Congress makes Study Abroad a top priority
I was catching up on the day’s reading this evening, and got really excited to see the news that, the day after President Obama’s big speech, Congress has made study abroad one if its top priorities. The Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act came within a hair’s breath of passing the Senate last year, and it’s great to see that it hasn’t dropped off the radar with the new year and financial crisis. Senator Durbin et. al. are right to point to study abroad as a key part of the strategy of “restoring America’s standing in the world” – there is simply no better way to cultivate a citizenry that is knowledgeable about foreign affairs and commanding of respect from the rest of the world.
Imagine, for example, if every undergraduate in American spent a semester in China. How much better would we as a nation understand that country and its people? How much more effectively would our government be able to manage our relationship with Beijing? How much more of an affinity would China feel to America, having had so much more exposure to Americans, and with so many more Americans speaking Mandarin or Cantonese? The answer is, undoubtedly, “a lot.”
You can learn more about the Paul Simon Study Abroad Foundation Act here, here, and here. And you can join the 2,224 other people who have already expressed their support for the bill by joining this Facebook group. Let’s get this thing passed and make study abroad a top priority for our country!
The Gulliver Blog 
Wow, that\’s a great point. I agree, studying abroad needs to be a top priority. Kids need to learn that the world does not revolve around their hometown.
The House approved the Simon Study Abroad Bill a few months ago, so hopefully we will see study abroad take it’s place as a top priority. I totally agree that students should get out of their state and country for school. There’s a lot to see and experience so let’s keep our fingers crossed while the bill makes its way through the Senate.