Student blog: "Why students should not worry about studying in Paris"

Following the recent tragic events that occurred in Paris, Natalie Marshall, an Arcadia University student enrolled in the study abroad program at AGS this spring , wrote this blog post where she shares the reassuring information she found about security in France, and explains why there is no reason to worry about studying in Paris. Also note that the Vigipirate national security plan is applied in the AGS/Alliance Française building so as to ensure that we can welcome our students in a safe and serene environment next week.

This blog post was published on the USA Today College website. Read the full post on the original website here

Viewpoint: Why students should not worry about studying in Paris

By Natalie Marshall, junior student at Arcadia University, Spring 2015 study abroad student at the American Graduate School in Paris

When I applied to spend the spring 2015 semester in Paris, I pictured myself relaxing in posh cafés, shopping in open-air markets and studying in one of the city’s famous libraries. What I did not imagine was being thrust into a fragile Paris after three days of terror shook the city.

Since the Jan. 7 shooting at the Paris office of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, the Jan. 8shooting of a policewoman, and the Jan. 9 hostage situation at a kosher supermarket , I have traded my fantasies of cafés and markets for evaluations of safety and security.

But despite the recent attacks, there are three reasons that I decided to follow through with my plans to study in Paris this semester:

1.VIOLENT CRIME IN FRANCE IS RARE

After gunmen killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo office in Paris, the incident was called “the deadliest attack on French soil in more than 50 years.”

This goes to show how uncommon gun violence is in France compared to the United States. According to GunPolicy.org, the death toll from firearms in France totaled 1,736 in 2010, whereas the United States came in at 31,672. To account for the size difference in the two populations, the website reported that the annual rate of firearm deaths per 100,000 people was 2.67% in France versus 10.3% in the United States.

The U.S. Embassy “Tips for Traveling Safely Abroad” page says that the majority of crimes that occur in France are non-violent, and that the country is “relatively safe.” As for Paris, it says “violent crime is relatively rare in the city center,” likening it to that of “most large cities.”

I therefore do not feel that I need to be any more worried about violent acts in Paris than I would be in any large city in the United States.

2. THE FRENCH ARE UNITY-FOCUSED

The largest event by far was a collection unity marches across France on Sunday. Up to 1.6 million people attended Paris’s march, including French President François Hollande and other world leaders. Hollande called for “vigilance and unity” among the French after the incidents,according to Euronews.France has held numerous events over the past few days to unify the country and collectively mourn the shooting victims. One of the most iconic examples came Thursday night when Eiffel Tower went dark and the French held a moment of silence for the victims of the attacks.

This focus on unity following the attacks has proved reassuring and suggests that the city will not remain shaken for long.

3. IT IS STILL THE SAME CITY

These recent events should not overshadow the numerous things that make Paris an exceptional city. Just two months ago, QS Top Universities ranked it as the No. 1 city for students.

This was determined by various factors, including university rankings, the student mix, quality of living, employer activity and affordability. And it didn’t even take the countless museums, historical sites, libraries and cultural experiences Paris has to offer into consideration.

While the recent terror in Paris has been alarming, the attacks have not changed all of these positive aspects of the city. And they will not stop me from getting on a plane to Paris next week. The City of Light still has a great deal to offer all of its visitors, and I predict that my time abroad will be just as enriching, challenging and transformative as it would have been had I studied in Paris before the attacks.