Despite a government issued travel alert on Mexico, The University will continue plans to send student service trips into Mexico City.

The University’s International Service Program (ISP) will continue a longtime tradition by sending a group of six students to volunteer at the Mexico Girls Home and is taking every possible safety precaution in doing so.

“If we had any hesitation at all, we would not send the students,” said Elise Gower, the ISP coordinator at The University. “We’re always checking for safety, and we always are doing safety checks with countries.”

The University first began sending students to Mexico City in 1987 and, 22 years later, it is the program’s longest running trip. Students on the trip live with the girls at the gated home and carry out a wide variety of tasks, including tutoring, helping the girls with computers, household chores and cooking.

Students who wish to participate in ISP trips must first go through an application process, which includes information sessions on the year’s projects and individual interviews. Once they are chosen, students are required to attend regular meetings in which they learn about their destinations and about international traveling.

“Each meeting they have an educational session to learn something different about where they’re going,” Gower said. “And so they learn about the government, they learn about what’s going on now in Mexico, and they think if we educate ourselves we’ll understand [the violence].”

ISP Students are also given instructions for “safe traveling,” such as not being outside at night, traveling in groups, and following the rules and regulations of their host.

Increasingly violent actions by border-town drug cartels recently forced the U.S. Department of State to issue a “Travel Alert” for the country, warning — among others — college students who frequent the area during spring breaks to use extra caution this year.

According to the U.S. Department of State, a “Travel Alert” is “issued to disseminate information about short-term conditions, generally within a particular country, that pose imminent risks to the security of U.S. citizens,” and can cover anything from natural disasters, to terrorist attacks, or regional sports events.

“Whether it’s looking at travel advisories, or talking to the programs — we’re always in communication with the programs that we send our student to,” Gower said. “I monitor the situation in all of the countries weekly, to be sure I am up-to-date with the most recent news and information.”

The Mexico alert encourages U.S. citizens to use common sense while traveling to the country, including “visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours, and avoiding areas where prostitution and drug dealing might occur.”

The alert specifically cautions travelers of the border cities Tijuana, Nogales, Nuevo Laredo, Matamoros and — statistically the most violent — Ciudad Juarez. It makes no mention of cartel-related danger in Mexico City.

“All indications to this point suggest that Mexico City is not in the same situation,” Gower said. “The security challenges present in Mexico City are every day safety issues that you should be cautious of wherever you travel.”

Casualty figures from the violence — according to the Associated Press — included 6,290 in 2008, and have already climbed over 1,000 in 2009. The San Diego Union Tribune reported Sunday that an American citizen believed to be associated with the drug war was found decapitated in Tijuana. The Mexican government has responded by sending in troops to stop the drug cartels.

ISP is not the only organization concerned with the alert. The senior class senators recently sent a message to all members of the Facebook group, “U of S Senior Senator’s Facebook Forum,” drawing attention to the alert and reminding students to be responsible if traveling to the area.

Gower, who has previously traveled to Guatemala, Thailand and Africa, also noted that a “Travel Alert” is not the same as a “Travel Warning.”

A travel warning — according to the U.S. Department of State — is issued when there are “long-term, protracted conditions that make a country dangerous or unstable,” or when “the U.S. Government’s ability to assist American citizens is constrained.”

The U.S. currently has such warnings on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan among other countries.

In total, 41 students will be traveling this year with ISP, who is also offering service trips to Ecuador, El Salvador, Guyana and Jamaica — countries which are currently free of alerts or warnings.

“I think it’s a really great opportunity for the students and I think what our program does really highlights the mission of The University and the Jesuits,” Gower said.