While Congress legislates against fries called French, Katie Lazelle '04 plans to spend this summer in Strasbourg, France continuing an internship she began during her semester abroad in Fall 2002. She recalled the response of her supervisor when she joked with him about supposed anti-American sentiment in France: "Europeans are always in favor of any American that is currently choosing not to live in America," he said.

As students on campus grapple with their identities as Americans at this time, many Macalester students are being forced to confront that issue–and others–in foreign territory as they spend time overseas.

Students who were contacted said they were confronted with some anti-American sentiment, but for the most part felt safe.

Peter Burkill '04 is studying in Salamanca, Spain this semester, and has attended multiple anti-war demonstrations there. He said he had experienced anti-Americanism, but that he "never felt threatened." He told of one peace rally where the emphasis shifted from anti-war to anti-American with colorful chants such as "No a la guerra, los yankees a la mierda!". "Ninety-five percent of the time this is not the case," he said.

Pete Dillon '04, who is spending this semester in Santiago, Chile, said that he recognized "a lot of anti-American government sentiment," but that he had only been confronted directly once.

People who spent time in France were less blasé about their experiences.

"Recent increases in anti-American sentiment made me really paranoid at first," Lazelle said. "The closer we got to war while I was in Strasbourg the more serious the anti-American sentiment became."

Michelle Hartung '03 traveled to Paris over spring break with the Blacks in Paris class. "I felt less safe, because I was unsure of how people would react to the fact that I was American," she said.

All of the students said that their responses to war, both emotional and intellectual, have been impacted by their location.

"I find myself staying more informed than I probably otherwise would," Dillon said. He also noted what he perceives is a different portrayal of events in the media. "The news is much less hesitant to show the results of missiles gone astray than I hear U.S. channels are," he said.

Burkill said that his opinions are sometimes assumed to be other than they are simply because he is American. He, Dillon and Lazelle all said that they often share the critiques of U.S. policy that they hear in their host countries.

"I find people here are beginning to assume positions that go against what I believe to be true about the war," Burkill said. "I think that the emotional impact of living in a foreign country during this time, surrounded by a lot of anti-American and anti-war sentiment is really hard for people,"

"I am fully against this 'fictitious war' on terrorism," Lazelle said, "but … giving up on America would mean damning the things about America that have made my existence, and those of the ones I love, possible. People from other countries can hate and distrust our culture and society in a much simpler way than is possible for me and many other Americans."

Annie Taff '04 is studying in China this semester. "It is very difficult to be in a place where I am both inarticulate and uninformed," she said. "Parts of me wishes I were crowded in the lounges with my peers soaking up images and reports. But at the same time, being away from Macalester's occasionally incestually liberal hotbed has forced me to draw my own conclusions and formulate my own opinions on this war instead of just falling back into the status quo."

Taff said that she had not experienced much anti-Americanism. "Mostly I don't feel that the war is ever-present here," she said. "I hear more about the superflu."

Study Abroad Program Coordinator Katherine Yngve said that she had not heard any concerns from students in Europe regarding negative treatment of Americans.

Earlier in the year she authored a lengthy document on "Security and Off-Campus Study" to appease questions about the school's response to a then-impending war.

In that document, she reiterates the school's confidence in study abroad programs to ensure the emotional and physical safety of students. "Experiences of study abroad directors … have shown that neither anti-American sentiment nor terrorist threat against governments necessarily constitute a threat to the learning experience" the document states. "Indeed in many cases the experiences that arise from such charged political environments can enhance both learning and self-understanding."