Campus Alert Archive
BU

Defer All Travel Through Brussels: BU Global Programs Warns Its Europe Cohorts

MAcivil unrestadvisoryhigh confidence

Hours after the March 22, 2016 Brussels bombings, Boston University's Global Programs office wrote to study-abroad site directors and students across Europe urging them to defer any travel to or through Brussels and to practice heightened vigilance in transit hubs. Two BU students visiting Brussels on spring break were reported safe and advised to shelter in place.

Alerts
2
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Boston University
Private R1 · MA
BU Global Programs Advisory
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimBU Today, quoting Joseph Finkhouse's letter to Study Abroad site directors and students151 chars
We recommend strongly that students defer planned travel to Brussels, or any travel that would take them through the Brussels airport or train station.
This sentence is quoted verbatim by BU Today from Joseph Finkhouse, associate director of health, safety, and security for BU Global Programs, in his Tuesday-morning letter to site directors and students.
Although BU had no programs in Brussels itself, the advisory targeted students across BU's many European programs who might transit the city's airport or rail stations.
The recommendation is precautionary travel guidance rather than a shelter order, reflecting that BU's risk exposure was students passing through Brussels rather than residing there.
FOLLOW-UPEmail
Approximate reconstruction322 chars
Site directors should, where possible, meet with students to discuss the attacks and reasonable precautions informed by European authorities, advise them to practice heightened vigilance, especially in transportation centers and near government and diplomatic facilities, and reassure them that there is no need for panic.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed from BU Today's summary of Finkhouse's instructions to site directors; the paraphrased portions are not a verbatim quote, so isVerbatimConfirmed is false.
The 'heightened vigilance, especially in transportation centers and near government and diplomatic facilities' phrasing closely tracks the language BU Today attributed to the letter.
Notes that two BU students on spring break in Brussels were reported safe and advised to shelter in place, the only members of the BU community directly in the city.
Context

Background

The March 22, 2016 Brussels bombings killed 32 people at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station. Boston University, based in Boston, Massachusetts, ran no study-abroad program in Brussels but operated numerous programs elsewhere in Europe. According to BU Today, Joseph Finkhouse, associate director of health, safety, and security for BU Global Programs, wrote to site directors and students that Tuesday morning strongly recommending they defer any travel to or through Brussels and practice heightened vigilance in transportation hubs and near government facilities. Two BU students visiting Brussels on spring break from another program were reported safe and advised to shelter in place. The BU advisory ran alongside the simultaneous responses by the University of Illinois and University of Oregon, illustrating how US institutions guard against travel-corridor risk for study-abroad cohorts, not just on-site presence.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Official
    University Urges Students Abroad to Avoid Brussels Following Airport and Subway Terrorist Attacks - BU Today
    bu.edu
  2. Source
    Following Brussels Attack, U.S. Universities Reach Out To Students Abroad - HuffPost
    huffingtonpost.com
  3. Source
    2016 Brussels bombings - Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
Tags
study-abroadbrusselsbelgiumterrorismtravel-advisoryinternationalglobal-program2016
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion