HOPE COLLEGE
VIENNA
SUMMER SCHOOL
FOURTH ORIENTATION BULLETIN
2 March 2012
To all Vienna Summer School students and parents or guardians:
Plans are shaping up nicely for the 2012 program in Vienna despite all the flight deviations that have
emerged. Students arriving in Vienna for the first session only or for both sessions on Wednesday 9 May
are now on six different flights because of inconsistent (and changing) airline policies on group
reservations. I shall meet every flight personally since I am flying to Vienna a day before everyone else.
49. Mandatory Meeting and Missing Documents: During the next ten days, I have scheduled three
crucial meetings relevant to behavior/alcohol issues overseas; Hope students on campus this semester must
attend one of those meetings. Some of you still need to get vaccinations and submit signed medical and
behavioral forms and copies of insurance cards to the International Education Office. Once I receive all of
this information, I need to meet with each student individually in April to discuss medical issues. This
current bulletin has information about food, books, classes, and behavioral issues.
50. Two Pamphlets, One Map, and One Brochure: For all students (not parents), two pamphlets are
enclosed with this letter: “Alcohol Poisoning” and “Alcohol and Women.” Read these pamphlets
carefully. Reread them even more carefully. Many of these important life-and-death issues will figure
prominently in the mandatory behavior sessions. Also enclosed are two gifts from the Austrian Tourist
Bureau: a map of Vienna and a guide to “Shopping, Wining, and Dining.” An itinerary (complete with
addresses and phone and fax numbers for each hotel for the orientation period and weekend trips) will be
included in the fifth bulletin. Accompanying that bulletin (for students and for parents) will be a complete
list of participants with home addresses and phone numbers in the United States. If your home address or
phone number has changed recently, please let me know at once.
51. Meals in Vienna: Two meals, breakfast and dinner, are provided daily, either directly or through
weekly reimbursements for the amount of money designated for meals in your overall fee. Most students
prefer reimbursements for dinners because this provides a chance to explore Vienna in smaller groups and
meet local people and because appetites and eating schedules vary. Many of you will have cooking
privileges in your homes, and there is a small kitchen available at the Austro-American Institute.
Picnics in local parks and swimming areas are very popular. Vienna has world-famous coffeehouses and
Heurigen (restaurants bubbling over with food and new wine), as well as inexpensive restaurants and cafes.
Viennese, American, Italian, German, Greek, Irish, and Asian cuisines predominate in the city's restaurants.
Versatile menus cater to vegetarians and vegans. Many sandwich shops, sausage stands, coffeehouses,
fast-food restaurants (at last count, about sixty McDonald's spots, although tourists are advised to avoid
obviously American franchises), salad bars in grocery stores, etc., appeal to students on budgets.
For the past twenty-four years, I have solicited and paid for restaurant reviews written and/or updated by
students. This 60-page "gourmet" guide, "Affordable Eating in Vienna," contains descriptions of more
than 350 favorite dining spots singled out by former students and is essential if you want to save money on
food. Each review includes location, directions on how to get there, an evaluation of food and atmosphere,
the year the review was written, and (in some cases) information on wheelchair accessibility. It is arranged
in sections geared to types of food (Austrian, Italian, Chinese, snacks and fast food, ice cream, etc.). You
will have the chance to add to the guide with your own culinary recommendations and earn a few extra
Euros on the side! Almost all of the restaurants are in the inexpensive to moderate categories. Every local
student will receive a copy of this booklet at the next meeting; others will get the booklet via mail.
52. Money Matters: I used to recommend travelers cheques (in American dollars), but exchange rates
offered by American Express and other change bureaus are highway robbery, and several places refuse
travelers cheques. Many students find credit cards (especially those that enable them to withdraw money)
and debit cards more handy and economical. Many credit card companies used to give you the best
exchange rate for the month, but that has changed. Visa and MasterCard charge at least 1% extra for all
purchases in dollars in Europe, and American banks issuing those cards usually add another 2% to 3%;
check with your own bank. It is wise to let your credit or debit card companies know that you are going
overseas and want to use those cards; many students have been denied access until their parents called the
companies to authorize transactions. Cirrus-network automatic teller machines (ATMs) are now available
in “Bankomats” all over Vienna and in cities that we visit on weekends; they usually charge fees.
