For Calvin University students Michael Dykstra and Abigail Kuiper, this summer was supposed to be spent in the desert of Umm Al Jimal, uncovering history at a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage site. Instead, they are navigating airline refund departments and rethinking their paths to graduation after the university officially canceled the Fieldwork in Archaeology program in Jordan.
The decision to cancel the program was made by Professor Daryl Rohl in consultation with local partners and the U.S. State Department. While Calvin’s Travel Safety Committee typically reviews program feasibility, Rohl made a proactive call given the “rapidly changing conditions on the ground,” as described by Director of Off Campus Programs Cynthia Slagter. The State Department has since ordered all non-emergency personnel and their families to leave Jordan due to safety concerns.
As Dykstra, a political science and history major noted, “Jordan is geographically between Israel and Iran and the missiles are going over Jordan; it’s hard to fly in when the missiles are going over it.”
Students were informed of the final cancellation via an email on Sunday 15 March, described to Chimes as transparent and thorough. Part of the transparency came from Rohl’s acknowledgement of his own frustration. “His emotions … made me feel very validated,” Abby Kuiper, a senior archaeology minor, said, noting that the tone of the email “lessened the blow.”
For some of the affected students the cancellation is more than just a missed travel opportunity, it poses a significant academic complication. In terms of graduation timelines, Dykstra described that the fieldwork credit is necessary for a history degree. For seniors, this problem is more urgent. Kuiper, who graduates this coming December, had viewed this as her last chance to get the field credits required for her minor
The financial impact is equally frustrating. Dykstra reported spending $1,200 on a round-trip ticket from Detroit to Amman and is currently in limbo trying to secure a refund from Royal Jordanian. While Calvin is processing refunds for the $500 student deposits, students have been told the university cannot guarantee 100% of the deposit back, though they aim for the “maximum amount possible,” Kuiper shared.
Beyond the logistics, students expressed a deep sense of frustration with the global politics that halted their education. Dykstra jokingly, but “somewhat seriously,” remarked that he felt like billing the U.S. Department of Defense for his lost $1,200. “If they can launch these wars, they can at least spend $1 million a day on this … that’s costing students like me educational opportunities,” he said.
Kuiper echoed this sentiment, acknowledging that while her “vacation” being canceled isn’t the world’s biggest problem compared to people whose houses are being bombed, it remains an “unnecessary” and “frustrating” outcome of global conflict.
Rohl has indicated he will try to take students next year instead of waiting for the usual biennial cycle, but for seniors like Kuiper, the opportunity has likely passed. For now, the Jordan program is officially slated to return in 2027, according to Slagter.
