{
  "id": "2016-03-22-boston-university-brussels-attacks",
  "slug": "boston-university-brussels-attacks-2016-03-22",
  "institution": {
    "name": "Boston University",
    "shortName": "BU",
    "state": "MA",
    "type": "private-r1",
    "alertSystemName": "BU Global Programs Advisory"
  },
  "incident": {
    "date": "2016-03-22",
    "type": "civil-unrest",
    "cleryCategory": "advisory",
    "headline": "Study-abroad students urged to defer travel through Brussels after bombings",
    "headlinePublic": "Study-abroad students urged to defer travel through Brussels after bombings",
    "summary": "Hours after the March 22, 2016 Brussels bombings, Boston University's Global Programs office wrote to study-abroad site directors and students across Europe urging them to [defer any travel to or through Brussels](https://www.bu.edu/articles/2016/brussels-airport-subway-terrorist-attacks/) and to practice heightened vigilance in transit hubs. Two BU students visiting Brussels on spring break were reported safe and advised to shelter in place."
  },
  "alerts": [
    {
      "sequence": 1,
      "type": "initial",
      "timestampApprox": "Tuesday morning, March 22, 2016 (Eastern Time)",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "We recommend strongly that students defer planned travel to Brussels, or any travel that would take them through the Brussels airport or train station.",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": true,
      "sourceUrl": "https://www.bu.edu/articles/2016/brussels-airport-subway-terrorist-attacks/",
      "sourceDescription": "BU Today, quoting Joseph Finkhouse's letter to Study Abroad site directors and students",
      "annotations": [
        "This sentence is quoted verbatim by BU Today from Joseph Finkhouse, associate director of health, safety, and security for BU Global Programs, in his Tuesday-morning letter to site directors and students.",
        "Although BU had no programs in Brussels itself, the advisory targeted students across BU's many European programs who might transit the city's airport or rail stations.",
        "The recommendation is precautionary travel guidance rather than a shelter order, reflecting that BU's risk exposure was students passing through Brussels rather than residing there."
      ],
      "characterCount": 151
    },
    {
      "sequence": 2,
      "type": "follow-up",
      "timestampApprox": "Tuesday, March 22, 2016 (Eastern Time)",
      "channel": "email",
      "verbatimText": "",
      "isVerbatimConfirmed": false,
      "sourceDescription": "Reconstruction based on BU Today's paraphrase of Finkhouse's guidance to site directors",
      "annotations": []
    }
  ],
  "context": "The [March 22, 2016 Brussels bombings](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Brussels_bombings) killed 32 people at Zaventem airport and Maelbeek metro station. Boston University, based in Boston, Massachusetts, ran no study-abroad program in Brussels but operated numerous programs elsewhere in Europe. According to [BU Today](https://www.bu.edu/articles/2016/brussels-airport-subway-terrorist-attacks/), Joseph Finkhouse, associate director of health, safety, and security for BU Global Programs, wrote to site directors and students that Tuesday morning strongly recommending they defer any travel to or through Brussels and practice heightened vigilance in transportation hubs and near government facilities. Two BU students visiting Brussels on spring break from another program were reported safe and advised to shelter in place. The BU advisory ran alongside the simultaneous responses by the [University of Illinois](https://will.illinois.edu/news/story/u-of-i-confirms-safety-of-all-but-two-traveling-in-belgium) and [University of Oregon](https://international.uoregon.edu/Belgium_attacks), illustrating how US institutions guard against travel-corridor risk for study-abroad cohorts, not just on-site presence.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "University Urges Students Abroad to Avoid Brussels Following Airport and Subway Terrorist Attacks - BU Today",
      "url": "https://www.bu.edu/articles/2016/brussels-airport-subway-terrorist-attacks/",
      "type": "official-archive"
    },
    {
      "title": "Following Brussels Attack, U.S. Universities Reach Out To Students Abroad - HuffPost",
      "url": "https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/students-studying-abroad-brussels_us_56f144cae4b03a640a6b905f",
      "type": "other"
    },
    {
      "title": "2016 Brussels bombings - Wikipedia",
      "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_Brussels_bombings",
      "type": "other"
    }
  ],
  "confidence": "high",
  "tags": [
    "study-abroad",
    "brussels",
    "belgium",
    "terrorism",
    "travel-advisory",
    "international",
    "global-program",
    "2016"
  ],
  "dateAdded": "2026-05-28",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-05-28",
  "addedBy": "ingestion"
}