Photocopy credit and debit card numbers with expiration dates and numbers on travelers cheques in
triplicate; leave one copy at home, give another to someone else (not me) in the group, and keep the final
copy for yourself. Additional sums can be sent to you in care of Vienna’s American Express Office in the
form of an American Express money order. Personal checks are difficult to cash overseas. Most of the
time, you will be using Euros. Currently, you need to spend about $1.35 for 1 Euro (eleven years ago,
$0.90 bought 1 Euro; four years ago, $1.60 bought 1 Euro). The current rate is a little better than in the
past four summers because Europe’s economy is struggling as much as that in the USA. On trips outside
Austria to Hungary and the Czech Republic, you will be able to change money at exchange kiosks, banks,
hotels, and shops. Changing on the “black market” could land you in jail!
For Vienna, as well as for the orientation period and on weekends, you will have already paid for the
following: bus, tram, and subway transportation; breakfast and dinner every day, as well as a few special
meals; lodging; many field trips and cultural events (again, you will get reimbursed weekly with some
funds for cultural events connected with class assignments and/or events of your choosing); full tuition for
four or eight credit hours.
Items for which you need to budget personal expenses include: most beverages and other meals or snacks,
postage, souvenirs, gifts, and entertainment. How much spending money should you bring? Most of last
year's both-sessions students brought between $600 and $1000; one-session students averaged between
$300 and $600. Recent extremes: some students spent only the reimbursed funds and never used credit
cards or ATMs; a few had unlimited funds and shopped till they dropped. Traveling afterwards averages
about $60 per day (not counting transportation).
53. Academic Calendar: Reread the Vienna Summer School brochure for a description of each course;
be sure that you have registered with the correct CRN to obtain the credit that you need.
First Academic Session Classes (Thursday 10 May—Wednesday 30 May):
Vienna’s Musical Traditions, Austrian Art and Architecture, Modern Austrian History, Theology
and Ethics, Empires of the World
Second Academic Session Classes (Thursday 31 May—Wednesday 20 June):
Austrian Art and Architecture, Theology and Ethics, Senior Seminar (Vienna: Values in
Transit), Central European Literature (Independent Study)
54. Tentative Daily Schedule: Here is the probable daily schedule:
9:00- 9:25 MTWRF
9:30-12:00 MTWRF
2:00- 3:00
T R
Group meeting with announcements, money reimbursements, etc.
Class sessions (some exceptions).
Optional non-credit German Conversation classes at different levels.
Vienna’s Musical Traditions class will be on a slightly different schedule with some afternoon (instead of
morning) sessions Tuesday through Thursday. A few Senior Seminar sessions will occur in the afternoon.
The teachers in most other courses occasionally schedule afternoon field trips or speakers but not more
than twice a week. No one will have a Friday afternoon session. For most weekend trips, we leave Vienna
at1:00 p.m. on Friday.
55. Course Registration: You have already registered online. At this point, course changes play havoc
with the Registrar's Office, with book orders, and with classroom size in Vienna.
56. Pass/Fail: Hope students may sign up for a course and have the grade recorded as either Pass or Fail
under the same conditions that govern these choices on campus: upper-class standing, no courses which
are either part of the major or the general education core requirements, and deciding on this option before
the third meeting of the class.
57. Auditing: Any course may be audited, but this does not lower the tuition cost.
58. Transfer of Credit for Non-Hope Students: Hope College will mail transcripts for classes
completed in Vienna by non-Hope students to the Registrar’s Office (or its equivalent) at your home
institution. Please discuss your academic program with your own faculty advisor prior to departure.
59. Books: Most books and packets of reading materials will be provided free of charge in Vienna. NonHope students may want to purchase their books through amazon.com. Some Hope students (please see
top of next page) need to purchase one or more books from the Hope-Geneva Bookstore before departing
for Vienna. Books should be available for purchase there in a special VSS section by mid-April.
“Vienna’s Musical Traditions" course: Classical Music (Eyewitness Companions) by John Burrows.
“Modern Austrian History” course: The Habsburg Legacy, 1867-1939 by Bruce F. Pauley.
“Theology and Ethics” course: Christian Ethics: The End of the Law by David S. Cunningham. Students
in this course should also bring a Bible or have access to one online. Dr. Cunningham may add one book.
