To the editor:

KU’s cancellation of its tropical studies program in Golfito, Costa Rica, has been attributed by KU officials to “tensions” due to the death and ongoing investigation of the murder of KU student Shannon Martin and the inability of the KU program to assure the safety of its students.

In the past year, I did not see Golfito as a dangerous town nor the tropical studies program as lacking in measures taken regarding the safety of its students. Personal safety is an individual matter; those of us in Golfito made a conscious decision to live there in the months following Shannon’s death.

Many Golfitenos expressed concern to me regarding Shannon’s murder and its effect on the future. Implied was the fear that American students would no longer come to Golfito. KU’s decision makes these fears a reality. Host families, university employees and all who enjoyed the intercultural and economic benefits the program brought to Golfito have been abandoned by KU much as they were by United Fruit Company.

Those called upon to evaluate the safety situation in Golfito did not see the same picture as those of us living there. Yet why did KU wait so long to speak? As of early May, new computers were arriving at the University in Golfito as if plans for future semesters were being made. The worst was over; the program survived the investigation, the capture of three suspects, and the year following Shannon’s death. Why did KU discontinue a program that had survived so much and had so much left to give?

Katie Mitchell, KU senior,

Solon, Iowa