At Gustavus, we have many opportunities to study various subjects, languages, and cultures. Our study away program prides itself in how many different states and countries are offered for students to visit. 

Recently, within the political climate of the United States, Gustavus had decided to ban study away opportunities in Russia. This poorly made choice had many influences, with the claim that it was in the best interest and safety of the students. 

This idea, however, that students would be unsafe in Russia, was  poorly backed up, and one that the travel safety committee was quick to regret as it came with backlash from various students, faculty, and even alumni. 

The ban was removed again last spring, but the controversial issue still stands; should students of Gustavus be allowed to take their study away opportunities in Russia?

My immediate reaction is an easy yes. As I looked more into it, I only further believed that yes, students should be allowed to study in Russia. 

There aren’t many students in the Russian and Eastern European Studies program as there is, and singling out Russia in such a way is insulting to these students. There are many programs that should be questioned long before the ones within Russia. It’s fairly shocking to me that people would want to take away such opportunities when we have an area of study largely focused on this specific country.

To get a better understanding, I was able to speak to the head of the Russian and Eastern European Studies director Denis Crnkovic on the subject at large.

 “The Russian and Eastern European Studies program is the smallest program, and it has no budget. There are around twenty students in the first year courses, and about five or seven students who have declared a major. The one question that appears is why would you isolate us academically from Russia in a time when we need experts on Russia.

Students felt unnecessarily targeted for their major as they were blocked from studying in the country of their choice. “Students, aside from being disappointed, couldn’t figure out how suddenly it was dangerous. There has never been an incident-students have never, quite frankly, come back dead. Students by large do not feel at all unsafe in Oscarge and St. Petersburg. Some students feel less safe in even Minneapolis,” Professor Crnkovic said. 

“It’s just as dangerous to study in London or Paris, possibly even more dangerous as terrorism is not as heavy in Russia. Honestly, it’s not in Russia at all, you don’t want to mess with them. An old student once told me that closing down the Russian program because it might be a danger to our students is an insult to every Russian grandmother everywhere. Russians are some of the friendliest people in the world. Students encounter the Russia of the Russians, not the agents or billionaires or the nasty parts of Russia.

The administration gave no consideration for studetn input and went ahead with banning the program.  

“This shows an extreme naivety, and a lack of understanding on showing the relationship of Russia and places such as Finland, Ukraine, and Belarus. These countries all have strict language laws, where in some cases if you were to speak Russian, the people wouldn’t bother talking to you. 

It’s not only helpful, but essential for anyone who wants to learn Russian. It is a very prominent feature of the Russian major, which has been true for the past ten to twelve years.

Think of it this way, say you were raised and going to school in Russia, learning American studies, and Russia told you not to go to the U.S. That wouldn’t make sense.”

“I highly encourage students who want to study in Russia. They come back with beautiful Russian. For the program, it’s not required but highly recommended.

The culture in Russia is very different than the United States. They’d much rather have a king, honestly. It’s important for students to experience this culture first hand.”

Although the political system may be a surprise, the country as a whole-the citizens and everyday people in which are the ones who interact with our students-isn’t a threat to the safety, nor are our students actively seeking out that danger when visiting the country. 

When I heard about this debate, I thought it was silly that people were suddenly singling Russia out as a threat to students’ safety. Many countries that the CICE allows and promotes students to visit are seen as far more dangerous in the eyes of the public than Russia. 

Russian and Eastern European studies majors want to go to Russia to better acclimate themselves with the culture and language, and the citizens in the areas have proven themselves to be kind and supportive of our students learning these things. 

It’s ridiculous that there are people who want to limit the learning of students here on campus. Yes, the safety of the students here is insanely important, but if there’s no evident threat in these places, then there’s no evident reason to stop students from wanting to study there.

The way things are panning out, studying Russian and keeping close tabs on the country is going to be important for our future. I believe that we need these future experts to truly dive into the culture and know as much as we can. Losing this knowledge, or any knowledge of other cultures, as a country could end terribly for us.

 It seems naivety drives fear for some people, and the fact that a misunderstanding could halt a program like this and halt the growth in knowledge for many people, directly involved or not. Don’t let your lack of knowledge hold back others from their own education; ask the experts, not the media. 

.  Hold  on,  that’s  not  what  we’ve  been  told,  right?  Aren’t  conspiracy   theorists  old,  wacky  guys  who  believe  that  reptilians  run  the  universe?  Yes,  those  conspiracy   theorists  definitely  exist.  Just  like  there  are  people  who  go  full  crazy  on  just  about  any  other   subject  available.  While  the  idea  about  reptilians  might  have  been  true,  and  very  well  could  still   be,  such  thoughts  have  been  ridiculed  and  laughed  at  so  many  times  that  even  the  expression   ‘conspiracy  theory’  is  being  stigmatized.