60. Travel Journals: Journal-keeping is one way that students have found useful to record impressions,
contrasts, questions, stories, and practical or historic information on a daily basis. Senior Seminar students
have used journal notations as the basis for longer papers. I shall do a more formal presentation on journal
keeping when we are all in Austria. A fine booklet entitled "Writing a Travel Journal" (by Prof. Emerita
Nancy Nicodemus of Hope's English Department) is available for $1.50 at the Fried International Center.
61. Safety: Vienna has proven a very safe city for sober, sensible people. Its crime rate is exceptionally
low, even in comparison with small towns in the United States. With the opening up of Eastern Europe in
1989 and the flood of refugees into Austria following recent armed conflicts in the former Yugoslavia,
Iraq, and Afghanistan, crime problems have increased slightly in the past few years. I am not disparaging
or discrediting these groups; I am simply reporting what many have noted. Vienna has large populations of
peace-loving people who are angry at recent American policies in such places as Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq,
Israel, Kosovo, and Serbia. The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan exacerbate these problems and put a
whole new face on safety issues. The U.S. Department of State indicates deep concern “about the
continued threat of terrorist attacks against U.S. citizens and interests abroad” and warns U.S. citizens “to
maintain a high level of vigilance and to take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.”
Although most Vienna Summer School students have been amazed at how secure they feel in most parts of
the city, night or day, caution is still necessary. Within the last twenty years, three women on the program
have been physically assaulted: the first while walking away from a secluded swimming pool, the second
while jogging in a park, and the third while browsing in a souvenir shop. All three women escaped without
any physical injury. In the first and third incidents, the perpetrators were apprehended. Occasionally, men
in Vienna and “weekend” cities will approach American women with propositions, but a firm "Nein" (No)
usually discourages them. A few women have been followed by men; usually the incidents have been
more bothersome than threatening, but they disturb me, too. Four years ago, one woman had to deal with a
man indecently exposing himself on public transportation late at night. Six years ago, I had to intervene
when one female student was bringing local men back to her apartment and disturbing her roommates.
At times, Hope women invite trouble. Last year (despite my warnings and horror stories), a few women
went to an apartment of men whom they met in a bar; another woman got into a car with four men whom
she met at a pizza stand (she left their apartment hours later minus her wallet). Luckily, no sexual
improprieties occurred. These types of incidents are rare, but they do indicate the need for vigilance and
common sense.
62. Sex: All students need to exercise precautions with regard to any sexual activity with members of the
group or with other people whom they meet while traveling. I shall talk in detail about sexual issues
(especially sex and alcohol) during the mandatory on-campus sessions on behavior and during on-site
orientation periods for first- and second-session students. Several professors teaching in the Hope program
and staff members of the Austrian-American Institute of Education are excellent resource persons for any
claims regarding such matters as sexual harassment.
63. Drugs: Drug use in Austria has increased within the last decade, and penalties for possession can be
severe. The American Embassy can do little more than inform your parents. Even if you are not detained
in jail for possession of illegal drugs, I will probably dismiss you from the program and send you home.
64. Alcohol: Excessive drinking by college students is the number one problem listed by most directors of
overseas programs for college/university students. This is the major reason why Hope now expects all
program directors to conduct mandatory sessions dealing with social conduct and behavior (often related to
alcohol abuse). All current on-campus Hope students must complete these sessions before departure.
Similar sessions will be held in Austria as part of the orientation for non-Hope students and Hope students
presently off campus.
Unfortunately, I have spent many sleepless nights worrying about the health of individuals who have had
too much to drink. There is no drinking age to worry about in Europe, but common sense as to amount of
drinking is essential. Of course, no one should feel any pressure to drink. It is always appropriate to
choose a nonalcoholic option in any social situation. Mature (and immature!) adults who choose to
consume alcoholic beverages are expected to behave reasonably. You have chosen to become part of a
group (similar to traveling with a sports team or on a mission trip) and must remember that your actions
can enhance or ruin the reputation of the program and the college and spoil the fun for others.
Almost every unpleasant incident that has occurred to students in my previous 36 summers with them in
Europe has involved their own overindulgence in alcohol. Binge-drinking and 21st birthday parties are two
of the nightmares that I have encountered again and again. The April 1, 2002 edition of TIME had this
banner headline on the cover--"Binge Drinking Among Women"--and the alarming (but not surprising to
me) statistics in the article proved that "more college women regularly get drunk." Women traveling in
Europe need to exercise extra caution, especially when accepting drinks and invitations from men (even
other Americans); better yet: women should not accept free drinks and never get into cars with men. Men
also should not try to prove their “manhood” by excessive alcohol consumption.
