liberal SA Express-News editorial
http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/UT_recall_of_students_from_Mexico_merited.htmlUniversity of Texas System Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa did the right thing in recalling all students, faculty and staff from northern Mexico due to the growing violence from the drug cartel wars waging in that region.
The recall covers the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Durango, Chihuahua, Sonora and Baja California.
The state's largest public university system is also considering suspending all university-related travel to any country with a U.S. Department of State travel warning, the Express-News reports. That may include Haiti, which is still trying to recover from a devastating earthquake earlier this year.
It is tragic that the opportunities to help, learn and exchange ideas with those in other countries may become severely limited, but the safety of students, faculty and staff should always come first and cannot be compromised.
The mounting violence in northern Mexico has become a serious concern even for Americans living on the U.S. side who used to casually cross over the international border to dine and shop on a regular basis.
While they are not usually the targets of the violence, there is nothing to stop the stray bullets from their paths.
Just last month, two Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education students were killed when they were caught in the crossfire between the military and drug traffickers, the Express-News reports.
Until the situation improves, the use of extreme caution is appropriate