Cindy Chalou, associate director of the Office of Study Abroad, said when situations occur such as Japan’s tsunami and Egypt’s political unrest in the spring, the safety of students is the university’s first priority.

“Nobody can ensure anyone’s safety,” she said. “What we do have is policies in place to address safety issues.”

Chalou said though every situation is handled differently, there is a procedure, a committee and guidelines that work toward responding to an issue, depending on the student’s arrangement.

International relations sophomore Tyler Karty witnessed national unrest firsthand while studying abroad in Morocco this summer.

The protests began early this year as Moroccans joined the Arab Spring, the series of uprisings demanding democracy in Arab countries.

“The Arab Spring has definitely affected (Moroccans), but they still go about their daily lives,” Karty said. “They still go to school, people still go to work. They’re going on with their daily lives, they’re just more active about their rights and more aware of things.”

Karty was taking a photography class in Morocco, but, by law, was unable to take pictures of the protests.

Though it has been relatively calm compared to the rest of North Africa, Morocco became considered potentially dangerous after a café in Marrakech, one of the country’s largest cities, was bombed in April.

Karty said he didn’t sense any particular safety risks, in part due to how well the Office of Study Abroad prepared him.

This summer, protests also broke out in Spain over the country’s continuous economic crisis.

Journalism professor Karl Gude spent the past month leading a study abroad there, where he and his students watched protestors camp out in the streets.

“We had seen prior that there were protests, but there was no warning from the (Department of State)­, nothing that really concerned me,” Gude said.

Gude said he saw mainly young people protesting, and they were shouting, “Join us, join us! Don’t walk away; join us!” as he and his students passed by.

“I saw students fascinated, I saw students getting out of the way,” he said. “Some wanted to stay and watch. The crowd was getting pretty unruly.”

Journalism sophomore Lauren Lahrman was one of Gude’s students studying in Spain. Lahrman said she wasn’t aware there were protests going on until she saw them.

“It’s kind of sad to see that people have to go that far to get the jobs that they need and deserve,” she said. “What else are they supposed to do? I felt bad for them, but it wasn’t shocking.”

Despite feeling like an outsider as an American, Lahrman said she didn’t feel that she was in any danger.

“Like in any other cities, there are bad spots and good spots,” she said. “You just have to watch your back.”