Well,  if  conspiracy  theorists  were  once  seen  as  being  a  movement  for  oddballs  with   unconventional  ideas  about  the  world,  that  is  about  to  change.  Instead,  it  is  now  turning  into  a   full  scale  online  movement.  With  the  world  wide  web  allowing  new  information  to  be  publicly   available    because  of  freedom  activists  who  risk  their  life  leaking  documents,  the  conspiracy   theorists  are  not  the  same  people  as  they  once  used  to  be.  In  fact,  I  would  like  to  make  the  point   that  we  are  all,  or  at  the  very  least  should  be,  conspiracy  theorists.

Conspiracy  theories  exists  along  all  magnitudes.  A  small  conspiracy  theory  would  be  that   your  college  coach  doesn’t  play  you  because  your  hair  is  brown.  Stupid,  for  sure,  but  that  is  a   conspiracy  theory  nonetheless.  However,  internet  movements  found  on  sites  like  4Chan  and   Reddit  -­  whose  r/conspiracy  recently  moved  up  to  top  60  of  all  subreddits  -­  seem  to  all  agree   that  a  larger,  global  conspiracy  is  now  entering  one  of  its  most  critical  phases.  It  involves  Syria,   it  involves  the  Clintons  and  it  involves  pretty  much  anything  tied  to  the  the  monetary  system,  a   system  which  was  empowered  by  an  idea  put  forth  by  the  Rothschild  family  almost  a  century   ago.

You  know,  the  Rothschilds?  The  family  who  helped  set  up  the  Federal  Reserve  and  the   central  banking  system  which  is  now  one  reason  why  just  about  every  country  on  the  planet  is  in   debt  to  someone  else?  Yes,  the  Rothschilds  are  the  founding  fathers  of  the  monetary  system,   the  same  monetary  system  whose  only  factor  of  credibility  is  that  it  heavily  relies  on  that   everyone  relies  on  it.  Quite  frankly,  it’s  a  joke,  and  the  punchline  won’t  make  you  laugh.

When  the  advocations  for  ‘cash-­less’  societies  are  being  put  forward,  and  you  don’t  think   it’s  a  bad  idea  because,  after  all,  who  can  keep  track  of  all  those  damn  coins  anyway,  what  will   you  think  when  a  negative  interest  rate  removes  money  out  of  your  account  on  a  monthly  basis,   just  like  a  tax?

Sometimes,  the  easiest  way  to  understand  a  disease  is  to  look  closely  at  the  symptoms   it  produces.  How  is  it  that  in  times  of  financial  trouble,  the  only  industry  that  does  decently  well  is   the  one  that  includes  banking?  If  we  move  the  perspective  even  closer  to  our  everyday  life,  why   are  all  football  stadiums  all  named  by  banks?  If  everyone  else  is  llosing  and  only  one  industry  is   winning,  I’d  insist  that  the  game  is  heavily  distorted  to  encourage  that  industry.

N​ ew  topic,  same  conspiracy.  Who  could  tell  me  what  is  ​actually  going  on  in  Syria?  There   is  a  war,  sure,  it  would  be  hard  to  fake  images  of  buildings  being  bombed.  However,  who  could   specifically  tell  me  who  is  fighting  who,  and  what  the  final  goal  of  the  war  is?  To  defeat  ISIS?   Sure,  how  about  this;;  define  ISIS  for  me.  It  is  not  hard  to  understand  why  the  conspiracy   theorists  are  getting  more  grist  to  their  mills.  Who  benefits  from  the  wars,  not  just  the  Syrian   wars,  but  any  war?  There  are  obviously  a  variety  of  answers  to  a  question  like  that,  but  broadly   speaking,  it  causes  two  things.  First  of  all,  it  causes  mass  movement,  meaning  people  are   forced  to  go  places  they  normally  wouldn’t.  This  creates  debt,  because  as  people  who  have   nothing  tries  to  enter  places  where  people  have  things  they  need  capital  to  be  able  to  sustain  a   decent  life.  Who  benefits  from  this?  Creators  of  debt.  Banks.  Secondly,  what  do  you  do  when  a

building  is  bombed?  You  rebuild  it.  With  what  money?  Debt.  What  is  interesting  is  the  fact  that  in   2000,  Afghanistan,  Iran,  Cuba,  Libya,  Syria,  North  Korea  and  Iraq  were  among  the  few   countries  who  did  not  have  a  Rothschild  structured  central  bank.  In  2016,  those  countries  are   now  Syria,  Cuba,  North  Korea  and  Iran.  How  that  might  be  is  up  to  your  own  interpretation.

It  does  get  scary  when  you  realize  that  almost  everything  that  effects  everyday  lives  are   tied  to  the  senseless  monetary  system  we  are  forced  to  endure.  The  Clintons  are  definitely   involved,  all  you  have  to  do  is  follow  the  campaign  money.  Is  Trump  involved,  maybe.  Probably.   Most  likely.

The  ability  to  view  the  grand  perspective  is  of  highest  importance.  This  is  what   conspiracy  theorists  do  best.  They  can  understand  how  dots  connect  on  the  bigger  picture   scale.  So  before  you  dive  head  in  to  back  any  presidential  candidate  this  fall,  please  take  a  step   back  and  ask  yourself  one  question.

What  the  hell  is  going  on?