Sexual harassment is no laughing matter in an educational environment - regardless of where that education is taking place.

Two male Eastern Michigan University students and a professor’s assistant are accused of sexually harassing six female students while on a 1999 study- abroad trip to South Africa.

Although the male students were suspended nearly two years ago, the women, who have since graduated, are suing the school for violating Title IX, the 30-year-old civil rights law prohibiting gender discrimination at schools that receive any federal funding.

This is the first time an attempt has been made to apply Title IX to a study-abroad program.

The university’s attorneys argue that the school can’t be held liable for the harassment because Title IX doesn’t apply outside the United States.

But this type of situation is exactly what the gender-equity law was meant to prevent.

No student should feel threatened or be harassed on a school-sponsored trip to a foreign land. American universities are responsible for their students and for the activities and programs they sponsor - no matter where those programs occur.

The women in the Eastern Michigan case say the verbal abuse they were exposed to made them so uncomfortable they left the trip early, spending their own money to leave South Africa and escape the alleged abuse.

As study abroad programs, such as the one at MSU, become more popular, universities must be sure to apply and enforce the same rules to students on their main campuses and those abroad.

Every student has the right to receive an education and to be involved in quality study abroad programs while receiving their respective educations.

Simply leaving the United States shouldn’t allow university students to be subjected to behavior that wouldn’t be tolerated or defended on a campus.