• Several threats have been made on the Sochi Olympics.
• Ball State students heading to Russia say they aren’t worried about attacks.
Before heading to Russia on Tuesday to cover the 2014 Winter Olympics, an adviser warned 24 Ball State students not to act like Americans. They were told to keep to themselves.
Although recent suspicions of terrorist attacks in Sochi have dominated Olympic coverage, some of the students traveling to Sochi for BSU at the Games said they aren’t scared to go.
Drew Bogs, a senior telecommunications major, said he was more concerned about the 27-hour journey there than a terrorist attack.
“I’m not scared at all,” he said.
Bogs said many of his family members told him they are worried. He told them: “You saw what happened at Purdue. Anything could happen any day to any person, that’s the world we live in now.”
Matthew Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told The Associated Press that the U.S. and Russia are watching several terrorist threats with “varying degrees” of credibility.
The greatest danger comes from the Caucasus Emirate, a terrorist group that has threatened attacks on or around the Olympic area in Sochi, according to the AP.
Junior journalism magazine major Dominique Stewart said she doesn’t let the terrorist threats bother her.
“With all the campus shootings, you’re not safe anywhere, honestly,” she said. “I’d rather die in Russia than die in Muncie, in my opinion. If that means you die when you’re traveling, well at least you have that experience of dying outside of what you’re used to.”
Stewart said when her dad found out about the program, he was more excited for her than worried since he never got to travel when he was young.
Graduate student Kayla Eiler said she is taking her safety seriously, but she thinks the attention the media is giving the threats is intentional.
“All of the hype about terrorism and all the hype about the Olympics in general is going to get people to watch and pay attention and keep watching the news and keep watching updates,” she said. “Fear is a really good way to get people to do things.”
Eiler said although she will be cautious, she won’t let it keep her from what she considers a great opportunity.
“There’s always going to be stuff like that,” she said. “If I’m going to be a storyteller, that’s what stories are going to be. They’re going to be dangerous, and that’s the thing worth telling stories about.”
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