Collegiate Times

Tech's architecure study abroad program is stationed in Switzerland.

Virginia Tech’s spring semester study abroad program in Riva San Vitale, Switzerland, comes to a close in two weeks, marking nearly 10 years since instruction began at the international center.

But after almost a decade of students being culturally immersed in the 200-year-old “Villa Maderni” one semester at a time, the program still finds itself fighting the language barrier and occasionally facing problems with alcohol abuse among participants.

“The difficulty and thing that divides (the town and the Tech program) and causes separateness the most is more due to the language barrier than the wildness of students,” said Daniela Doninelli, managing director stationed in Riva.

June Stubbs, an Italian professor at Tech, is responsible for teaching introductory Italian to all of the students who are going. And while a semester of Italian may not seem like much, Stubbs noted there is considerable significance.

“They do not speak English in this town of Riva San Vitale — they speak Italian,” Stubbs said. “We are culturally and linguistically isolated, and this gives students a chance to have a view of another culture ... and gain a new perspective on our life here.”

In the past, students were not required to speak any Italian before studying abroad. After the requirement was made, Stubbs noted the change in relations between the town and university.

“The townspeople are much more accepting, especially since the students have been taking Italian and they can communicate at a basic level instead of expecting them to speak English,” Stubbs said. “They can at least greet them and express their needs.”

Riva San Vitale is a small town located in the southernmost border of Switzerland, surrounded by mountains and just miles from the northern tip of Italy. The facilities in Riva are owned by the Virginia Tech Foundation and subsequently rented to the university.

Doninelli said the town supported the institutionalization of the center and fully supports Tech.

The College of Architecture operated a study abroad program in the region for years prior to the purchase of any facility, according to the Center for European Studies and Architecture at Virginia Tech. After the purchase of the villa and facility renovations, Tech established the CESA to provide 44 students with the opportunity to participate in semester-long residential immersion programs.

Andrew Becker, a former program coordinator and associate chair of the foreign language department, outlined a fairly recent change in the prerequisite standards for students wishing to study abroad in Riva.

Riva San Vitale was for a number of years exclusive to students enrolled in architecture, liberal arts and human sciences, and business, but it was opened up to students across the university this year.

Becker said the policy presently in place was introduced by Paul Knox, the program’s director, and requires faculty members to put in proposals for programs they wish to run in Riva. Given colleges aren’t guaranteed semesters abroad. Rather, everything hinges on proposal approval.

Becker said the program has been tremendously successful by university standards.

“This is the best beginner program we have that introduces people to the study of European politics and history and can do it in a way that doesn’t require expertise,” Becker said.

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A version of this article appeared in the Apr 23 issue of the Collegiate Times.