By Suzanne Briggs
The closure of the BYU Jerusalem Center in 2001 did not send an excessive flood of applicants to the study abroad office in the David M. Kennedy Center.
Rodney Boynton, the director of international study programs, said after the Jerusalem Center shut down, the number of people who applied to their programs did not increase dramatically.
'Our programs have always been popular. We have had a constant, steady, modest growth throughout the years,' Boynton said.
Boynton said most students who applied to the Jerusalem Center either wanted to go there or nowhere; they did not find another program to supplement that one.
The Jerusalem Center program operated through the BYU Division of Continuing Education and some students were sad to see it end because of the unique opportunity it provided.
'I had always dreamed of going to Jerusalem when I got to college and was disappointed when it was shut down a couple years ago,' said Martha Fetzer, 21, a junior from Salt Lake City, majoring in interior design. ' I really thought the scriptures would come alive on a trip like that.'
Other students did not even have a desire to go to Jerusalem and were not affected that the program was cancelled.
'I never thought about traveling to Jerusalem and would rather go on my own adventure,' said Allison Martin, 20, a junior from Henderson, Nev., majoring in elementary education.
The study abroad center in the David M. Kennedy Center maintains around 50 different study abroad programs throughout the year.
'Our most popular programs include London, Paris and Vienna because they run every semester and are open to anyone who wants to apply,' Boynton said. 'They cover general education credits and don''t have any restrictions on language or major.'
London is the most popular study abroad that the David M. Kennedy Center offers. There are at least 80 applicants for the program each semester and term and only 40 positions available.
Different departments throughout BYU are always trying to implement new programs to look for news ways to educate and provide for their students.
'We have such a diverse selection of programs available that cover a lot of different departments,' Boynton said. 'We strive to reach out to a variety of students.'
Jane Wilson, 20, a junior from Plymouth, Minn., majoring in recreation management and youth leadership, applied to the Jerusalem Center and to a Tahiti study abroad for the same summer in 2001.
'Of course, I wanted to do both and was bummed that Jerusalem was cancelled but Tahiti was great, and I wouldn''t trade that experience for anything,' Wilson said.
Even with the closure of the Jerusalem Center, the BYU Division of Continuing Education still manages many other programs such as the Nauvoo study abroad and trips to Europe.