and going above and beyond what should be necessary to have basic needs met. Several staff members should be acknowledged for being helpful and responsive to students, but unfortunately, they alone cannot be asked to make sure the program runs smoothly. Other higher-ranking staff members were known to refuse to meet with students, close the doors to the student life office and ignore emails and phone calls.
Spending four months in a foreign country can be incredibly stressful, and it often leaves students feeling alone and without a support system. We would hope that the staff members of the student life office would ease this process and improve students’ lives in London, as their job titles suggest. It is surprising and disappointing that BUIP’s most popular program does not accommodate or adequately care for its students. The administrators of BUIP in Boston need to address these problems, as their colleagues in London are tainting BU’s reputation of offering exceptional abroad programs.
Amelia McGowan and Betsy Stratis
CAS ’08
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