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POWELL ADVISES STUDENT TRAVELERS TO BE CAUTIOUS DURING SPRING BREAK

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.  - With March approaching, Spring Break is on the minds of many.  But students' conduct and safety is on the minds of personnel at the U.S.  State Department, according to a letter from U.S.  Secretary of State Colin Powell sent to colleges.

"The majority of the students have the best time of their lives, but some suffer the consequences of breaking the law in another country," said Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman in a public statement.

State Department statistics state approximately 2,500 U.S.  citizens are arrested outside the United States each year, according to the Web site travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html.

The State Department issues travel advisories periodically to try to warn students of possible dangers.  With the time for vacations approaching, the State Department has issued a release for all colleges.  The notice warns students of the consequences of breaking the law outside the United States.

"The notice has come out in anticipation of two things: one, spring break, where a lot of students will be on the move, and the other is the threat of impeding war on Iraq, due to which American safety abroad will again become an issue because of possible Anti-American sentiments." said Dede Long, director of Study Abroad Programs at UA.

The state department regularly issues travel advisories, but the issue is that the travel advisory has not been revised for a long period, said Steve Sheppard, an associate professor in international law.

The travel advisory is like the advisory for drug smuggling; it will change little over time, Sheppard said.

"What happens to American citizens after they are arrested is nothing like the movies," Sheppard said.  "The consul does not demand your arrest or bail you out.  In fact, allowing for rare exceptions all a consul does, is to check that conditions of incarceration are at a humane minimum."

If an American citizen is arrested, he or she can call the consul using the equivalent of a single phone call, Sheppard said.  The person can try and call either the local consulate or someone who will reach the embassy.  The consul is not allowed to bail the person out using consulate funds, Sheppard said.

"The consul is not allowed to demand release or represent you at trial.  All a consul is allowed to do is, with the student's permission, contact their family and provide a list of legal counsel.  Even that list does not presume if consul is competent or not," Sheppard said.

"A consul has a small budget and even though the U.S.  provides consuls all over America, the most they will do, is what they can do from inside their office.

"The consular officer can provide legal counsel, but that is when it is a matter of national policy.  Often a consul believing the charge wrong can do no more than what a discussion can accomplish."

Most arrests happen because of ignorance of laws and drug possession, State Department information states.  Americans abroad are treated more gently than other nationalities and also are thought to be the most naive traveler giving them leeway, Sheppard said.

But, the sentences usually depend on the local authorities and what the crime is.  For example, in certain countries being a drug offender is similar to being an outlaw, Sheppard said.

State Department reports say a third of Americans abroad are arrested on drug-related charges.  The charges include possession of a drug and carrying drugs across the border.

"Amateur drug smugglers are more likely to get caught than professional smugglers," Sheppard said.  "And professional smugglers get caught on a regular service.  To a dealer, a student mule caught by the authorities is a planned risk, to the students it changes their life forever."

Unless the student gets arrested in a country that will exchange with the United States, the student will serve the sentence in that country, Sheppard said.

"Also the record follows you everywhere," he warned.

Before students depart for study abroad, they attend a series of discussions where they are informed about local customs and laws, Long said.

With the threat of impeding war, "People are okay separating citizens from their country, but students have started to notice anti-American sentiments," Long said.

Europe is the most popular vacation and study-abroad site for Americans, Long said.

"The basic problem for a student, one that might cause them to get in trouble is that the drinking age in popular locations like Mexico and Europe is 18 years old," Long said.

"This might result in them getting in trouble, especially where they don't speak the local language."

"Caution and research, are not the hallmarks of a college student on vacation," Sheppard said.  "But the only thing to help is to be a smart cautious traveler."