More than a week ago, San Diego State student Austin Bice made national news. Sadly, the news wasn’t because of some nationally recognized sporting event he took part in or an academic award he received, but of his disappearance in Madrid, Spain while studying abroad. Tragically, Bice was found in Madrid’s Manzanares River after more than a weeklong disappearance; the culminated worst fears of Bice’s parents and fellow SDSU students who hoped for his safe discovery.

It’s inevitable Bice’s death may have placed an unfavorable stigma on the study abroad program — but not one the program deserves. Ask any college student what their most memorable college experience was, and nine times out of 10 they’ll say it was when they studied abroad. The proof is in the numbers: The amount of U.S. students studying abroad has more than doubled in the last decade — and for good reason.

Studying abroad in another country is the experience of a lifetime, the chance to completely encompass oneself in an unknown culture and gain an international perspective. After hearing of Bice’s death, I personally heard accounts from many students who began to reconsider whether or not they wanted to study abroad.

Admittedly, I found this to be nearly as disheartening as Bice’s death itself. Certainly, to some extent, it’s completely understandable for students to feel that way when one of their own died while enrolled in the program. But as natural as it is for students to feel that way, missing out on the truly beneficial experience altogether is crushing in its own right.

For those reconsidering studying abroad, there are a few things to contemplate. For one, Bice’s death was awful, but much of the reason it was especially awful was because it was such an entirely rare and unexpected occurrence.

Dr. Negar Davis, SDSU director of the International Studies Center, said, “The statistics of accidents and unfortunate, tragic situations such as death are … relatively small compared to the (amount) of students that go … There’s institutions on either side that work together to ensure the safety and well-being of our students.”

Even with those institutions in place, there are going to be risks involved with studying abroad. But, there are similar risks in everything else we students do, beginning from the moment we get out of bed and change out of footie pajamas to when we crawl back under the covers after a long, exhausting day. We encounter danger on a day-to-day basis, and it’s not something limited to any country or continent. Even as you read this newspaper, you’re taking a risk — distracting yourself with unanimated black-and-white letters while the world continues to enfold around you.

I’m going to assume you find rolling around in a plastic bubble suit as impractical as I do. But it’s just as ridiculous for you to wear a metaphorical one, protecting yourself from rarely dangerous situations for the sake of keeping your heart beating. The opportunity to study abroad during college — the blessed “sweet spot” before marriage, before kids, before careers in suffocating, carbon-copied cubicles — is smaller than you think. Is it really worth a lifetime of monotony not to fulfill that childlike sense of wonder?

Bice and I never met, but every friend and acquaintance I’ve met of his have all made a point of mentioning his bursting personality and fun-loving nature. This much is sure about Bice: He died trying to expand his worldwide perception, to become a better man and ultimately reinvent himself as a better human being. He obviously recognized and believed in the study abroad program’s potential to do so, or he wouldn’t have embarked on it to begin with.

In Bice’s case, there was a freak circumstance that led to his death. But honestly, I don’t see limiting yourself to the exploration of your cluttered room as a way to commemorate Bice’s life. I certainly don’t believe he’d be pleased to see students rethink similar study abroad trips just because of his incident.

Maegan Badham, an English junior who recently studied abroad in Florence, Italy, said, “When I went, there were two girls from my same university that were coming home from the clubs at 2 a.m., and they were mugged. But that kind of thing was so rare that it made front-page news in Florence. Studying abroad was honestly one of the best experiences of my life, and I always felt really safe.”

I have to applaud SDSU’s study abroad program, for such a broad and expansive system, it makes a significant effort to ensure the safety of its participants. According to Davis, most students go through an orientation educating them about the society of the country they’re visiting and its cultural differences. Likewise, faculty go through a similar process of education. Ultimately, the capacity to stay safe rests on the student studying abroad, but with all of the tools SDSU’s studying abroad program provides, it’s not too hard to stay safe.

The truth is, we’ll likely never know the specifics of the night Bice went missing. I’d like to say he’d still be alive had a friend walked with him on his way home from the bar, but there’s no way to know for sure. Regardless, being with at least one friend when exploring a foreign city is the wisest move as one could make. There’s safety in numbers. Really.

There’s a whole world out there with countries, cultures and people to become familiar with, and 6.5 billion ways to challenge your perception of the world. Go out and explore it while you still can.

—Chris Pocock is a journalism junior.

—The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.