International
travel still popular among students
By Toby Lewis
Daily Forty Niner
Despite
a decline in the number of people traveling
internationally since Sept. 11, some Cal
State Long Beach students are not afraid
to travel abroad to get an education.
“I’ve flown 15 times since 9/11,” said Andor
Zombori, a CSULB international student who
studied in Japan last year.
Students expecting to fly sometime soon,
however, can expect the usual security issues
that have become the norm for travelers
throughout the year.
Zombori said out of the 15 times he has
traveled since Sept. 11 of last year, he
had to remove his shoes and be subjected
to random searches at least six of those
times.
“It’s because I wear these big hiking boots,”
he said.
Jeffrey Carrillo, a CSULB student who studied
in Spain last year, said, “There was a mixed
attitude in some people over there after
the terrorist attacks.”
Carrillo said that while the general attitude
towards Americans was sympathetic, some
people were not supportive.
Nevertheless, Carrillo said he flew at least
20 times throughout the course of his year
in Spain, to various destinations throughout
Europe.
“I was a little scared to fly,” he said,
but he did not let that stop him from traveling.
Harlen Laguna, who also studied in Spain,
said that the general attitude of people
in Spain towards Americans was apologetic
and sympathetic.
“After the attacks, there were a lot of
us who considered coming home,” Laguna said.
American students were not allowed to speak
English or wear any kind of American propaganda
while studying in Spain.
She ultimately, however, decided to stay
in Spain for the remainder of the year.
Despite a decrease in international travel
during the course of last year, there has
been no significant decrease in the number
of students wanting to get an education
abroad, according to Cicilia Fidora, study
abroad coordinator for the Center for International
Education.
In the wake of Sept. 11, international travel
at Los Angeles International Airport is
down 15 percent compared to average figures,
according to Tom Winfrey of the public relations
office at LAX.
“We haven’t seen levels this low since 1996,”
Winfrey said.
Both Long Beach and Los Angeles International
airports have complied with the new heightened
federal security requirements, including
random checks of all vehicles and increased
passenger screening.
Some travel agents have not been impacted
by the decline in travel.
“I have not seen a decline in travel,” said
Linda Gonzalez of FunFest Travel in Huntington
Beach. However, Gonzalez said that most
people are booking domestic flights.
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