• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 02 / 26 / 2011

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25/02/2011 10:52:00 Karen Lawrence. Karen Lawrence - Increasing two-way traffic is a promising development. I know. My institution, Sarah Lawrence College, is celebrating the 10th anniversary of a successful collaboration with the University of Havana.

In January, President Obama announced an easing of restrictions on American travel to Cuba and people-to-people exchanges. Increasing two-way traffic, despite the persistence of the U.S. trade embargo of Cuba, is an extremely promising development from which both countries stand to benefit.

I know that will be the case, as my institution -- Sarah Lawrence College -- is celebrating the 10th anniversary of a highly successful collaboration with the University of Havana, the longest continuously running study abroad program between Cuba and an American college or university.

Clearly there have been hurdles. Fluctuations in American policies toward Cuba; changes in the Cuban economy; and the effects of Hurricanes Charley, Wilma, and Ike have presented challenges to every Cuban exchange program and vanquished schools larger and wealthier than Sarah Lawrence.

But for those of us who endured, the Obama administration's recent decision opens the way toward the greater artistic and academic collaborations fostered before the Bush administration tightened restrictions in 2003-4. At that time, the few colleges with surviving programs were prohibited from including students from other colleges; unable to sustain the numbers with their own student population, many exchanges shut down.

In a recent ceremony at the University of Havana, celebrating the durable and successful collaboration between our institutions, our faculty coordinator, Matilde Zimmermann said, "Sometimes, with imagination and work, what seems impossible can actually happen. And so we were able to put Sarah Lawrence's little foot in the door that was rapidly closing and keep it open." With the announced changes in policy, we look forward to re-opening the doors of our own program to students from other colleges and universities.

Source: //www.huffingtonpost.com/