• Submitted by: manso
• Society
• 08 / 24 / 2010

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CARBONDALE - Advocates for educational exchanges in Cuba at Southern Illinois University Carbondale are happier these days, now that travel restrictions to the island are easing.

Travel limits from the U.S. to Cuba have been changed multiple times since President Barack Obama took office, allowing more people, including educational institutions, access to the country, which has been under a roughly 50-year embargo from U.S. officials, said Charles A. Serrano with Taino-Caribbean Services, a private company that helps businesses in dealing with Latin American countries. Serrano has also consulted with Southern Illinois University Carbondale in some of its educational and humanitarian missions in Cuba.

SIU has a general license that allows some educational missions to the island. Restrictions in that area have been eased since March, Serrano said.

University representatives have taken two major trips to Cuba, the latest in 2006 and a previous one in 2001, which resulted in a face-to-face meeting between then-Cuban President Fidel Castro and late U.S. Sen. Paul Simon.

Political science professor John Jackson with the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at SIUC, who joined Simon on the 2000 trip as acting university chancellor, says the change is welcome.

"We tried isolating Cuba and embargoed them for 50 years. Castro is now working on his 11th president, so it's time for us to do something different," Jackson said.

Despite restrictions easing, the change doesn't represent any significant shift in U.S. policy toward Cuba. Rumors to the contrary have been circulating among news outlets for the last week, Serrano said but added neither the White House nor the U.S. State Department has made any formal statement on the matter.

Regardless, SIU Vice President for Academic Affairs Paul Sarvela, keeper of the university's travel license, said he expects easier times ahead in planning and executing educational trips to Cuba.

"Right now it's somewhat difficult, especially for student groups, to meet some of the requirements in certain circumstances," Sarvela said.

In some cases now, students wishing to go to Cuba may have to stay up to 10 weeks to meet the educational requirements under current rules. Sarvela said that's hard for students to accomplish. If and when the government eases restrictions he hopes it will become possible for the university to arrange shorter and more frequent education missions there.

SIU Edwardsville is also working to establish a Cuban Caribbean Center for the university, which would coordinate certain educational and cultural activities to Cuba, Sarvela said.

Julia Wetstein, assistant dean of the college of science at SIUC, was in Havana in May as part of a Rotary International humanitarian mission seeking Cuba's aid in sending doctors to medically underserved regions of the world.

Based on what she's seen and heard, new generations of Cubans and Cuban Americans are ready to work and trade with Americans, but U.S. policy must reopen the door.

"When the policy makers and lawmakers feel more comfortable that their constituents are comfortable with it, then they'll support it," she said.

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BY CALEB HALE, THE SOUTHERN thesouthern.com | Posted: Monday, August 23, 2010 3:00 am |

Source: /www.thesouthern.com/news/local/education/59fdad8c-ae70-11df-afba-001cc4c002e0.html