Hope College has already experienced enough negative publicity because of alcohol-related incidents and
deaths on and around campus. Several other schools in Michigan have dealt with alcohol-related deaths of
students within the last few years. With the support of Hope’s Counseling Center, I am distributing two
booklets, "Alcohol Poisoning" and "Alcohol and Women," as part of the orientation program on campus. I
am trying to be practical, not alarmist. Experiencing Europe through an alcoholic haze is irrational.
The Hope College Vienna Summer School has maintained an excellent reputation within Vienna and in
other places where we visit for the past 55 years, but every once in awhile a few rowdy and selfish students
have created conflicts because of excessive drinking. In 1989 and 1991, I had to ban a few students from
weekend trips because they were so disruptive. I no longer schedule a weekend in Venice, partly because a
few students from the 1995 program misbehaved (alcohol, again) in one of the few hotels willing to house
groups of students. In 1997, a few students caused problems (yes, alcohol) on the flight to Amsterdam and
at the hotel near Salzburg. In 2001, we almost lost the future chance to stay overnight in the Rax Alps
(where program members have gone for 40-plus years) because of one male student's drunken antics.
In 2004, one female student was found unconscious in a hotel corridor in Prague from alcohol poisoning.
Also, in 2004, I banned eight male students from the Budapest weekend because of two shameful events
that occurred on the Salzburg weekend. In 2006, one female thought that if she did not take her antidepression medication, she could handle excessive drinks on her 21st birthday; she fell down some stairs
and became violent. Also in 2006, another female arrived so drunk for the 50th anniversary celebration
dinner (also attended by many alumni/ae and friends of Hope) that she quickly made the restaurant’s ladies’
room unusable. In 2007, I was roused out of bed to go to a Viennese hospital where police had brought an
unconscious student who had drunk too much and had collapsed on a subway. In 2008, I had to notify
parents and Hope administrators after some inebriated women caused trouble in our Prague hotel; a similar
incident occurred near Salzburg in 2010. I hope that 2012 will be one year when I am not forced to contact
parents about alcohol abuse.
These incidents are exceptions to the norm but give me gray hairs and are very disheartening. You should
certainly have fun but not to the point where other people are disturbed. Parents and guardians need to
help me by reinforcing this information (even for offspring over 21) about sex, drugs, and alcohol.
Despite all the warnings about alcoholic misbehavior and scary stories that you will hear about other
college-sponsored programs (at Hope and elsewhere) at the behavior/alcohol meetings, I often wonder if
anyone is listening. This year I shall spend close to nine hours at three behavioral sessions on campus so
that you will be safe and secure overseas, but I cannot supervise you every moment of each day.
In 2005, the Dean of Students Office at Hope adopted stricter guidelines on consequences for bad behavior.
No longer will students simply forgo a weekend trip. Behavior that is disruptive to the group or
disrespectful to the culture--as well as extreme intoxication (one time) or continuous intoxication (more
than one time), fights, sexual harassment, and continued cutting--now warrants a student being sent home.
These consequences will be spelled out in detail at the mandatory sessions dealing with behavioral issues.
Again, parents also need to make sure that their sons and daughters realize the financial costs
involved (lost tuition, rescheduling a flight home, etc.), if they are expelled from the program. Most
program directors concur that these radical measures have become necessary. Students going on Hope
mission programs and college-sponsored athletic programs fall under the same rubrics.
Sadly, some American students and tourists are loud and rude (especially on buses and subways) and often
flaunt their wealth. If you do not want to stand out as an "ugly American,” be quiet, polite, and eager to
learn and listen in each place we visit. Do not travel in huge groups every night of the week in Vienna.
Most Europeans love Americans and our values, even when they disagree with the decisions of our
political leaders. While not abandoning your own identity, you need to be sensitive to cultural differences
and to current perceptions of the United States. You may need to make some adjustments in attitude.
Believe it or not, despite all of the negative stories on the last few pages, most students in Hope's
Vienna Summer School program are very fine ambassadors for their country.
Sincerely yours,
Stephen I. Hemenway, Director
Travel is fatal to prejudice,
bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.
-Mark Twain